Prisoner Review Board reforms bill passes Illinois House of Representatives
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — One lawmaker believes she can get everyone on board with her bill to make reforms to the Prisoner Review Board.
The proposal has already passed the Illinois House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support.
Illinois’ Prisoner Review Board granted release to Crosseti Brand in March. The next day, Brand attacked Laterria Smith and fatally stabbed her 11-year son Jayden Perkins in Chicago. Smith had an order of protection again him.
Brand returned to prison, and two members of the board resigned.
Perkins’ death renewed calls in the Capitol for change to the regulatory body. Senate Republicans called for a number of changes, including heftier penalties for people who violate an order of protection.
State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) said she’s worked with both sides of the aisle to come up with a bill she believes everyone can agree on.
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“As I was talking to advocates and talking to members of the family and realizing there was a lot of confusion about what the right thing to do was,” Cassidy said.
Republicans like State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) said they support the bill as the proposal gives victims more notice before the offender is released.
“We feel that that’s an important piece to make sure that victims are aware of the offender being released,” Windhorst said. “Just having that knowledge is important to victims.”
The bill would make several reforms, including mandatory domestic violence training for board members every year, with focuses on areas like the legal process regarding orders of protection and the dynamics of gender based violence.
“Any training is helpful to inform,” Vickie Smith, the president & CEO of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said. “I think what it’s going to lead to, though, is a better understanding and a better relationship down the road so that all of their procedures are better informed in terms of how they should be thinking about survivors in the decisions that they’re making.”
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The bill would also create a task force to study a number of topics including the notification process for when someone is released and how victims can be involved in parole or supervised release revocation hearings. The Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) has not taken a position on the bill, but believes it will make a difference.
“One of the things that we think is important is more and more opportunities for victims to be a part of any process that involves them having a chance to be heard, having a chance to voice how they’ve been impacted and how to contribute to changes in the future” Carrie Ward, the organization’s CEO, said.
Last month, the governor appointed an executive director to the Board to oversee how the review board operates and trains itself.
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