Two Critical Issues Before House Judiciary II - Criminal Law Committee this Week

May 4, 2005

Your call is needed! We are reaching out to you because your State Representative is a key member of the Illinois House Judiciary II - Criminal Law - Committee. Next Thursday, May 12th, the Committee will consider two critical pieces of reform legislation: one measure that reforms the process by which juveniles are transferred to adult court, and another that increases the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 17 to 18-years-old. These two proposals have been active in the legislature for a number of years - we need to ensure their passage now!

Senate Bill 283, legislation that allows for individualized review by a judge prior to a youth being tried as an adult for specific offenses, is a compromise reached by juvenile justice advocates and the Cook County States Attorney after hearings and deliberations by a Legislative Task Force on Illinois' treatment of youth as adults. The bill returns to juvenile court non-violent drug offenses now automatically tried in adult court that occur within 1000 thousand feet of a school or public house. Nearly all these cases came from Cook County and almost all involved youth of color. You can read a fact sheet on Senate Bill 283 at http://www.aclu-il.org/legislative/alerts/sb283.pdf.

Contact your state representative by calling the number listed below. Urge your state representative to support Senate Bill 283 when the House Judiciary II - Criminal Law - Committee considers the measure.

Senate Bill 458 raises the age of juvenile court jurisdiction in Illinois by one year from a youth's 17th to the 18th birthday. The bill would bring Illinois in line with 38 other states and the federal government, and with the accepted age for legal decision - voting, contracting, and marriage. Senate Bill 458 will allow 17-year-olds, who no longer would suffer the lifetime employment and educational barrier that an adult felony conviction represents, to have access to the full continuum of services available through juvenile court, including mental health services and drug treatment, resulting in lower recidivism for the community. You can read more about Senate Bill 458 at http://www.aclu-il.org/legislative/alerts/sb458.pdf.

Contact your state representative by calling the number listed below. Urge your state representative to support Senate Bill 458 when the House Judiciary II - Criminal Law - Committee considers the measure.

If you are not certain of who your state representative is, you can find out at http://www.elections.state.il.us/dls/pages/DLSAddresscrit.asp.

Please call your state representative today and support this important reform of our juvenile justice system!

Illinois House Judiciary II - Criminal Law - Committee

Robert Molaro - 21st District - (217) 782-5280

Patricia Bailey - 6th District - (217) 782-5971

John E. Bradley - 117th District - (217) 782-1051

Annazette Collins - 10th District - (217) 782-8077

Shane Cultra - 105th District - (217) 558-1039

William Delgado - 3rd District - (217) 782-0480

Careen M. Gordon - 75th District - (217) 782-5997

Constance A. Howard - 34th District - (217) 782-6476

Lovana Jones - 26th District - (217) 782-2023

Patricia Reid Lindner - 50th District - (217) 782-1486

Frank J. Mautino - 76th District - (217) 782-0140

John J. Millner - 55th District - (217) 558-1037

David Reis - 108th District - (217) 782-2087

Jim Sacia - 89th District - (217) 782-8186

Ron Stephens - 102nd District - (217) 782-6401

Ronald A. Wait - 69th District - (217) 782-0548