Executive Summary

Background

To develop and propose policies and procedures aimed at reducing crime in Illinois, the Crime Reduction Task Force Act established the Crime Reduction Task Force (20 ILCS 3926/1-5). Task Force membership was statutorily mandated in the Crime Reduction Task Force Act. The Task Force was active from October 2022 through June 2024. Meetings were held virtually and were open to the public. Meeting content included:

  • Testimony from subject matter experts.
  • Input from community service providers.
  • Reports and other documents submitted by Task Force members and other interested parties.
  • Votes taken on submitted recommendations.

Recommendations

The approved recommendations are listed below.

  • There should be a new legislation that mandates judges to order an abusive partner to complete a Partner Abuse Intervention Program (PAIP) when granting an Order of Protection for domestic violence in civil courts. This can help prevent domestic violence, and crime in general, because domestic violence offenders can pose a threat to a family as well as to the community. A PAIP focuses on power, control, and relationship dynamics. It helps people reflect on their relationship and take responsibility for one’s behavior.

    If the person fails to complete the PAIP, there should be a consequence, such as restrictions in child custody or supervised visitation of family members. Because taking a PAIP costs money and it lasts 26 weeks, there should be a financial support to complete a PAIP for low-income earners.

  • Civil court judges and other court personnel should be required to receive training on how the abusive tactics of domestic violence—such as harassment, threats, and manipulation—play out in the courtroom and continue the cycle of emotional and financial abuse upon victims. Crime victims should not be revictimized, especially by the judicial process itself.

    The Supreme Court of Illinois Judicial College is in charge of continuing education for Illinois judges and certain court stakeholders. Committee staff develop curricula and courses and approve faculty. Courses are available online and through a one-week conference, which is held twice a year. All judges must attend one conference a year. Domestic violence training currently falls into the elective category for training. There are six committees that approve courses for the following groups:

        o Committee on Circuit Court Clerk Education (CCCE)

        o Committee on Judicial Education (COJE)

        o Committee on Probation Education (COPE)

        o Committee on Guardians ad Litem Education (GALE)

        o Committee on Judicial Branch Staff Education (JBSE)

        o Committee on Trial Court Administrator Education (TCAE)

    The committees do accept recommendations for training topics or additional training to fill in gaps in curriculum that has already been developed. The process involves submitting a proposal and, if approved, then working with staff from the committees to develop the training.

  • Launch a statewide pilot program for guaranteed basic income from poor areas and gradually expand it to other areas. Guaranteed basic income can help reduce poverty, which, in turn, can help reduce crime.
    This pilot program should start with areas in Illinois with a higher portion of poverty, relative to the rest of the state. The eligible poverty level can be set considering living cost in the area people live. Individual income, rather than household income, will be considered for the selection of program participants so that the total amount of payment for a family can increase as the family size increases. The degree of the need should be the top priority in the selection process.

    The guaranteed income payment should be at least $500 per month for each person, an amount similar to existing pilot programs in Illinois. The pilot period should be at least 1 year because it can take some time before the program can make an impact. Recipients of other guaranteed basic income programs would not be eligible for this program.

  • Wage theft is a serious crime that needs to be eliminated. We should take crimes like wage theft more seriously, especially those by big corporations. Reducing wage theft can also help reduce poverty, thereby reducing other crimes. We should create a system that sends a clear message to employers that wage theft is a serious crime, and they will be punished seriously for stealing wage.

    Within the enforcement agency (e.g., the Office of the Illinois Attorney General), create a department that is mandated to enforce the elimination of wage theft. If a company is found guilty of wage theft, the company should be mandated to add at least one employee representative with veto power to its board of directors. In this way, we can change how the company is managed and operates.

    Penalties for wage theft are often way too small. Increase the monetary penalties for wage theft so that paying a penalty is more costly than stealing wages. Heavier penalties can force employers to take the wage theft issue more seriously and prioritize restitution. The use of penalty funds may be delegated to state agencies to fund community programs like guaranteed basic income programs or community-driven safety initiatives. For a prolonged wage theft or an excessive amount of wage theft, the employer shall be mandated to give up shares of ownership, in addition to the already imposed penalties. The renounced shares will be invested in employee-owned companies or given to its own employees.

  • Increasing investments in community-driven safety initiatives can be an effective way to reduce crime. Expand the existing community services and programs (e.g., mental health services, youth programs, legal aids, and violence interruption) with a clear intention and direction toward community-driven safety. Community organizations that provide services to the community should receive more funds to get appropriate equipment and sufficiently compensate staffs for their hard work. To do this, increase the funding for the government agencies that run these community programs with an intention to reduce crime based on the community-driven approach.

  • Many law enforcement agencies are having a hard time filling officer vacancies. Developing incentives for recruiting more quality individuals into law enforcement professions will help reduce crime. One of the incentives that can be developed is offering tuition benefits or loans to students of advanced degrees who agree to serve as law enforcement officers in underserved areas for a certain period of time. The existing programs that support recruiting and retaining quality law enforcement officers should also be expanded to increase support for smaller agencies and those in rural areas where they have difficulty offering competitive salaries.

  • Illinois should improve policies and resources to reduce substance use because substance use often leads to criminal behaviors.

    Expand the existing resources for people who use substances and make them more accessible, especially at the local level. The biggest concern here is getting substance use resources, including treatment, to those who need them. The existing resources are often too far from those people who need them and have extensive wait lists, especially in rural areas. As such, the expansion of these resources should consider another way of making substance use treatment more accessible is by offering it to those who are arrested. If someone with a substance problem is arrested for a non-violent crime, he or she is often offered an opportunity to complete a treatment and get their charge reduced or dismissed.

  • Increasing crime clearance rates can reduce crime, because it prevents repeated crimes by the same offender, and it also encourages victims to report crimes to law enforcement. Law enforcement should adopt a policy that puts more emphasis on criminal investigation than the current practice. The need for additional investigation is often necessary, especially in serious violent crimes. Dedicated investigators should be allocated to criminal cases because patrol officers are often unable to gather evidence and investigate in addition to fulfilling their regular patrol duties. Investigators should be called into the scene immediately because timing can impact investigations and therefore clearance rates.

    Emphasis on criminal investigation should be supported by increased funding so that law enforcement agencies can have investigators and technology needed. Small agencies and agencies in the rural area should receive more support for criminal investigation, by funding agencies adequately and/or by providing more support through the Illinois State Police. Make sure an adequate amount of funding goes to equipping agencies with forensic technology, including DNA analysis. The evaluation of physical evidence is crucial which can make an innocent person exonerated or hold a responsible person accountable.

  • Providing more resources and support for victims of violent crimes can help reduce crime because victims may also become offenders. There can be a victim-offender connection. The existing programs for crime victims should be expanded and made more accessible. Rural counties especially lack resources for victims.

    The Crime Victims Compensation Program should be more widely available and adequately funded. The program should be evaluated for any gaps in what is currently offered to victims and provide additional resources that victims may need. This offering can be added to the compensation program or through another program. Because victims often do not receive restitution or compensation for a significant time due to various reasons (e.g., the incarceration of the offender), they should be supported to cope with financial difficulties. Further, crime victim’s advocates should be adequately funded to become more available for victims.

    To make sure victims are aware of the resources available to them, increase advertisement on available resources through the Crime Victims Compensation Program. Informing victims about the available resources should also be part of the criminal justice system. While other agencies or community groups may get involved to disseminate information about the resources for victims, the prosecutor’s office, victim advocates, or attorneys in the criminal justice system are often the best sources of information for victims. These agencies and people in the criminal justice system should be encouraged to inform victims about the resources available.

  • Providing job skills and entrepreneurship training for at-risk youths and returning residents will reduce crime because these populations can learn skills needed to get a job or start their own business. There are programs that provide general job skills trainings, but individuals who complete these trainings still face difficulties obtaining jobs. Programs should partner with employers that will hire individuals that successfully complete job training programming. This programming should cover both soft and hard skills and include training on entrepreneurship topics. Entrepreneurship is a particularly important avenue for individuals with criminal histories, because they often face many barriers to obtaining traditional employment.

  • Providing reentry programming that starts from prison and continues into halfway houses and the community can reduce repeated crime. Current programs are provided at each stage without much connection between them which may be discouraging to program participants. There should be a coordination between these programs so that returning residents can get help in continuation more effectively.

    A part of the help for returning residents should be providing more positive feedback and encouragement of their achievement, whether it is small or big, so they can stay motivated. Community groups should put more efforts to advertise client achievement publicly because it can provide examples of success and motivate other returning residents.

  • Government contractors should be required to reserve a certain percentage of job positions for returning residents. This can help reduce repeated crimes because it can expand employment opportunities for returning residents. Tax incentives should also be expanded to encourage businesses to hire returning residents. Tax incentives should be available long enough to cover the first few years after release from the prison, which is the high-risk period of recidivism, and they should cover various types of employment (e.g., contract work).