____ ____ was originally sentenced to three years of probation after his conviction in 2011 on charges of aggravated child pornography. ____ is impoverished and homeless. And after he was found violating his parole by sleeping in the doorway of a church, Murphy was ordered to serve his sentence in prison. He finally was approved to be released from custody in March, 2014, into the state’s mandatory supervised release program. But because he is homeless and cannot find a place to live that satisfies the myriad of restrictions and regulations,…
Read MoreTag: Illinois
IL: Class Action – Supervised release policies unjustly effectively keep sex offenders in prison ‘for life’
CHICAGO — A lawsuit has been filed accusing the state of Illinois of violating the rights of convicted sex offenders by maintaining policies that do not allow a number of them to be released from prison after they have served their sentences, effectively leaving them informally sentenced to life in prison. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Sex Offenders Say Illinois Parole System Is Broken
CHICAGO (CN) – More than 4,000 sex offenders in Illinois face effective life sentences despite a court granting them parole because of restrictions on where they can live, seven men claim in a federal class action. Full Article
Read MoreIL: A setback for First Amendment protection for anonymous speech
Continuing the one-step-forward, one-step-backward pattern that has characterized the cases examining the constitutionality of state sex offender registry statutes, the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the provisions of the Illinois sex offender statute compelling disclosure of all “Internet identifiers” just a few weeks after the district court in Florida struck down, on First Amendment grounds, a virtually identical provision in the Florida statute. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Sex offender internet law constitutional
SPRINGFIELD — The state’s highest court has upheld a law that requires sex offenders to disclose information about their internet identities and websites. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Charles E. Freeman, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a provision of the Sex Offender Registration Act survived First Amendment scrutiny because it bolsters the government’s interest in protecting the public without restricting more speech than necessary. In an 18-page opinion issued this morning, the court critiqued a handful of federal district courts who have found similar statutes unconstitutional and…
Read MoreIL: Sex Offender Pleads No Contest
52-year-old blind man, ____ ____ of South Roxana, was convicted in 2000 of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. ____ pleaded no contest Thursday to a violation of the state sex offender registration law. The violation comes after a police compliance check on Halloween of 2014. ____ was sitting just inside the front door of his living room as his step-daughter was handing out candy. State law prohibits registered sex offenders from distributing Halloween candy. ____ was sentenced with 12 months of conditional court supervision. Article
Read MoreIL: Inmate may have to register as sex offender for flashing guard
For the first time, a Cook County Jail inmate may be required to register as a sex offender for repeatedly exposing himself to correctional officers, a sheriff’s official said Thursday. ____ ____, who is awaiting trial in a 2015 murder in Humboldt Park, was held in contempt of court Thursday by Judge Vincent Gaughan for allegedly exposing himself to a female guard on Wednesday, said Cara Smith, policy chief for Sheriff Tom Dart. … Smith said she hopes the possibility of ____ becoming a registered sex offender sends a message…
Read MoreIL: A chance to get sex offender laws right [Editorial]
When the 19-year-old son of ____ ____ of Downstate Fairview Heights had sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend, he was forced to register as a sex offender. He was a legal adult and she was a minor. Police told his employer to fire him, and when he found a job in a new town, the police there ran him off, too. Full Article Related IL: Sex offenders sue, saying registry laws keep them from church, living with family IL: Are Sex Offender Restrictions So Vague They’re Unconstitutional? — 2 efforts in Illinois…
Read MoreIL: Are Sex Offender Restrictions So Vague They’re Unconstitutional?
A group of convicted child sex offenders is challenging the Illinois law that bans them from parks and schools. They say key sex offender restrictions are so broad it’s impossible to know what is or isn’t allowed and that means the laws violate the constitution. They’re asking a federal judge to immediately suspend certain restrictions on every registered child sex offender in the state of Illinois. Full Article Also so Court case challenges some restrictions on sex offenders
Read MoreIL: Suit – sex offender statutes too vague, unconstitutional
Five sex offenders filed a lawsuit Monday asking a judge to halt the enforcement of several of Illinois’ sex offender registration statutes. Full Article
Read MoreIL: ACLU, EFF ask state supreme to strike down limits on free speech in cumbersome sex offender laws
CHICAGO – The ACLU of Illinois, joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, today asked the state supreme court to strike down the “incredibly broad scope” of limitations contained in the state’s sex offender registry laws. The amicus brief was filed in the case of ____ ____, a young man from downstate Normal who served a 12-month probation for a misdemeanor offense, which he completed. Though years have passed, Mr. ____ still is forced to navigate a series of onerous and cumbersome requirements under the State’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). Full Article
Read MoreIL: Heightened observation deters sex offenders (Opinion)
The last place a convicted sex offender is going to repeat such a heinous crime is at the office of their probation officer. That’s why the news the Illinois Legislature has more than doubled the funding for the Kankakee County Probation Department is good news indeed. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Jail inmates target female guards, lawyers with sexual abuse
They call themselves Savage Life. Inmates facing charges of murder, rape and other serious crimes formed the gang about six months ago in the Cook County Jail. Their goal is to sow chaos, officials say. They physically attack guards. … And they expose themselves and masturbate in the presence of female defense attorneys and female correctional officers. … A bill sponsored by state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, is pending in the General Assembly and would require inmates to register as sex offenders after two or more convictions for public indecency…
Read MoreIL: State sues prisoners to pay for their room, board
The $31,690 Johnny Melton received to settle a lawsuit over his mother’s death was going to help him start life anew after prison. But before he was released, after 15 months in prison for a drug conviction, the Illinois Department of Corrections sued Melton and won nearly $20,000 to cover the cost of his incarceration. When Melton was paroled earlier this year, he was forced to go to a homeless shelter, then was taken in by a cousin. He got food stamps. When he died in June, according to his…
Read MoreIL: Judge: Sex offender rule unconstitutional
BLOOMINGTON — A requirement that Illinois sex offenders report all Internet sites they use to police is unconstitutional because it violates the offenders’ free speech rights, according to a ruling by a McLean County judge. Judge Robert Freitag agreed with arguments from the defense lawyer for ____ ____, 22, of Normal, that state law is overly broad in its mandate that all email addresses and sites a sex offender uses or plans to use, including Facebook, must be registered with police. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Sex offender rule unconstitutional
BLOOMINGTON — A requirement that Illinois sex offenders report all Internet sites they use to police is unconstitutional because it violates the offenders’ free speech rights, according to a ruling by a McLean County judge. Judge Robert Freitag agreed with arguments from the defense lawyer for _____ ____, 22, of Normal, that state law is overly broad in its mandate that all email addresses and sites a sex offender uses or plans to use, including Facebook, must be registered with police. Full Article Related Internet Identifier Bill to be Heard…
Read MoreIL: Granite City to begin collecting $100 fee from sex offenders
Sex offenders in Granite City will soon have to start paying a $100 fee to register with police, as required by law. In 2010, the state increased the annual fee for sex offender registration from $10 to $100 a year. But even before that action, the fee largely wasn’t being collected in the majority of Illinois municipalities, according to news reports, because most of the convicted sex offenders could not afford it. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Sex offender workplace registry bill sparks debate
State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) has introduced a bill that would require convicted sex offenders to register with police in the locales where they work to plug a hole in the state’s registry system. The measure is viewed as a common-sense approach by Highland Park Police Chief Paul Shafer and others in law enforcement, and seen as overly punitive and burdensome by some advocates looking out for offenders’ rights. Full Article
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