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Inmate mental health policy changes
Local courts now have authority to provide psychotropic medications in jails By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – A new law will end what a local legislator calls an “unproductive and expensive cycle” within the state’s criminal courts. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, will give local courts the authority to provide psychotropic medications to inmates who need them, should
they refuse medication. House Bill 2673 was signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner on July 29, and took effect immediately. In some cases, criminal defendants are determined to be psychologically incompetent to stand trial. In those instances, they are sent to an Illinois Department of Human Services facility, such as the Elgin Mental Health Center, for rehabilitation.
In the meantime, all criminal proceedings are halted until the inmate is restored to fitness. Once restored, the defendant is sent back to the local cir- Mike Tryon cuit courts to potentially stand trial and participate in their defense.
Adult ad website at center of debate
There are instances, Tryon said, when defendants refuse to take the medication prescribed to them and regress into a poor mental state, only to be returned to a DHS facility. The bill amended the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities code to add a provision allowing circuit courts to order that psychotropic medication be given to inmates.
Previously, they did not have this authority with all inmates. Administering medication against one’s consent would require a court hearing, Tryon said. “This has actually been a significant problem statewide,” Tryon said. “Prior to the signing of this bill, local inmates who are found unfit to stand trial are typically shipped off to state mental hospitals where mandated
medications can be administered. “Once the inmate is deemed fit, they are transferred back to a county jail, where medications cannot be forced, and they often quickly slip back to being unfit. It’s an unproductive and expensive cycle which benefits no one.” The new law passed without opposition in the House and Senate.
McHENRY COUNTY POLICE AND FIRE DISPATCHERS A ‘RARE BREED’
Backpage: Abettor of traffickers or way to stop them? By MARTHA IRVINE The Associated Press CHICAGO – The adult ads on Backpage.com are endless – written in a sort of risque code to avoid implying something illegal, yet still obvious invitations for sex, adorned with suggestive photos and videos. Many in the fight against sex trafficking loathe the website, particularly since some escorts in the ads have turned out to be minors who’ve been forced into the sex trade. An Illinois sheriff is among those targeting Backpage and recently helped convince Visa and Mastercard to stop providing payment services to the site. “Whoever it is that’s facilitating these horrible crimes, we can’t just sit back and say, ‘Well, that’s OK. I guess it’s a business model,’ ” said Tom Dart, the sheriff in Cook County, which includes Chicago. He spoke to The Associated Press the day before a judge issued a restraining order, preventing Dart from making further comment until a Backpage lawsuit against him – seeking a retraction of his statements to credit card companies and damages for lost revenue – is resolved. Meanwhile, Backpage, with headquarters in Dallas and a parent corporation in Amsterdam, has continued to operate, allowing users to place free basic ads in its adult category. Backpage attorneys, citing the First Amendment and federal statutes, argue a public figure shouldn’t be allowed to interfere with a law-abiding company’s ability to do e-commerce. Liz McDougall, general counsel, has long said Backpage simply provides space for the ads but doesn’t create the content. And she takes it a step further, claiming Backpage routinely works behind the scenes with law enforcement to help put traffickers
See WEBSITE, page A5
LOCAL NEWS
On The Record CL teen in Christian movie, on team to prevent teen pregnancy / A3
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Emergency dispatcher Jeremy Morris works the midnight to 8 a.m. shift Thursday at the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office in Woodstock. Morris was working the night Scott Peters ambushed police officers.
Emergency dispatcher reflects on Holiday Hills shooting By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Oct. 16, 2014, started out as a slow night for Jeremy Morris and Kelly Reid, dispatchers for the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office. That wasn’t unusual. The midnight shift they’re assigned to tends to work out that way: It’s either feast or famine. There weren’t many 911 calls to the dispatch center that night, so the co-workers were chit-chatting about nothing in particular. Nothing memorable, anyway. At 1:16 a.m., 28-year-old Morris, who had worked as a dispatcher for nearly eight years, answered
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the phone. It was an out-of-state caller requesting an officer check on his friend. Morris put the call out to officers. Deputies Dwight Maness, Khalia Satkiewicz and Eric Luna responded to Holiday Hills for a well-being check on a possible domestic incident. Nothing about the call was alarming. It was routine. “We’ve taken that call hundreds of times,” Morris said. A few minutes after the deputies arrived, over the scratchy radio, a breathless Satkiewicz yelled out: “Shots fired. Officer down. I’ve been hit.” Morris and Reid paused for a second, looking at each other in
blinking disbelief. “Did she just hear what I heard?” Morris recalled. The famine of a slow night suddenly turned to a feast – a feast they never wanted. The Holiday Hills homeowner, 53-year-old Scott B. Peters had fired more than a dozen rounds through his front door at the officers, injuring Maness and Satkiewicz. Luna returned fire and was uninjured. Peters then fled the scene, sparking a 16-hour manhunt and bringing an estimated 250 law enforcement officials to the area. Peters eventually was captured and charged with multiple counts of attempted murder of a police officer. A jury convicted Peters in
April, and a judge sentenced him to 135 years in prison. “It was the worst night possible,” Morris said. “It’s the worst call you’ll ever have to take. “Before it happened, there was always the possibility that this could happen. Now we know it can happen. It did happen. And it can happen again.” Morris and Reid switched into high gear – heart rate pumping, beads of sweat forming. They called for an ambulance and backup from nearby police departments, initiated a reverse 911 to notify neighboring residents, called up the SWAT team, notified superiors,
See DISPATCHER, page A6
It was the worst night possible. It’s the worst call you’ll ever have to take.” Jeremy Morris, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office emergency dispatcher who was working the night Holiday Hills resident Scott B. Peters shot and injured 2 deputies
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