State plans changes in security
By KATE CLEMENTS
© 2004 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online September 22, 2004
Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Secretary of State Jesse White are preparing to install metal detectors and making plans to beef up security at the Capitol complex in Springfield in the wake of Monday's fatal shooting of an unarmed guard.
Blagojevich issued an executive order on Tuesday calling for the metal detectors and said he intends to hire a security consultant from the U.S. Capitol to help determine what other changes are needed at the Illinois Capitol.
"We want to bring in their knowledgeable people to consult with us and to make sure what we do here makes sense to first and foremost bring security to the state Capitol complex, but do it in such a way that again is sensitive to the rights of our citizens to have access to their government and walk the halls of their government," Blagojevich said.
A number of armed Secretary of State Police officers have been stationed in and around the Capitol complex since the shooting, and the stepped-up patrols will remain until further notice, said Secretary of State Police Director Brad Demuzio.
Prior to the shooting, the Capitol doors were manned by unarmed guards, and wand-style metal detectors were available but rarely used. No airport-style walk-through metal detectors were ever installed at the doors, and guards did not have bulletproof vests.
That's about to change, White said.
"We are looking forward to putting metal detectors in place, making sure that our guards are trained, that they have guns, that we have cameras in place so that this complex will remain secure," he said.
White and Blagojevich said they hope to use Homeland Security funds to pay for some of the security measures they are considering, but left open the possibility that a special session will be called to ask the General Assembly for additional spending authority.
"There's no need to wait," Blagojevich said. "There's an urgency to get this done."
House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones have already pledged their cooperation, White said.
White, who has been calling for metal detectors at the Capitol since before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said they may not have prevented the tragic death of 51-year-old security guard William Wozniak, but are an important tool nonetheless.
White said body armor might have protected Wozniak from the fatal shot to the chest, but Blagojevich said perhaps only arming the Secretary of State guards would have made a difference.
Wozniak was shot once just inside the North door of the statehouse on Monday afternoon by an apparent stranger who then quickly drove away. Springfield Police arrested 24-year-old Derek W. Potts early Tuesday morning in connection with the incident. He is charged with first-degree murder, burglary, aggravated discharge of a firearm and possession of a gun without a FOID card.
Potts, who has allegedly been linked to a shotgun theft last week at a Springfield military surplus store and an attempted armed robbery at the same store shortly before Monday's Capitol shooting, is being held on $20 million bond and a preliminary hearing has been set for Oct. 7.
Capitol security has been a subject of debate in Illinois and other states for years, particularly since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and security measures vary widely.
States added lots of new security measures immediately after Sept. 11, but many scaled them back after conducting a full evaluation of their security needs, said Kae Warnock, an expert with the National Conference of State Legislatures.
"They each evaluate it separately to make that decision," she said.
Some factors that states consider include size and demographics of the population in the capital city, cost, and the importance of public access, Warnock said. It takes a lot of money to get enough staff and equipment to allow people to get into the building quickly enough that they don't feel inhibited or somehow barred from the political process, she said. At the same time, states are facing unprecedented budget problems.
"Those are tough calls, there's no way around it," Warnock said.
In Virginia and South Carolina, capitol access is limited to just one public entrance guarded by police officers, and visitors must pass through metal detectors and have their bags X-rayed before they are allowed inside. In contrast, the public has free access to all four sides of the Nebraska Capitol, and there are no metal detectors or armed guards. The West Virgina Capitol complex is watched inside and out by surveillance cameras, but all entry doors are unlocked and without checkpoints during business hours.
Warnock said Florida has some of the tightest Capitol security in the nation, perhaps in part because they have president's brother to protect.
Tom Berliner, chief media spokesman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said visitors entering the main door of the Capitol or the attached House and Senate office buildings in that state must pass through a metal detector manned by two uniformed, armed, sworn police officers and their bags must go on a conveyor belt to be X-rayed.
If something sets off the metal detectors or otherwise arouses suspicion, police can use handheld metal detectors or call in trained dogs to sniff out drugs, bombs or guns, Berliner said. An array of electronic monitoring devices is also in place, but he said he was not at liberty to discuss them in further detail.
"Our Capitol police force by and large is probably better trained than many of the small police forces in the state, because they are constantly being trained and are prepared for any types of incidents that might happen," Berliner said.
Missouri Capitol Police Chief Todd Hurt said metal detectors are available there, but are only set up and used when there is a specific threat or on special occasions, such as a visit by a presidential candidate, he said. The Missouri Capitol Police are armed and they are issued body armor, but wearing it is left to the officers' discretion under normal circumstances, Hurt said.
Vehicular access to the Capitol has been restricted since the 1994 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, he said.
The Indiana State Police have a special unit to patrol the Capitol complex in that state, and those officers are armed and have been issued body armor to wear if they choose, said Indiana State Police Capt. Pat O'Connor. They are not stationed specifically at entrances, but are constantly patrolling, he said. During normal business hours there are five or six public entrances, but at night and on weekends entry is limited to a single door.
The Minnesota Capitol building has more than 20 entrances, but since Sept. 11, 2001, only four or five doors remain open to the public. The others are restricted through key card devices, said Kevin Smith, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
The Minnesota Capitol has surveillance cameras, but there are no metal detectors or armed guards at the main doors. Armed state troopers and unarmed Capitol security officers patrol the building and the grounds, but they are not paired up and body armor is optional, according to Smith. Security officers are posted at the doors to the House and Senate when the Legislature is in session, he said.
Commissioned officers who are permitted to carry weapons are common in most state Capitols, Warnock said.
"There are varying levels of security around the country, and certainly there are a number of capitols that are pretty open, but even in the capitols that are fairly open I think they do have capitol police officers keeping an eye on things," she said.
You can reach Kate Clements at (217) 782-2486 or via e-mail at
[email protected].
