Rockford starts search for Civilian Oversight Board members

February 15, 2022|By Kevin Haas|In Local, Rockford, Top Stories
From news release
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The city is now accepting applications to serve on the newly formed Civilian Oversight Board.

“The board, which will be made up of seven Rockford residents reflective of our community, will review the completed internal investigation of citizen complaints and certain use of force incidents,” the city said Tuesday in a news release. “The board will be tasked with working with the Rockford Police Department, the mayor and City Council to identify areas for improvement and offer solutions in order to continue building trust between the police department and the community.”

Related: ‘Our citizens can be objective’: How McNamara will select new Civilian Oversight Board members

Mayor Tom McNamara is responsible for selecting the members of the committee, who all must be approved by the City Council. He said earlier this year that it would be a monthslong process to select, vet and then train the members of the board.

Applications are being accepted until April 15. To apply, send a resume and a statement of no more than 600 words addressing how you think this board can improve the city, why you want to be appointed and how your service will enhance the board.

More news: McNamara pushes for Illinois to increase share of income tax it sends to cities

Applications should be delivered in person or vial mail to the Mayor’s Office, City of Rockford, 425 East State St. , Rockford, IL 61104. You can also email CivilianOversight@rockfordil.gov.

For more information, visit here.

Expectations of board members

Here are the expectations the city laid out for serving on the board.

  • Members must commit to fair, unbiased and impartial review to ensure that all parties involved, including the community, have confidence in the process.
  • Members will undergo rigorous training to become knowledgeable on topics that will be critical in case reviews.
  • Members must commit to spending several hours each month to train, review cases and attend board meetings.

Qualifications of board members

Here are the qualifications the city says board members must have.

  • All members, at the time of their appointment and during their service, shall reside within the corporate boundaries of the city of Rockford.
  • No member shall serve more than two full three-year terms.
  • No member shall be a current peace officer or have an immediate family member or household member employed as a peace officer. A former peace officer or immediate family member may serve if said officer resigned or retired in good standing and has not been employed as an officer for at least 10 years.
  • No member shall presently serve as an elected officer or employee of the city.
  • No person convicted of a criminal or misdemeanor charge of domestic or sexual violence, violation of a civil no contact order, stalking, or violation of an order of protection shall serve on the board.
  • No attorney actively engaged in criminal defense or prosecution or defense of litigation brought pursuant to 42 USC §1983 and involving governmental entities shall serve on the board.
  • No person convicted of a forcible felony shall serve on the board, unless said person has had no new criminal convictions for at least 10 years following the expiration of his/her mandatory supervised release. However, no person convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnaping, kidnaping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement or any similar offense in any other jurisdiction shall serve on the board.
  • No person convicted of a crime of dishonesty within the last 10 years shall serve on the board.
  • No person who has failed to complete the training required in subsection E in Sec.13-70 serve on the board.
  • No person who is ineligible by federal or state law or rule to have access to law enforcement data required for use by the board.