OPENING SESSION
Welcome/ILEAS Update
Executive Director Larry Evans
Guest Speaker - Illinois State Police
Director Brendan Kelly
Nashville - A Community Forever Changed: The March 27, 2023 Response
Deputy Chief Dayton Wheeler
Time: 9:00am - 11:45am (Sapphire/Diamond Ballroom)
Following the ILEAS Update, Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly will discuss the challenges we face both financially and tactically and the importance of ILEAS’ continued cooperation.
The second half of the morning will feature a presentation on the active school shooter incident in Nashville in 2023. This tragic event resulted in the loss of six innocent lives and profoundly impacted the city. The session will explore the response by Metro Nashville Police Department and the Nashville Fire Department, as well as the lasting effects on the community and the departments involved. This presentation will highlight the coordination between the two departments and the key takeaways intended to inform future responses.
GENERAL SESSION
Officer Decertification: Before and After the SAFE-T Act
Patrick Hahn
Time: 1:15pm - 2:15pm (Emerald/Ruby Ballroom)
The session will provide a detailed overview of the changes to the Illinois Police Training Act as amended by the SAFE-T Act, with a specific focus on officer misconduct and the statewide decertification process. Topics will include best practices, reporting requirements, forms, policies and procedures.
GENERAL SESSION
Karina’s Law
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser
Time: 2:15pm - 3:15pm (Emerald/Ruby Ballroom)
Karina’s Law became effective on May 11, 2025. The law changed both Criminal and Civil Orders of Protection allowing Judges to take guns away from Respondents in an emergency, interim or plenary order of protection. It also allows for search warrants to be issued through the Protective Order to direct police to seize guns from the Respondent’s home or other property. This presentation will cover why the law was put into effect and will detail the changes to the former Order of Protection Process.
BANQUET
Dan Hampton
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm (Sapphire/Diamond Ballroom)
Following dinner, we welcome guest speaker Dan Hampton! Dan is a Hall of Fame defensive tackle who spent 12 seasons (1979-1990) playing for the Chicago Bears, and was a member of the legendary 1985 team that won Super Bowl XX. During his career, Hampton was a four-time Pro Bowl pick, four-time first team All-Pro and two-time second team All-Pro.
GENERAL SESSION
Extremism in Youth: The Rise of Nihilistic Violent Extremism
Special Agent Jake Griffin
Time: 9:00am - 10:00am (Emerald/Ruby Ballroom)
This presentation will describe the global threat of “Nihilistic Violent Extremism” (NVE) and the impact it has had in the United States, to include the central and southern Illinois area. NVE groups focus recruitment efforts on children and teenagers through online platforms, using certain recruitment methods to introduce them to their ideology with a focus on radicalizing and eventually mobilizing them to violence. The session will provide an overview on the history of NVE ideology, current NVE groups, recruitment methods, and how to identify those who may be in these groups. Also included will be miscellaneous information that both sworn and non-sworn individuals need to know about investigations into these groups and how they can assist.
GENERAL SESSION
Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center Update
Aaron Kustermann
Time: 10:00am - 11:00am (Emerald/Ruby Ballroom)
This intelligence briefing will cover current threats facing public safety and law enforcement in Illinois. The presentation will also provide an overview of national and international events and their potential impacts to Illinois, as well as a forecasting of events and challenges public safety could face in the future.
CLOSING SESSION
Las Vegas 2017 - The Route 91 Harvest Music Festival Mass Shooting
Deputy Chief Nicholas Farese
Time: 11:15am - 2:00pm (Sapphrie/Diamond Ballroom)
A lunch break is included during this presentation
This presentation will offer an overview of the series of events that occurred at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas in October 2017, including officer response, communication, unified command, suspectology, follow up investigations, and victim unification. Body camera and surveillance footage will be shared as well as real time audio from 911 calls and radio traffic of the response. Deputy Chief Farese will incorporate lessons learned and how their department has used those for more recent responses to active assailants.