Latest news with #IllinoisAssociationofChiefsofPolice
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Illinois bill on governor's desk would require law enforcement to work with federal gun tracing database
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — When law enforcement finds a gun while investigating a crime scene, they can track its history on a national database called eTrace. A bill that passed both chambers of the statehouse would require all law enforcement agencies to use it. Illinois law enforcement agencies have been encouraged to partner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' software in the past. But now a bill on the governor's desk would make that mandatory. Illinois bill strengthening rules on gun storage heads to Pritzker's desk Law enforcement leaders like Kenny Winslow of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police said many of the smallest departments didn't have the resources to participate before. 'It requires a lot of staffing hours to try to back trace this,' he said. Winslow said his organization is neutral on the final proposal. While the tool can be helpful for police to connect suspects to evidence and crime scenes, he said eTrace is not perfect. 'When people think that this is simple, that you put the information to a system that fits back all the information that you want, that's not how it works.' Winslow said. 'The trace system spits back information and potential, what we call hits, and then you fall off those heads on potential leads, and then those leads potentially lead you to somebody else that may have owned a gun.' Even with the flaws Winslow feels the eTrace system has, law enforcement said it's worth the effort to try to prevent violent crime in their communities. 'When you talk about gun violence, I think it's important that we do every step we can in order to try to curb that violence,' Winslow added. Bill heading to Pritzker's desk to prevent time limit on anesthesia Gun control advocates said tracing guns is an important part to prevent gun trafficking. 'If we have data on these recovered crime guns about who the original purchasers are, we can use that as a deterrent and to hold these folks accountable so that these guns are not moved into a secondary illegal market,' Kathleen Sances, the President of G-PAC, said. Sances added requiring more participation with eTrace will help it be successful. 'We'll be able to do a better job solving these crimes, tracing these crime guns and keeping our community safe,' she said. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul was a major force behind the bill. 'We cannot truly prevent gun violence in our state unless we make sure all Illinois law enforcement agencies are using the best resources to trace crime guns,' Raoul said in a statement. The Illinois Attorney General also runs a statewide gun tracing database called Crime Gun Connect. Sances said half of all law enforcement agencies participate in that database. More information on eTrace can be found on the ATF's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Evanston City Council approves city manager's raise to $297,000
The Evanston City Council approved a raise for its city manager on April 28, making him one of the highest-paid municipal government employees in the state. Aldermen voted unanimously at Monday's City Council meeting to approve an 8% raise for City Manager Luke Stowe that boosted his annual base salary from $275,000 to $297,000, plus benefits all employees receive such as health insurance. That surpasses Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's salary of $221,000, though it's not the highest among suburban municipal executives. In Highland Park, the city manager earns a base salary of $300,000; in Wilmette, the village manager earns a salary of $305,000 and in Glenview, the village manager earns a salary of $309,000. Topping those is Lake Forest, where the city manager earns a salary of $323,000. Stowe was appointed to city manager by the City Council in August 2022, according to city documents. Then, his starting salary was $250,000, per previous reporting. The approved raise is retroactive to Stowe's hiring date anniversary in August. The council also approved a $6,000 increase in vehicle allowance for the year. In a memo from Mayor Daniel Biss to the City Council, Biss wrote that Stowe has not received a raise since October 2023. 'The City Council and I would like to thank Mr. Stowe for his service to the residents of Evanston and look forward to continuing to work with him in the future,' Biss wrote. Before the vote, 8th Ward City Councilmember Devon Reid thanked Stowe for taking charge of the office in a tumultuous time when he filled vacancies to critical positions. One of his hires includes Evanston's police chief, Schenita Stewart, who was recently named Illinois Police Chief of the Year by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. 'I truly appreciate your service and what you've done for the City to keep the ship gone straight,' he said.
Chicago Tribune
30-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Evanston City Council approves city manager's raise to $297,000
The Evanston City Council approved a raise for its city manager on April 28, making him one of the highest-paid municipal government employees in the state. Aldermen voted unanimously at Monday's City Council meeting to approve an 8% raise for City Manager Luke Stowe that boosted his annual base salary from $275,000 to $297,000, plus benefits all employees receive such as health insurance. That surpasses Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's salary of $221,000, though it's not the highest among suburban municipal executives. In Highland Park, the city manager earns a base salary of $300,000; in Wilmette, the village manager earns a salary of $305,000 and in Glenview, the village manager earns a salary of $309,000. Topping those is Lake Forest, where the city manager earns a salary of $323,000. Stowe was appointed to city manager by the City Council in August 2022, according to city documents. Then, his starting salary was $250,000, per previous reporting. The approved raise is retroactive to Stowe's hiring date anniversary in August. The council also approved a $6,000 increase in vehicle allowance for the year. In a memo from Mayor Daniel Biss to the City Council, Biss wrote that Stowe has not received a raise since October 2023. 'The City Council and I would like to thank Mr. Stowe for his service to the residents of Evanston and look forward to continuing to work with him in the future,' Biss wrote. Before the vote, 8th Ward City Councilmember Devon Reid thanked Stowe for taking charge of the office in a tumultuous time when he filled vacancies to critical positions. One of his hires includes Evanston's police chief, Schenita Stewart, who was recently named Illinois Police Chief of the Year by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. 'I truly appreciate your service and what you've done for the City to keep the ship gone straight,' he said.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
Evanston's Schenita Stewart named Illinois Police Chief of the Year
With just two and a half years in her current job, Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart was named Chief of the Year by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police in early April. In yet another honor, Stewart was celebrated at an April 10 Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting when a resolution was passed in her honor for the Chief of the Year award. Commander Ryan Glew said during her tenure, Stewart led the department to fill vacancies, increase efforts to support officer mental wellness, and oversaw a full calendar year without a murder in Evanston, a feat not seen in Evanston since the 1970s, if not before, Glew said. Stewart, a native of Evanston's 5th Ward, began her career as a police officer with the Lincolnwood Police Department in 1999, and left that department as its deputy chief in 2021. Stewart then joined the East Dundee Police Department as its deputy chief, and left that department to be appointed as the first Black and female Chief of Police for Evanston in October 2022. 'I am obviously honored to receive this award. I've been fortunate to have great mentors, a supportive family, a strong supervisor, and a city manager who believed in me. Any success I've had is because of the people who poured into me. That's why I've never been big on awards—they often recognize one person, but not the many who helped along the way,' Stewart said in a statement to Pioneer Press. During Stewart's approximately 30 months as the department's chief, the department cut its vacancies from 26 to 11 by hiring 44 officers. Glew said the new hires are a mix of first-time officers and lateral hires from other departments, including the Chicago Police Department. Glew said the Evanston Police Department has some built-in advantages. For early career officers, Evanston can further an individual's career because it has a traffic unit, narcotics unit, detective bureau, juvenile investigations unit, and a problem-solving team unit, which not all police departments have. Evanston also can be enticing for Chicago officers who want a better work-life balance, want to ensure that they have days off, and won't have constant 12-hour shifts in the summer, Glew said. 'The chief has been a champion of officer wellness (and) setting up a culture in the department that we address (mental health),' Glew said. Under her leadership, the department has added civilian staff to receive annual wellness checks, which can be important for dispatchers who take emergency calls and affiliate staff who handle sensitive documents. Glew also credits Stewart for using information from computer data and from people off the street to make Evanston safer. In 2024, Evanston went the whole year without a murder. The last one was in April 2023. In August 2024, two shooting incidents occurred within 24 hours of each other in the vicinity of Dodge Avenue and Dempster Street, per police records. 'When we had those shootings, we were able to meet with the community almost immediately,' Glew said. 'Both those shootings were not connected with each other, but we were able to make arrests very quickly.' 'So you have traditional investigative police work, bringing arrests, closing those cases, and working closely with elected officials to get the information to community members and people who live in that area that they need,' Glew said. During Stewart's tenure as police chief, the department also rolled out its Transparency Hub, a free portal to data on crime, community engagement, workforce diversity, community programs and feedback. When asked if she had any new or future plans in the works, Stewart said, 'My plan is to keep the good momentum going. The department's accomplishments will need to be maintained and evolve, and that is my focus.' At the Cook County Commissioners meeting, Stewart thanked the county, as well as Evanston City Manager Luke Stowe and Evanston Police Department staff. Stewart said she accepted the award in honor of Oak Park Detective Allan Reddins, who was fatally shot in November 2024. In a news release from the city, Stowe said, 'We're incredibly proud of Chief Stewart and thankful to the Cook County Board of Commissioners for recognizing her accomplishments. Having her come back to lead the department in her hometown is a full-circle moment that truly shows her dedication to public service.'
Chicago Tribune
21-04-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Evanston's Schenita Stewart named Illinois Police Chief of the Year
With just two and a half years in her current job, Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart was named Chief of the Year by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police in early April. In yet another honor, Stewart was celebrated at an April 10 Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting when a resolution was passed in her honor for the Chief of the Year award. Commander Ryan Glew said during her tenure, Stewart led the department to fill vacancies, increase efforts to support officer mental wellness, and oversaw a full calendar year without a murder in Evanston, a feat not seen in Evanston since the 1970s, if not before, Glew said. Stewart, a native of Evanston's 5th Ward, began her career as a police officer with the Lincolnwood Police Department in 1999, and left that department as its deputy chief in 2021. Stewart then joined the East Dundee Police Department as its deputy chief, and left that department to be appointed as the first Black and female Chief of Police for Evanston in October 2022. 'I am obviously honored to receive this award. I've been fortunate to have great mentors, a supportive family, a strong supervisor, and a city manager who believed in me. Any success I've had is because of the people who poured into me. That's why I've never been big on awards—they often recognize one person, but not the many who helped along the way,' Stewart said in a statement to Pioneer Press. During Stewart's approximately 30 months as the department's chief, the department cut its vacancies from 26 to 11 by hiring 44 officers. Glew said the new hires are a mix of first-time officers and lateral hires from other departments, including the Chicago Police Department. Glew said the Evanston Police Department has some built-in advantages. For early career officers, Evanston can further an individual's career because it has a traffic unit, narcotics unit, detective bureau, juvenile investigations unit, and a problem-solving team unit, which not all police departments have. Evanston also can be enticing for Chicago officers who want a better work-life balance, want to ensure that they have days off, and won't have constant 12-hour shifts in the summer, Glew said. 'The chief has been a champion of officer wellness (and) setting up a culture in the department that we address (mental health),' Glew said. Under her leadership, the department has added civilian staff to receive annual wellness checks, which can be important for dispatchers who take emergency calls and affiliate staff who handle sensitive documents. Glew also credits Stewart for using information from computer data and from people off the street to make Evanston safer. In 2024, Evanston went the whole year without a murder. The last one was in April 2023. In August 2024, two shooting incidents occurred within 24 hours of each other in the vicinity of Dodge Avenue and Dempster Street, per police records. 'When we had those shootings, we were able to meet with the community almost immediately,' Glew said. 'Both those shootings were not connected with each other, but we were able to make arrests very quickly.' 'So you have traditional investigative police work, bringing arrests, closing those cases, and working closely with elected officials to get the information to community members and people who live in that area that they need,' Glew said. During Stewart's tenure as police chief, the department also rolled out its Transparency Hub, a free portal to data on crime, community engagement, workforce diversity, community programs and feedback. When asked if she had any new or future plans in the works, Stewart said, 'My plan is to keep the good momentum going. The department's accomplishments will need to be maintained and evolve, and that is my focus.' At the Cook County Commissioners meeting, Stewart thanked the county, as well as Evanston City Manager Luke Stowe and Evanston Police Department staff. Stewart said she accepted the award in honor of Oak Park Detective Allan Reddins, who was fatally shot in November 2024. In a news release from the city, Stowe said, 'We're incredibly proud of Chief Stewart and thankful to the Cook County Board of Commissioners for recognizing her accomplishments. Having her come back to lead the department in her hometown is a full-circle moment that truly shows her dedication to public service.'
