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Illinois Voices for Reform
"Promoting Effective Laws for a Safer Community"
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Rethinking Public Registries
In 1996, Illinois implemented a conviction-based sex offender registry. Legislators have since passed laws restricting housing, employment, education, travel, loitering, and holiday activity, and delineating exclusion zones. They also established new public registries for murder, violent offenses against youth, meth manufacturing, arson, and animal abuse.
There are now 29,000 people listed on the public state sex offender registry. Approximately 1 in 227 men in Illinois is labeled a "sex offender.” The rate is about 1 in 100 for African-American men. The Department of Corrections currently incarcerates 1200 people past their release dates due to the lack of approved housing.
Yet, research indicates that public registries and residency restrictions do not improve public safety, and have serious unintended consequences. Furthermore, the reciprocal connections between registration and poverty, racism, and disability have been unexplored, and the impact of social exclusion unaddressed. Current laws tend to stigmatize and debilitate families, and make it difficult for service providers to address re-entry, unemployment, homelessness, mental health treatment and other collateral consequences.
There are now 29,000 people listed on the public state sex offender registry. Approximately 1 in 227 men in Illinois is labeled a "sex offender.” The rate is about 1 in 100 for African-American men. The Department of Corrections currently incarcerates 1200 people past their release dates due to the lack of approved housing.
Yet, research indicates that public registries and residency restrictions do not improve public safety, and have serious unintended consequences. Furthermore, the reciprocal connections between registration and poverty, racism, and disability have been unexplored, and the impact of social exclusion unaddressed. Current laws tend to stigmatize and debilitate families, and make it difficult for service providers to address re-entry, unemployment, homelessness, mental health treatment and other collateral consequences.
Legislative Efforts
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Legal Efforts
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Illinois Voices supports laws that make sense, that are based on empirical evidence, and that are constitutional. We encourage lawmakers to pass laws that will actually protect society, and we oppose laws based on knee-jerk reaction. We support the current task force that is studying the patch-work set of laws in Illinois, and hope that lawmakers will take their report seriously. Visit our Legislation page to learn more about what Illinois Voices is doing.
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In Illinois, laws are sometimes passed that simply do not meet constitutional muster. It is incumbent on the people to challenge these laws and require that all legislation comport to the protections guaranteed under both the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois Constitution. Illinois Voices is proud to work with civil rights attorneys to challenge laws that we believe are unconstitutional. Details of our legal efforts can be found on our Legal page.
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