Peoria Standard

Peoria County Board - Public Safety & Justice Committee met July 29.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Attendance

Present:

Members: Member Groves Allison, Member Phelan, Member Bryant, Member Daley, Member Elsasser, Member Reneau, Member Rieker, Member Rosenbohm, Member Williams

Staff & Guests:

Scott Sorrel, Shauna Musselman, Jennie Cordis Boswell, Betty Duncan, Camille Coates, Dan Kelch, Julie Kusturin, Terry Ruhland, Jessica Durbin, Scott Mettille, Gretchen Pearsall, Ashley Campbell, Megan Bentley,

Absent:

Members: Member Elsasser, Member Williams

1. CALL TO ORDER

1.1 Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Groves Allison at 2:37 pm.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

2.1 June 3, 2025

A motion to approve the Public Safety and Justice Committee meeting minutes from June 3, 2025 was made by Member Daley and was seconded by Member Reneau.

Motion Carried. (9-0)

Absent: Member Williams

3. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS / REPORTS / OTHER MINUTES / UPDATES

3.1 ETSB

Ms. Noe advised that the two dispatch centers, Peoria and Bartonville, are running well with no issues. She stated that Stark County is 99% complete and everything is running well. She further stated they are in the process of finishing the grants. She stood for questions.

Chairperson Allison asked if they were having staffing issues.

Ms. Noe advised that staffing is a little better, but they are still not up to capacity. She stated that the Bartonville dispatch center has been short one dispatcher for several years. They have hired six new dispatchers for the Peoria dispatch center.

Member Rosenbohm asked if the staffing issues are related to pay.

Ms. Noe advised that she does not do the hiring, but her opinion is that it is because it is a difficult job, and once they get there and get involved, they realize it isn’t what they want.

3.2 Public Defender

Mr. Lowe advised that he has been appointed to the OSAD Board of Commissioners (Office of the State Appellate Defenders) as a representative, representing the 4th appellate district. He stated they meet twice a year, and this will not impact his work. He provided statistics from his department, including staffing and cases. He stood for questions.

Member Rieker thanked Mr. Lowe and commented that this gives the committee and the public more insight into what’s happening in his office and the service he is providing.

3.3 PCAPS Monthly Update

Ms. Spencer directed the committee to the report provided in the packet. She highlighted trap-neuter-vaccinate-return cat rates. She stated they are averaging about 20 per month. She stated they are excited to do a mass trapping project where they will stake out a trailer park and attempt to trap approximately 15 cats all at once. This will take place in the first week of August. She stood for questions. There were none.

3.4 Court Services Update

Mr. Brown provided metrics on the three divisions that he oversees: Adult Probation, Juvenile Probation, and the Juvenile Detention Center. He welcomed any suggestions from the committee for different metrics or data that they would find useful. He advised that they have reached a tentative agreement with AFSCME Judicial unit on a 3-year deal with annual increases of 4.5%/4%/4%. He stated they were successful in negotiating some language that benefits them and time off parameters that they hope will reduce overtime expenses. He stood for questions; there were none.

Chairperson Groves Allison asked Mr. Brown to provide an update on the status of the problem-solving courts.

Ms. Durbin advised that they received official notice from the DOJ (Department of Justice) approving the reallocation of funds from the health department to the problem-solving courts. She stated that, in addition to that, an 18-month extension was approved, which allows for the opportunity to start the program knowing there is some sustainability behind it. She further stated that All Rise, the national conference and association that oversees problem-solving courts, has a particular track and subject matter experts for juvenile problem-solving courts; they are currently in collaboration with the Peoria Police Department, working to have them come in and provide implementation training. She also stated that they will be collaborating with Trillium Place and FamilyCore.

4. RESOLUTIONS

4.1 PCAPS Whitney Foundation Donation

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Phelan and was seconded by Member Reneau.

Ms. Spencer advised that in April, Dr. Whitney passed away, and as part of that, the Whitney Foundation wrote a check for $2000.00 from the foundation in memory of Dr. Whitney. She stated they would like to use the donation to help expand their foster program. This program helps to keep the kittens and puppies out of the shelter. She stated they like to provide supplies to the foster homes. This would expand the foster program to about 15-20 more foster homes.

Motion Carried. (7-0)

Absent: Member Elsasser, Member Williams

4.2 PCAPS ASPCA Grant

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Phelan and was seconded by Member Reneau.

Ms. Spencer advised that PCAPS was chosen to be a part of the Rescue Effect Campaign. This is the ASPCA’s way of talking about the positive effects that happen when just one person touches a shelter. She stated that as part of this message, they have asked PCAPS to host several fee-waived adoption events; there will be one at the end of the month in August, September, and October, and will be one week long. The revenue will be collected from the grant instead of from the adopters. She further stated that another part of the grant will help them build a finder to foster program.

Chairperson Groves Allison called for questions from the committee; there were none.

Motion Carried. (7-0)

Absent: Member Elsasser, Member Williams

4.3 Approval of Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) for Peoria County Sheriff A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Phelan and was seconded by Member Daley.

Mr. Sorrel advised that under state statute, the general assembly, through the state budget process, sets the salary for the State’s Attorneys and any cost-of-living adjustments that are made. The statute also says the sheriff shall be paid at least 80% of the State’s Attorney's compensation as part of the state budget process. He stated that there is a 6.1% cost-of-living adjustment for the State’s Attorney, so this resolution will make the same adjustment to the sheriff’s salary. He stated this will also increase the reimbursement that we receive from the state.

Member Rieker asked if any comparables were done for this.

Mr. Sorrel advised that before the state law was changed and the Board set the sheriff’s salary, the sheriff was compensated at a high level compared to our peers geographically, so in similar-sized counties in central Illinois, we never considered fair comparables in large counties up north because of their size and population. He stated we have not conducted any analysis to compare where the sheriff is in comparison to other counties.

Member Rieker commented that what we would be looking at is whether anyone is doing more than the minimum.

Mr. Sorrel confirmed. He advised that because the State’s Attorney’s salary is set specifically by the general assembly, we have never done an analysis of that position. Since we have never done an analysis, we do not even know if every State’s Attorney is paid the exact same, if it is similar to how the County Engineer program is structured, or whether there is a formula. He stated he is not aware of any county going over and above the 80%.

Motion Carried. (7-0)

Absent: Member Elsasser, Member Williams

4.4 Medicated Assisted Treatment/Medicated Assisted Recovery-Oriented Environment Discretionary Grant

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Phelan and was seconded by Member Reneau.

Ms. Campbell advised that they were recently awarded a $10,000.00 grant to create a pod that is specified for facilitating a great environment for rehabilitation. The grant would be utilized to purchase educational materials and commodity supplies. The request would then be to appropriate $10,000.00 revenue into this year’s budget as well as the expenditure.

Chairperson Groves Allison called for questions from the committee.

Motion Carried. (7-0)

Absent: Member Elsasser, Member Williams

5. DISCUSSION

6. PUBLIC COMMENT

6.1 Public Comment

Chairperson Groves Allison called for public comment. There were none.

7. MISCELLANEOUS

7.1 Miscellaneous

Chairperson Groves Allison called for miscellaneous comments. There were none.

8. ADJOURNMENT

8.1 Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by Chairperson Groves Allison at 3:33 pm.

https://www.peoriacounty.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08262025-1803