Gov. Pritzker Signs Legislation Transforming Illinois’ Criminal Justice System

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Business

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Business

On Monday, JB Pritzker signed landmark legislation that transforms Illinois’ criminal justice system. This landmark legislation ends a pretrial detention system that benefits the wealthy, expands training and wellness programs for law enforcement, modernizes sentencing laws, and prioritizes treatment and rehabilitation for low-level drug crimes. House Bill 3653 expands safety, and justice by transforming the state’s criminal justice system and enacting statewide police reforms through the following:

• Moves Illinois from a system of pretrial detention that prioritizes wealth, to one that prioritizes public safety.

• Diverts low-level drug crimes into substance use programs and treatments.

• Modernizes sentencing laws and streamlines the victims’ compensation system.

• Requires the use of body-worn cameras by police departments statewide.

• Requires police departments to develop plans to protect vulnerable people present during search warrant raids.

• Eliminates license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees due to red light camera and traffic offenses.

• Ends prison gerrymandering.

• Expands services for crime victims.

HB 3653 is effective July 1, 2021, except for certain provisions that are effective either January 1, 2022 (use of force changes), January 1, 2023 (Pretrial Fairness Act), and January 1, 2025 (prison gerrymandering).

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