Updates from the Legislature
By Lynn Green
Lynn Green, an NPEP graduate and intern with Illinois State Senator Rachel Ventura’s office, highlights four pieces of legislation that may affect certain members of our community.
[Note: As of this writing in early 2024, three of these four pieces of legislation have gone into effect.]
House Bill 3779
Sponsors: State Representatives Carol Ammons and Cyril Nichols, and State Senator Rachel Ventura.
Status: Signed into law. Effective January 1, 2024.
What the bill does: This amendment to the Unified Code of Corrections makes the process of entering the workforce more efficient for nonviolent offenders who are eligible for home confinement or other confinement outside a Department of Corrections (D.O.C.) facility. The law requires that the D.O.C. provide your identifying information to a work release facility not fewer than three days prior to your placement at the facility, instead of not fewer than 15 days.
House Bill 3253
Sponsors: State Representatives Curtis J. Tarver, II, Camille Y. Lilly, and Kimberly du Buclet, and State Senators Rachel Ventura, Willie Preston, Javier L. Cervantes, Meg Loughran Cappel, and Laura M. Murphy.
Status: Signed into law. Effective January 1, 2024.
What the bill does: The law protects people with profound intellectual or developmental disabilities from coercive and deceptive tactics during custodial interrogation. It offers this protection by expanding the definition of “protected person” from only minors under the age of 18 to people who have intellectual disabilities. The law now protects more people from the abusive tactics that law enforcement agencies were legally allowed to employ, such as getting those who cannot read or write to sign confessions.
Senate Bill 125
Primary Sponsors: State Senator Rachel Ventura and State Representative Hoan Huynh.
Status: The state Supreme Court has requested that the legislation be delayed because related cases are currently in front of the court.
What the bill does: This bill eliminates the possibility of the smell of cannabis being used as probable cause to search a vehicle. The 4th amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects citizens from unwarranted search and seizure by law enforcement unless law enforcement has probable cause to do so. The smell of cannabis has constituted probable cause. However, this has led to inequitable results as marijuana has been legalized in some states, including Illinois. In addition, research by the ACLU has shown that Black people are arrested for marijuana possession at higher rates than white people.
Senate Bill 422
Sponsors: State Senators Rachel Ventura, Willie Preston, and Christopher Belt, and State Representative Justin Slaughter.
Status: Signed into law. Effective June 9, 2023.
What the bill does: The law requires the state Department of Corrections to digitize all prisoner master files. This law ensures that incarcerated individuals who are waiting to be released and go back into their communities are not waiting for months because Illinois does not have an updated records system.
