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FROM:
Bonnie Cox, LWVIL President
Hilary Denk, LWVIL Issues Chair
Janet Kittlaus, Issue Specialist, Criminal Justice
ACTION NEEDED:
Please contact Governor Rauner and ask him to sign four important measures passed by the General Assembly: HB4469, HB4741, HB5104, and HB5494. All four bills will make Illinois' criminal justice system more effective and humane.
Call the Governor's office at either 217-782-0244 (Springfield) or 312-814-2121 (Chicago). Remind the Governor that he has called criminal justice reform one of his top priorities. You may want to draw on the below summaries to explain why you support these measures.
WHY IT MATTERS:
- HB4469 provides a framework to help pre-trial detainees exercise their right to vote. It also provides voter education resources to people returning from prison so they may re-engage fully with civic life. More information is available on this fact sheet.
- HB4741 enhances support to inmates by allowing them up to 7 visits per month, and by allowing them to submit to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) 30 people who are authorized to visit them.
- HB5104 eliminates the $5 medical co-pay previously charged by IDOC for inmates to visit a nurse or doctor. This policy was a barrier to medical care for the poorest inmates.
- HB5494 allows trafficking victims, who themselves have been criminally charged and convicted, to petition to seal their record immediately at the end of their sentence, without the 3 year waiting period.
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