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Task Force News
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Sex Offenses & Offender Registration Task Force
Illinois Voices is supporting the Sex Offenses and Offender Registration Task Force that began meeting in December, 2016. The task force is being organized by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), and is being chaired by Rep. Elgie Sims, Jr. The group is made up of people representing a variety of interests, including law enforcement, treatment providers, victim’s advocates, lawmakers, and criminal justice reform organizations. More information and updates on the task force can be found on the Task Force's Office Website.
Illinois Voices is supporting the Sex Offenses and Offender Registration Task Force that began meeting in December, 2016. The task force is being organized by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), and is being chaired by Rep. Elgie Sims, Jr. The group is made up of people representing a variety of interests, including law enforcement, treatment providers, victim’s advocates, lawmakers, and criminal justice reform organizations. More information and updates on the task force can be found on the Task Force's Office Website.
Task Force Recommendations
On December 6, the Illinois Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration Task Force met and voted on which recommendations would be included in its final report to be delivered to the General Assembly in January. A number of changes were proposed at the meeting, and we waited until we received a written copy of the revisions before sending an email to our supporters.
In the end, the Task Force is making 14 recommendations. Since the report is not yet final or published, we will not list those recommendations here, as it is possible they could undergo some minor revisions before the final report comes out. However, we will summarize the recommendations briefly.
First, the Task Force is recommending that the Sex Offender Management Board, or SOMB, be strengthened and funded, and that the SOMB be responsible for making on-going recommendations to lawmakers regarding future legislation. The idea is that the SOMB would study the available evidence and become the experts who drive policy.
Next, the Task Force is recommending that treatment and registration be based on risk as determined by structured risk assessment tools. Currently, registration requirements (including length of time on the registry) are based on the offense for which an individual was convicted. The Task Force is recommending that individualized risk assessments be used instead. Along with this, they recommend that restrictions, including proximity and residency restrictions, be tailored to risk level instead of being applied to everyone.
The Task Force is recommending changes to the registry itself. They suggest using tiers that go beyond the two-tier system Illinois currently uses, which is 10 years or lifetime on the registry. They are also recommending a path off the registry for anyone who has met established criteria, but they leave it to the SOMB to create that criteria. The Task Force also recommends avoiding the term "sexual predator," or if it is used at all, it should not be automatically applied to everyone who is on the registry for life.
Finally, the Task Force makes a recommendation related to Mandatory Supervised Release (commonly referred to as parole.) Their recommendation is that the length of parole and parole restrictions should be tailored to risk level, and that only those evaluated to be at the highest risk of reoffending should have a parole period that extends beyond three years.
The final report, which is several hundred pages long, will include a summary of the research that was presented to the Task Force over the past year. Also in the report will be comments from individual Task Force members, where they can expound upon, express disagreement with, or emphasize any of the findings and recommendations. Once the final report is issued, we will let you know how you can obtain a copy.
In the meantime, you can visit the Task Force website at https://soortf.icjia.cloud/ for more information on the Task Force and and to see what has been presented at meetings this year.
While there are many more recommendations we would have liked to see included in the report, we also know that other task forces across the country have often made negative recommendations in an effort to make state laws even more restrictive. We appreciate the thoughtfulness and seriousness with which the issues were addressed by the Task Force members. The next step, of course, will be to try get the recommendations put into bills that can be proposed and deliberated by Illinois lawmakers in the coming years.
We are very proud of Illinois Voices supporters who testified, provided their written stories, attended Task Force meetings, and contributed financially over the past year. We believe our voices were heard, and that we did, in fact, make a difference.
On December 6, the Illinois Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration Task Force met and voted on which recommendations would be included in its final report to be delivered to the General Assembly in January. A number of changes were proposed at the meeting, and we waited until we received a written copy of the revisions before sending an email to our supporters.
In the end, the Task Force is making 14 recommendations. Since the report is not yet final or published, we will not list those recommendations here, as it is possible they could undergo some minor revisions before the final report comes out. However, we will summarize the recommendations briefly.
First, the Task Force is recommending that the Sex Offender Management Board, or SOMB, be strengthened and funded, and that the SOMB be responsible for making on-going recommendations to lawmakers regarding future legislation. The idea is that the SOMB would study the available evidence and become the experts who drive policy.
Next, the Task Force is recommending that treatment and registration be based on risk as determined by structured risk assessment tools. Currently, registration requirements (including length of time on the registry) are based on the offense for which an individual was convicted. The Task Force is recommending that individualized risk assessments be used instead. Along with this, they recommend that restrictions, including proximity and residency restrictions, be tailored to risk level instead of being applied to everyone.
The Task Force is recommending changes to the registry itself. They suggest using tiers that go beyond the two-tier system Illinois currently uses, which is 10 years or lifetime on the registry. They are also recommending a path off the registry for anyone who has met established criteria, but they leave it to the SOMB to create that criteria. The Task Force also recommends avoiding the term "sexual predator," or if it is used at all, it should not be automatically applied to everyone who is on the registry for life.
Finally, the Task Force makes a recommendation related to Mandatory Supervised Release (commonly referred to as parole.) Their recommendation is that the length of parole and parole restrictions should be tailored to risk level, and that only those evaluated to be at the highest risk of reoffending should have a parole period that extends beyond three years.
The final report, which is several hundred pages long, will include a summary of the research that was presented to the Task Force over the past year. Also in the report will be comments from individual Task Force members, where they can expound upon, express disagreement with, or emphasize any of the findings and recommendations. Once the final report is issued, we will let you know how you can obtain a copy.
In the meantime, you can visit the Task Force website at https://soortf.icjia.cloud/ for more information on the Task Force and and to see what has been presented at meetings this year.
While there are many more recommendations we would have liked to see included in the report, we also know that other task forces across the country have often made negative recommendations in an effort to make state laws even more restrictive. We appreciate the thoughtfulness and seriousness with which the issues were addressed by the Task Force members. The next step, of course, will be to try get the recommendations put into bills that can be proposed and deliberated by Illinois lawmakers in the coming years.
We are very proud of Illinois Voices supporters who testified, provided their written stories, attended Task Force meetings, and contributed financially over the past year. We believe our voices were heard, and that we did, in fact, make a difference.
