News September 2004

Murder boosts Statehouse security concerns

The fatal shooting of an unarmed security guard will alter the balance between access and security at the state Capitol.

"There has been an ongoing discussion here that actually preceded September 11, (2001) regarding the question of access to the Capitol and security for the people who work in and around the Capitol as well as all the citizens of our state and other states who visit the state Capitol," Gov. Rod Blagojevich says. "That debate is now over."

On September 21, the day after guard William Wozniak, 51, was murdered, the governor penned an executive order authorizing the use of metal detectors in the Capitol and surrounding state offices in Springfield. There was never a prohibition against the use of metal detectors, but the General Assembly had been unwilling to pay for the equipment.

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Secretary of State Jesse White, who manages the Capitol complex and its security force, first pushed for metal detectors in June 2001. White says conversations with House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones following the shooting yielded support for metal detectors and accompanying state funding. The governor said the state will purchase metal detectors as soon as possible, and may be able to finance them with federal homeland security dollars.

Given the nature of the attack, state officials say, they must also consider other security options, including arming the security guards, providing bullet-proof vests, adding more surveillance cameras and increasing staff.

The shooter was just inside the Capitol's north entrance when he fired the shotgun blast that killed Wozniak.

Derek Potts, a 24-year-old former University of Illinois at Springfield student, has been charged with the crime. Potts' mother told the Chicago Tribune that he has been diagnosed with mental illness, including schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. He was apprehended in Springfield approximately 18 hours after the shooting. Potts, a native of Olney in southeastern Illinois, dropped his classes the week before the shooting, around the same time police believe he stole a shotgun from a Springfield Army surplus store.

While Capitol security guards are not armed, the secretary of state also employs an armed police force. Following the attack, armed officers have been stationed at Capitol entrances and surrounding parking lots, as was temporarily the case following the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York city and Washington, D.C.

Blagojevich and White will ask the legislature for the funds needed to arm Capitol security guards, purchase body armor and other possible measures in the fall session.  The governor said he might call lawmakers to Springfield before their scheduled November term.

Blagojevich also has requested the help of consultants who worked with the

U.S. Capitol Police after a 1998 shooting that killed two officers there. They also will turn their attention to the James. R. Thompson Center, the Chicago center of state government.

Kae Warnock, a statehouse security expert for the National Conference of State Legislatures, says the attack here in Illinois is the first state Capitol shooting she has heard of in her 18 years on the job. However, in 2001, a man rammed a semi loaded with evaporated milk into the California Capitol at more than 50 mph, causing an explosion that scorched the building.

Warnock conducted a 2002 statehouse security study that showed 17 state capitols were equipped with metal detectors. Missouri has since removed its metal detectors. Illinois was among 29 states that use barriers or bollards to restrict vehicle access. It was also among 28 states that restrict public access to their Capitols. The public is required to show photo I.D. and sign a guest log.

Pat Guinane
Illinois Issues, September 23, 2004