Staff Reports
In Illinois, Democrats are working on a new bill that would change the language used in the criminal code. They want to replace the word “offender” with “justice-impacted individual.” The bill, named House Bill 4409, is an effort to remove the term “offender” from the Illinois Crime Reduction Act of 2009 and replace it with the term “justice-impacted individual.” The bill is being sponsored by Democrat Representatives Kelly M. Cassidy and Lindsey LaPointe, as well as Senators Robert Peters, Mike Simmons, and Adriane Johnson.
Town Hall: Democrat Lawmakers in One State Want to Change the Term ‘Offender’ https://t.co/ATvcwHzzQE
— Ian Hansen 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@IanHansenFeed) May 22, 2024
However, Republican State Senator Terri Bryant has urged lawmakers to vote against the bill. She argues that changing the terminology will result in significant costs for various agencies, such as the Department of Corrections, as they will have to update all their documents to reflect the new language. She questions the necessity of making such a change and the financial burden it will place on the state.
State Senator Steve McClure, also a Republican, expressed concerns about the bill as well. He believes that there is a rush to remove accountability for individuals who commit crimes. McClure emphasized the importance of holding individuals accountable for their actions and expressed his disbelief in the trend of apologizing for those who choose to commit crimes. He also highlighted the significant increase in crime and drug-related incidents in prisons, raising questions about the potential changes to the term “victim.”
The proposed changes in criminal terminology have elicited a strong response from Republicans in Illinois, who are questioning the need for such alterations and highlighting the potential consequences and costs associated with the implementation of the new language.
