Civil asset forfeiture (CAF) laws allow law enforcement to permanently take property or money from someone, even if that person is never arrested or convicted of a crime. Hoping to make this system more fair and transparent, Illinois adopted significant reforms to the civil asset forfeiture process in 2018. But we need to improve the system of collecting and reporting data about civil asset forfeiture cases to assess how those changes are working and whether further policy changes are needed.
Effective data collection should tell us a story about the individuals, families, and communities that are most directly impacted by our policies and laws, not just how much money is being collected from them. Current CAF data collection has left us with a story that is missing pages, if not whole chapters, of important information to best inform the legislature’s decision-making.
HB 1628 improves the substance and process of data collected about civil asset forfeiture cases across the state of Illinois. Among other things, the bill would require the reporting of:
- The initial seizure of the property, including the legal basis for and location of the seizure;
- Demographic information about the individual whose property was taken;
- Any criminal charges related to the property seizure; and
- The court case through which prosecutors seek to permanently forfeit the seized property to the government.
The bill also enhances the accessibility and transparency of data regarding civil asset forfeiture cases, including more information about which law enforcement agencies in Illinois are – or are not – engaged in civil asset forfeiture, and more comprehensive reporting about the ways forfeiture proceeds are being used by seizing agencies. It ensures that the data collected is publicly available in an online searchable database that will shed more light on the use of civil asset forfeiture in Illinois.
The Institute for Justice grades states across the country on their process for managing civil asset forfeiture. Illinois gets low marks for data tracking and reporting, necessitating this new legislation.
TAKE ACTION - Contact your STATE SEN. about this bill.
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Call 1-872-295-7853 to be connected to your state senator in support of HB 1628. |
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Email your state senator in Springfield in support of HB 1628 here. |
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Schedule a visit with your senator or representative to talk about this bill. Find out more information about meeting with your legislator here. |
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Write your state representative or senator a letter or postcard. Find your representative's address here. |
