Republican House Leader Jim Durkin (R-Burr) is sponsoring a bill that would overhaul the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
House Bill 5126 would set higher standards for the members of the board, require more transparency in the board’s decision process, give crime victims a stronger voice in the discussion, and tighten the requirements for people convicted of first-degree murder to be granted parole, according to the Illinois Newsroom.
“Governor Pritzker’s Prisoner Review Board has created more pain and torment for crime victims by releasing violent offenders back into society over the objections of the victims, their families, law enforcement, and judges," Durkin said on Facebook. "It’s time to put victims’ rights first in Illinois."
Durkin highlighted the need for the legislation by pointing out that a murderer-rapist, a person who killed a child, and a person who killed a police officer were all recently released, according to the Illinois Newsroom.
“These are just three specific cases, horrible cases, but they tell you everything you need to know,” Durkin said, according to the Illinois Newsroom. “In each one of these cases a victim or their family publicly stated their strenuous opposition to the parole of each one of these.”
Currently, the members of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board are all appointed by the governor, according to the Illinois Newsroom.
“Doesn’t that victim or the family member have any say?" Durkin said, according to the Illinois Newsroom. "Shouldn’t they be afforded greater weight in a parole decision? Each one of these former inmates have one thing in common: They are cold-blooded killers who should have never lived a free day after their conviction and sentence. These monsters are the true faces of evil.”
According to the Illinois Newsroom, the bill requires five of the 12-member Review Board to have a background as a police officer or prosecutor. It also requires the hearings to be live-streamed. Additionally, a two-thirds vote is required to parole a criminal who had been convicted of first-degree murder.
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