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Hi everyone!

We are at the close of 2023. It has been an interesting calendar year! We are preparing for Spring Legislative Session starting on January 16, 2024. With primaries in March and the general election in November, it will be an interesting session to see what moves and what does not.  

For a recap of Veto Session, please see below. We are excited to announce that ICADV has purchased a one-year contract with Fast Democracy, an online legislative tracking platform. We chose Fast Democracy because it has optional utilities for grassroots work, and we saw the ability to further engage membership moving forward. Members will have the opportunity to attend an open forum learning learning session on Fast Democracy on January 19th. As we move to utilizing Fast Democracy to provide information on legislation we are tracking, we are saying goodbye to the legislative spreadsheet.

The Advocacy, Funding, and Accountability (AFA) Committee are excited to announce that they have chosen a new co-chair, Melanie Skach, from Guardian Angel Community Services in Joliet. Melanie joins current co-chair Jennifer Vancil (QUANADA in Quincy). The Committee is also planning another Virtual Legislative Town Hall scheduled for April 22, 2024 and is seeking suggestions for General Assembly members to invite.

ICADV is seeking stories from survivors who have dealt with the consequences of being in a community with a crime free nuisance ordinance. This can include threats of eviction for calling the police, trying to enforce a protection order, and more. Please see the request below with the link to all communities across the state that have such an ordinance.

In Peace,

Christine Raffaele

Director of Policy and Systems Advocacy

VETO SESSION RECAP

Karina's Bill, championed by The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence (Chicago) did not move during Veto Session. SB 382, which added a definition to the Deep Fakes statute which is in the Civil Remedies for Nonconsensual Dissemination of Private Sexual Images Act, passed both chambers and was signed by the Governor on December 8, 2023. ICADV had a presence at the Capitol Building for the two weeks of Veto Session and started planting seeds on things that will be important in Spring Session 2024. 

ICADV expects to support several bills in Spring Session including Karina’s Bill, a Safe Homes Act bill, a bill that will make a small change to the Victims Economic Safety and Security Act, Paid Leave for All, and the Pretrial Success for All. 

SEEKING SURIVOR STORIES

We are currently seeking any survivor stories related to threats of eviction for calling law enforcement for things such having the abuser arrested for the incident, to enforce a protection order, or anything regarding domestic violence. It has come to our attention that in the last few years, many communities have nuisance ordinances that require the landlord at threat by law enforcement to evict or threaten to evict survivors for calling law enforcement in these types of circumstances. If you have a survivor story and would like to share it please contact Christine. Here is a list of all the communities in Illinois to our knowledge that have such ordinances - please review and see if you have survivors in these communities who might be willing to come forward with a story. Please also contact Christine if one of these ordinances have been used to keep you from locating shelter or housing in a community. ICADV would like to hear more about this situation. Thank you! 

FEDERAL POLICY UPDATES

VOCA

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) is working with the Department of Justice on placing a settlement from the Binance case into the Crime Victims Fund. We understand that $1.5 billion dollars could become available through this settlement that could go into the Crime Victims Fund. The settlement is due to be paid after the 1st of the year. We are monitoring the situation. 

The amendment to utilize the False Claims Act did not move out of the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives. A technical reason was provided. NNEDV hopes to try again after the 1st of the year at which time we will be putting out more Action Alerts to make phone calls, take meetings, and more to motivate Congress to move on VOCA. 

HR2601

This bill will would turn the National Human Trafficking Hotline essentially into a law enforcement tip line, undoing years of progress in providing hotline safe spaces to survivors. This is a very dangerous because many states are now considering similar legislation that would apply to other types of hotlines. There was a letter from the survivor community sent to Congress in September. Polaris Project operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline and this is a story illustrating why this bill should not move forward (serious trigger warning on the article as it provides details of the violence the survivor experienced). You can learn more and follow the situation via The National Survivor Network. 

IMPORTANT CASE LAW

Illinois Assault Weapons Ban 

The United States Supreme Court refused to block the Illinois law banning assault-style weapons, leaving the measure in place while proceedings before the federal appellate court continue. Please note that in a 2-1 decision the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals declined to a grant a preliminary injunction finding that the gun advocacy group (National Association for Gun Rights, and a gun store from Naperville) was not likely to prevail on its Second Amendment challenge. Read more here. View court order here.

People vs. Wells, 2023 IL 127169 

The Illinois Supreme Court held that the domestic violence resentencing statute does not apply to survivors like Mrs. Wells because survivors like Mrs. Wells were sentenced under a fully negotiated plea deal. The Illinois Supreme Court applied contract law to the negotiation and plea. The Court also found that the contract agreement applies to both the plea and the conviction. This means that the domestic violence resentencing statute does not apply to the plea even if it does apply to the conviction. The Court also indicated that the General Assembly did not specifically provide for the domestic violence resentencing statute to apply to cases that involve pleas. Women’s Justice Institute and allied organizations are in discussions on the next steps after this decision. This will be discussed at the statewide Alliance for Criminalized Survivors meeting. Christine can provide more information upon request. 

ARTICLES & RESOURCES

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