JOLIET – The Will County Board continued their drive to modernize operations in the County today by moving forward on a plan for a major overhaul of the computer systems for the State’s Attorney and other judicial stakeholders. The new infrastructure improvements are estimated to cost $654,000. These enhancements are necessary to handle the increased capacity needs especially as law enforcement agencies begin to implement new state requirements that all officers wear body cameras. The Executive Committee voted to bring the plan before the entire County Board at their July board meeting.
The move follows years of Board investment in hard and soft IT infrastructure which has included the construction of a new purpose-built 911 dispatch center and Public Safety Complex, new Emergency Management facility, Health Department and state of the art Courthouse.
“Our county continues to grow and the technology that is required to meet the needs of our residents continues to evolve,” said Will County Board Speaker Mimi Cowan (Naperville). “All of our Sheriff’s officers are now required under Illinois law to wear body cameras, and their interface with the State’s Attorney requires more advanced technology than we currently have.”
The move follows years of Board investment in hard and soft IT infrastructure which has included the construction of a new purpose-built 911 dispatch center and Public Safety Complex, new Emergency Management facility, Health Department and state of the art Courthouse.
“Our county continues to grow and the technology that is required to meet the needs of our residents continues to evolve,” said Will County Board Speaker Mimi Cowan (Naperville). “All of our Sheriff’s officers are now required under Illinois law to wear body cameras, and their interface with the State’s Attorney requires more advanced technology than we currently have.”
The Board’s actions are tied to legislation that the General Assembly passed during the spring legislative session this year. Among other things, the new criminal justice bill requires the use of body cameras by all law enforcement officers. While some Will County Sheriff’s officers have been using body cameras for several years, their use will increase under the new law. The large video files must be shared with the State’s Attorney, and technology upgrades are needed to handle the transfer of high volumes of sensitive material. Those sensitive files also require enhanced security protections.
“The technological needs of our law enforcement will continue to grow and become more complex,” said Will County Board Ad Hoc IT Assessment Committee Chair Judy Ogalla (Monee). “We have an obligation to ensure that our Sheriff’s department and State’s Attorney have the technology they need to do their jobs and deliver justice for the people of Will County.”
This item will move to the full County Board meeting on July 15th for final action.
“The technological needs of our law enforcement will continue to grow and become more complex,” said Will County Board Ad Hoc IT Assessment Committee Chair Judy Ogalla (Monee). “We have an obligation to ensure that our Sheriff’s department and State’s Attorney have the technology they need to do their jobs and deliver justice for the people of Will County.”
This item will move to the full County Board meeting on July 15th for final action.
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