(The Center Square– About a dozen new laws taking effect Jan. 1 will change Illinois’ criminal justice system. Here you can see some changes.
Starting New Year’s Day, law enforcement training will include a course to help officers identify and respond to people with autism.
Another law that applies to hazing cases will eliminate the victim’s consent or consent as a defense.
Another change is that people who do not appear in court can receive a reminder about their next court hearing by text message, phone call or email.
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, opposed the new notice measure.
“Currently the law is that if a person does not pay a traffic fine, their driver’s license will be suspended. That of course creates a great incentive for someone to pay their traffic fines,” Windhorst said during the floor debate. “If this becomes law, an individual would receive three unpaid tickets per year before their license would be suspended.”
House Bill 4500 changes the name of the crime “unlawful use of a weapon” to “unlawful possession of a weapon.” The old name suggests that the suspect used a weapon, usually a firearm, while the crime committed is merely illegal possess of the weapon.
The bill also changes the name of the Class
Armed ordinary criminal charges can be filed when someone previously convicted of two or more serious crimes is caught carrying or using a firearm. Crimes a person may qualify for range from murder, robbery and burglary to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and certain narcotics offenses.
The name change was led by two state representatives from Chicago, Kam Buckner and Kelly Cassidy.
“It really comes from the reentry space where people who don’t live in this world like we do [as state legislators] seeing the title of the offense and thinking it means something much more shameful than it actually means,” Cassidy said.
A handful of the nearly 300 laws taking effect Jan. 1 give crime victims more authority. One measure expands the definition of “contact history” in stalking cases to include electronic tracking devices. The change addresses the growing use of covertly deployed AirTags and similar devices.
The new year will give young people accused of a crime committed while trapped in a human trafficking situation the right to have the case dropped.
House Bill 1168, authored by Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, affects the DNA of crime victims.
“It provides that where DNA evidence is collected from a person because the person was the victim of a crime, that specific DNA profile collected in connection with that criminal investigation may not be entered into a DNA database,” explained Villanueva before the bill was passed.
A separate law allows victims whose license plates have been stolen to obtain new license plates issued by the Illinois Secretary of State. Another law allows a person to retrieve personal belongings from a towed vehicle. If the vehicle is stolen and later towed, no storage fees may be charged if the vehicle is recovered within seven days.
There are more new laws that affect drivers:
- The state will begin the process of creating driver’s licenses that are valid for eight years if an applicant qualifies.
- The Secretary of State will begin creating a mobile, electronic driver’s license option.
- Drivers are prohibited from stopping on the shoulder of a highway near O’Hare International Airport.
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