Stephenson County committee approves agenda, minutes and claims; sheriff warns new protective-order law will affect operations

The Stephenson County committee approved its meeting agenda, minutes from Jan. 7, 2025, and payment claims, and received operational reports from the sheriff’s office, emergency management and the county coroner.

Sheriff’s Office representative said a recently signed law — referred to in the meeting as “Corina’s law” (also spoken as “Katrina’s law”) — will change how the county handles weapons in protective-order cases. “Katrina’s law is an order of protection that a judge will also sign a search warrant at the same time if the offender has weapons in the house,” the sheriff’s office representative said, adding that officers would have “96 hours to go and collect those weapons.” The representative said the new process will likely increase overtime and that the county’s current evidence storage could fill quickly in cases involving multiple firearms or collector’s collections.

The sheriff’s office update also said hiring is underway: five deputies are in the process of training at three…