Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Civil Rights

Joliet Investigation

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced on September 8, 2021 that he opened a civil investigation into the Joliet Police Department (JPD). The civil investigation follows requests made by the Joliet mayor and members of the Joliet City Council. The investigation will assess whether JPD engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing.

The Attorney General's Office has jurisdiction to focus on broad, systemic problems with law enforcement agencies (called “patterns or practices”) rather than individual incidents of potential police misconduct.

The Attorney General's office will take specific incidents into account during the investigation. The investigation's questions, findings and conclusions will be focused on whether systemic problems exist within the Joliet Police Department.

Career attorneys in the office's Civil Rights and Special Litigation Bureaus will carry out the investigation, with assistance from experienced law enforcement, legal, and data experts. Attorney General's Office staff will also seek input from all areas of the Joliet community.

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In the Community

The investigation of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office is ongoing. If you would like to partner with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to host a listening session on policing in Joliet, please email input.joliet@ilag.gov.

Watch this space for information about meetings and events. To be added to the email distribution list for future events, please email special.events@ilag.gov.

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