Crime victims call for expanded protections, rights at Capitol rally
Anti-criminal violence advocates rallied in the state Capitol on Thursday, pushing a slate of bills they say will better serve survivors and victims in Illinois.
Aswad Thomas, national director of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, was on his way to play basketball professionally in Europe when he was shot, thus ending his career. No support services were given to Thomas following the incident, a story he says is too common throughout the state.
"Here today, many survivors across the state of Illinois haven't had the resources and services that we need to heal and recover from violence," he told the rotunda crowd Thursday afternoon. "Communities most harmed by violence are the least supported by the justice system."
Yolanda Carter, a Chicago native, could relate to Thomas's story after surviving a domestic violence incident. Recovering from these traumatic events takes time, she said, but often victims are forced to return to the workforce before they are truly ready.
Advocates like Carter support House Bill 2493 from state Rep. Aaron Ortiz, D-Chicago, which would grant up to 10 days of unpaid leave time for family members dealing with a loss related to criminal violence. The bill passed the House 95-16 last month and was assigned to the Senate Executive Committee earlier this week.
An employee has 60 days after receiving a death notice to use the leave and must prove the death by providing an obituary or death certificate to their employer. It follows-up after Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act earlier this year, which provides most workers in the state with up-to 40 hours of paid leave per year to be used for any purpose.
More: Gov. Pritzker signs bill requiring paid leave for about all workers in Illinois
"It is simply wrong for survivors to risk losing their jobs when they are planning funerals and grieving the loss of the closest thing to them," Carter said.
While the focus on the rally centered on the victims, Thomas said CSSJ was also working with lawmakers on a bill regarding rehabilitation of the incarcerated. House Bill 3026 from state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, would amend the Earned Discretionary Sentence Credit — where incarcerated individuals can reduce their sentence if permitted by the Illinois Department of Corrections — to allow for time served in county jail to be included in the 60-day minimum before a credit can be awarded
Bills like these provide opportunities to stop the "cycle of violence," Thomas said. The earlier vote in the House brought unanimous support and was brought to second reading in the Senate on Thursday.
The rally comes as the Illinois Senate moved two bills out of committee this week that proponents say would assist victims of domestic and gender-related violence.
House Bill 2841 from state Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, with state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, leading the measure in the Senate, would remove the $10 fee for vital records searches conducted by the state registrar for domestic violence survivors. These records include data on birth, death and fetal death and can be used to dissolve marriages and civil unions and for genealogical purposes.
Passing in the Senate Local Government Committee Wednesday, the bill now heads to the Senate for a full chamber vote. It passed in the House unanimously last month.
Employers could be found liable for failing to monitor an employee or investigate reports or complaints of gender-related violence through House Bill 1363, a bill advancing out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
State Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, is the Senate sponsor of the bill from state Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, which also creates a four-year statute of limitation for a victim to bring a claim of gender-related violence against an employer. The bill passed unanimously in committee after drawing a 71-38 in the House last month.
Republicans have long railed against criminal violence with claims that Democrats are soft on crime and, following a weekend surge of teen violence in Chicago, again pressed the issue following the Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson's address to the General Assembly.
Members of the downstate right-wing Illinois Freedom Caucus held a press conference Wednesday afternoon where consensus was violence in the state's largest city poses a threat to business and tourism. The Republicans sought a tougher approach to policing with more accountability for those committing crimes.
“Imagine being a Missouri resident contemplating visiting Chicago and seeing what has happened on Michigan Avenue,” state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, said. “People do not want to visit places where they may get mugged or beaten.”
Johnson defended his statement on the violence in the city at a news conference following the address.
“You can make sure that we eradicate the root causes that lead to violence,” Johnson said. “And we also can make sure that there's support on the front line to make sure that we're preventing violence.”
Jerry Nowicki and Andrew Adams of Capitol News Illinois contributed to this article.
Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.com
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Crime victims call for expanded protections, rights at Capitol rally
