CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Illinois lawmakers passed a bill to change the term “offender” in state law to “justice-impacted individual.”
While it’s unclear when or if the bill will be signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker, House Bill 4409 passed by a 34-20 vote Tuesday.
What is Illinois House Bill 4409?
HB 4409 would amend the Illinois Crime Reduction Act of 2009 to change “references from ‘offenders’ to ‘justice-impacted individuals,'” according to a summary of the bill.
“This is good public safety policy. I know we’re getting hung up on a term, but I don’t want to lose sight that we are adding the Department of Corrections to this bill,” Illinois State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, said. “We’re trying to make sure that everybody has involvement in this program.”
Misconceptions of the bill
The proposal has gained popularity on social media, and some people have mistakenly thought that the label referring to people who commit crimes would get a rebranding, NewsNation affiliate WGN reported.
However, the term change would only apply to men and women in the Adult Redeploy Illinois (A.R.I.) program, according to the bill summary. A.R.I. is an initiative that aims to keep some offenders from going to prison by connecting them to rehabilitation programs.
Before Tuesday’s Senate vote, Republicans claimed the language change portrayed a lack of empathy for victims and a lack of concern for public safety.
“Change this, change that, the only thing you don’t want to change is the behavior of criminals,” said Illinois State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield. “And guess who is paying for that right now? Victims all across the state. I urge a ‘no’ vote.”
Opponents: Change will incur unnecessary costs
After the Illinois State House of Representatives passed the bill 68-40 in April, Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said people shouldn’t be defined by their worst day.
“So, carrying a label of offender for life does not seem appropriate for a system in which we intend to return people to full participation in society,” Cassidy said.
Back in the Senate, opponents argue the change would incur unnecessary costs.
“Each time we make that change, each agency has to make that change on every one of their documents,” Illinois State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said. “Right now, in the Department of Corrections, there are multiple changes that have been made, and it’s costing thousands of dollars just to do a name change.”
NewsNation affiliate WGN contributed to this report.
