Peoria Standard

Sen. Win Stoller (R-Germantown Hills) is opposed to the new police reform bill that passed both the House and the Senate in January.

“What we just witnessed in the middle of the night is not the way democracy is supposed to work,” Stoller said in a statement. “Nearly 800 pages of new language landed on our desks and within an hour we voted on it at 4:48 am.”

Stoller said the bill needed more time to be analyzed

“If this bill was a good bill now, it would have been a good bill in a couple months after senators and the public had a chance to analyze it,” Stoller said. “It is absolutely shameful that the majority arrogantly rushed this through without any time for thorough consideration.”

Legislators feel the rush in passing the bill will result in loss of trust.

"The Democrats' decision to push this major piece of legislation through the General Assembly without giving us or the public a chance to thoroughly review it is wrong." Strollers wrote in the same statement. "These shady tactics are the reason why Illinoisans have no faith in their lawmakers or the legislative process. Lawmakers must stop playing these games if we ever want to gain the public’s trust again."

The bill, which has over 700 pages, was sent to House representatives with less than an hour before decision making, leaving lawmakers with no time to review and deliberate.

HB 3653 was approved by the Senate in a 32 to 23 vote and now awaits consideration by the House.