Dupage Policy Journal

Illinois state Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) has unequivocally gone up to bat for legislation that would make violence on police officers a Class 3 felony hate crime.

“We all should be supporting this,” Grant told the DuPage Policy Journal. “People that attack officers are committing hate crimes. I don't know what factors would go into distinguishing what is a hate crime in this legislation, but I know we shouldn’t be attacking officers. You don’t attack people that protect you.”

With the number of attacks on police officers on the rise across the country, Washington News Post reported, Grant dismissed claims by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) charging that data shows enhancing a penalty for a crime doesn't reduce the rate of that crime.

“Anywhere you go, if you increase the penalty it reduces the crime,” she said. “If the penalty is harsher, the message gets out about not committing the crime. I say if any department has harsh penalties, people committing crime may definitely think twice.”

In sponsoring the bill, according to Illinois News Today, state Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) points to a July 2020 episode in Grant Park, where upwards of 1,000 people rushed the Christopher Columbus statue in an attempt to overthrow it, as an example that the legislation is needed. Moylan’s bill also asks for $100 million for modernize police departments throughout Illinois.

“The fact of the matter is, we need to be doing whatever we can do to protect our officers that are protecting us,” Grant added.