Criminal Justice

Gov. JB Pritkzer has signed a criminal justice reform bill spearheaded by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. But questions linger among activists, lawmakers and law enforcement officials over the effects of the bill.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a criminal justice omnibus bill backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Monday, abolishing cash bail, overhauling police certification and reforming use-of-force standards among numerous other provisions.

Arthur Haynes says he is a rehabilitated man--a civic leader and entrepreneur, but someone who can’t run for elected office to represent his community because he still can’t get out from under court fines and fees that accumulated over 15 years.

A criminal justice package that passed both chambers of the General Assembly last month contains provisions that would grant the state increased power over police discipline and standards of conduct starting in 2022.

The Illinois Senate passed a criminal justice omnibus bill early Wednesday morning after a grueling 20 hours of politicking during Tuesday’s lame duck session.

The pandemic has slowed programs in McLean County that help keep people out of prison and the county jail.

Michael Donavan, the county's court services director, said recovery court and drug court usually offer intensive therapy and other services, but they are not seeing as much use right now.

In a sentence contrary to a state recommendation for probation, a judge on Wednesday sentenced a Bloomington man to 4½ years in prison and ordered him to pay restitution to the Town of Normal for damages to police squad cars caused by looters earlier this year.

The Illinois Department of Corrections had adopted its first standardized policy for inmates held in segregation, with a focus on limiting the number of prisoners removed from general population for years at a time.

Some state lawmakers are looking to reform the cash bail system in Illinois, mainly by ending the use of money bonds as a factor in preventing a suspect’s release.

Gov. JB Pritzker announced seven “guiding principles” Tuesday to “build a more equitable criminal justice system,” a series of policy recommendations the governor says are priorities for his administration as it works with the General Assembly.

Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner said he was pushed to the ground and a man tried to hit him with his fist near Kohl’s about 10:30 p.m. Monday. Renner said he had tried to engage a group of people in dialogue.

For two decades, Jamie Snow has fought his McLean County murder conviction, but his battle with an infectious disease that has killed 12 of his fellow inmates may pose the biggest threat to his life.

Snow is serving a life sentence at Stateville Correctional Center in the death of Bill Little, a clerk who was fatally shot behind the counter of a Bloomington gas station on Easter Sunday 1991. The Exoneration Project is representing Snow in his effort.

A Bloomington man pleaded guilty Monday to failure to report a June crash that left a motorcyclist dead.

For the 99,000 women incarcerated in U.S. prisons, the path to the criminal justice system is littered with broken relationships, physical and sexual abuse, and addiction.

A man pointed a gun at a juvenile during a family argument Monday night, Bloomington Police said.

The Town of Normal is in the middle of its first annual Daring Diversity: A Racial Equity Summit. Day 1 of the conference included speakers who defined and traced the roots of racism.

Politicians spearheading the effort to legalize recreational marijuana say revenue isn't the driving force. It's about promoting criminal and social justice for people of color who have been unfairly targeted by the war on drugs. But, prominent activists from minority communities question whether these lofty goals are possible. 

Illinois lawmakers are moving to give judges more discretion in sentencing people convicted of certain crimes.

TV detectives might be solving crimes easily with the help of advanced forensic testing, but two legal experts with the Illinois Innocence Project say their caseload is mounting because of flawed forensics.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed legislation to change the climate for women in Illinois prisons.

McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage is running for re-election. Sandage cited achievements in increasing drug enforcement efforts as a reason he hopes people will vote for him again.

"We have dedicated another detective to our detective division and started running narcotics cases out of our detective division. We have also added a K-9 unit to the patrol division and we are working a lot more drug interdiction details," said Sandage.