DOWNTOWN — A report Wednesday criticized a controversial police practice of seizing money and property from suspects — sometimes without charges even being filed.
According to the ACLU report "Protected: Asset Forfeiture in Illinois," issued jointly with the Illinois Policy Institute, Chicago Police led all Illinois law enforcement agencies by seizing $80 million from 2005 to 2015. Even the State Police came in second at $58 million.
The little-known practice raised eyebrows this fall after the publication of a Reader article stating that Chicago Police had claimed $72 million in confiscated cash and assets since 2009. According to the Reader, the Police Department kept $47 million of that and distributed $18 million to the Cook County state's attorney and $7.2 million to State Police, as required by law. The Police Department has spent $25 million of its portion since 2010, the article stated.
Ald. Edward Burke (14th) called it "an off-the-books stream of income" and "a ready source of funds," and suggested it could pay for combat medical kits the City Council approved for police officers trained in their use.
According to the ACLU-Illinois Policy Institute report, police across the state seized more than $319 million from citizens over the 10-year period it analyzed.
In August, USA Today reported that federal authorities had seized $30 million in suspected drug cash at O'Hare and Midway airports since 2006.
In written statements, officials with both the liberal-leaning ACLU and conservative Illinois Policy Institute criticized the practice.
"Asset forfeiture in Illinois has become policing for profit,” said Ben Ruddell, criminal justice policy attorney at the ACLU and co-author of the report. "Without meaningful reform that insures transparency, this system will continue to take millions of dollars in property from people without true justice."
"Illinois laws shouldn't let the government permanently take property from a person who has never been convicted or even charged with a crime.” said Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute. "Innocent people shouldn't have to live under the fear of this system. It's not fair."
According to the ACLU, "Asset forfeiture is the permanent confiscation of private property by law enforcement agencies. Under current Illinois and federal law, [they] can take cash, land, vehicles and other property they suspect is involved in illegal activity. But those laws do not require that someone is convicted — or even charged — with a crime in order to lose their property permanently."
Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said he hadn't seen the report and couldn't comment on it. Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Press Office did not respond to requests for comment.
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