Politics & Government

State Rep. DeLuca Nabs $100,000 for South Suburban Police

The funding comes in the form of a grant being included in next year's state budget.

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca has acquired new state funding for the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force.

DeLuca said he convinced state legislatures to restore funding to the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force through a $100,000 grant being included in the Fiscal Year 2013 state budget.

"As a member of the House Appropriations-Public Safety Committee, earlier this year I was able to successfully make the case for the restoration of state funding for this vital law enforcement organization, while my colleagues and I were making decisions about spending priorities," DeLuca in a press release.

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Created by the South Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police in 2000, the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force facilitates cooperation and communication between South Suburban law enforcement agencies. It has investigated more than 300 homicides with a 70 to 75 percent clearance rate, according to DeLuca's office.

 "It is my hope that this funding will be released quickly so that the SSMCTF will once again have the resources it needs to help local, state and federal law enforcement work together to investigate major crimes," said Tim McCarthy, Orland Park Police Chief and Chairman of the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force. McCarthy thanked, DeLuca for making the restoration a reality in his statement.

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Former Chicago Heights Police Chief Michael Camilli spoke to the importance of the task force.

 "I know the important role the SSMCTF has played in coordinating Southland law enforcement agencies over the past decade and it's hard to imagine those agencies being as successful at investigating and solving these very troubling crimes without it," said Camilli, who is also a board member of the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force Board of Directors. 

For more information, contact DeLuca's Chicago Heights office at (708) 754-7900.

—Story by Christopher Paicely


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