The village of Tinley Park Public Safety Committee met Jan. 3 to amend the retail theft ordinance.
Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the committee:
Functions of the Public Safety Committee include: Overseeing matters of public safety, including police, fire and emergency management services Overseeing outsource services related to provision of public safety services (ambulance)
MINUTES Public Safety Committee January 3, 2017 at 7:15 pm Council Chambers at the Village of Tinley Park, 16250 S. Oak Park Avenue, Tinley Park, IL 60477
Members Present: T.J. Grady, Chair
J. Vandenberg, Village Trustee B. Younker, Village Trustee
Elected Officials Present: D. Seaman, Village President
B. Maher, Village Trustee M. Pannitto, Village Trustee
Staff Present: D. Niemeyer, Village Manager
S. Tilton, Assistant Village Manager B. Bettenhausen, Village Trustee P. Wallrich, Interim Community Development Director P. Connolly, Village Attorney S. Neubauer, Police Chief J. Urbanski, Assistant Public Works Director J. Prinz, Village Engineer B. Bennett, Commission Secretary
Item#1 – OPEN THE MEETING – The meeting of the Public Safety Committee was called to order at 7:15 pm.
Item #2 B CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON DECEMBER 6, 2016 Motion was made by Trustee Younker, seconded by Trustee Vandenberg, to approve the minutes of the Public Safety Committee Meeting held on December 6, 2016. Vote by voice call. Chairman Grady declared the motion carried.
Item #3 –DISCUSS AMENDMENT TO RETAIL THEFT ORDINANCE 131.25 – Police Chief, Steve Neubauer noted that recently arrangements were made to have all of the Village’s local ordinance violations heard at an administrative court. This would include ordinance violations for retail theft. The ordinance stipulates who is eligible to be charged under an ordinance for retail theft. One of those eligibility requirements of the ordinance is that the value of the property stolen should not exceed $50.00. The chief proposed changing the property value to $300 which comports the misdemeanor threshold under state law.
Additionally, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office sent a memo to all police chiefs advising that they would not prosecute a retail theft as a felony unless the value of the property was in excess of $1,000 per the policy of the cook County State’s Attorney. There is no such change in the policy of the Will County State’s Attorney. The current state law delineating the difference between a misdemeanor and felony is $300.
Chief Neubauer is requesting the Committee and Board approval to change the Retail Theft Ordinance 131.25 (B)(5) to reflect a change from $50 to $300. That means that an officer could charge a retail theft
suspect with a local ordinance if all the parameters of the ordinance were met, including the new change (that the property does not exceed $300 in value)
Attorney Connolly noted he would prepare the proper Ordinance if approved by the Board and will have it ready for 1st reading at the next meeting.
Motion was made by Trustee Vandenberg, seconded by Trustee Younker to amend the current Retail Theft Ordinance 131.25 to reflect a change from $50 to $300. Vote by voice. Chairman Grady declared the motion carried.
Item #4- RECEIVE COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC – None
ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Trustee Vandenberg, seconded by Trustee Maher, to adjourn the Public Safety Committee meeting held on January 3, 2017. Vote by voice call. Chairman Grady declared the motion carried and adjourned at 7:19 p.m.
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