IL SB1851

Creates the Emergency Co-Response Grant Act establishing a grant program through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to fund law enforcement departments in creating or maintaining co-response units that pair officers with clinicians or trained civilians for behavioral health crisis calls

Defines co-response units as specially trained de-escalation teams with at least one law enforcement officer and one clinician or trained civilian dispatched to emergency calls involving likely behavioral health crises

Establishes the Emergency Co-Response Grant Fund to cover planning, implementation, staffing, facilities, operational costs, training, evaluation, and up to 50% of salaries for social workers or behavioral/mental health staff

Targets communities with histories of racial profiling, law enforcement violence, or service gaps, as well as vulnerable populations including people of color, elderly, disabled, unhoused, those facing mental health crises, and others subject to disproportionate police contact

Requires grant recipients to submit reports between July 1, 2031 and January 1, 2032 documenting fiscal savings, populations served, and policy recommendations; the Act repeals on January 1, 2033