IPCSA Sex Offender Committee Meeting Minutes

Fall Conference Meeting April 13, 2005 Rockford IL.

1.     The meeting was called to order by Co-chair Scott Summers at 10:10 A.M. Introductions and announcements were made.

2.     The first topic of discussion was the status of legislation in Illinois in regard to the supervision of sexual offenders.  Attendees were referred to the SOMB legislative update and several items were briefly discussed.*

·        House Bill 0121: Restricts sex offenders from participating in a holiday event involving children under 18 years of age, such as distributing candy on Halloween, wearing a Santa outfit on or preceding Christmas, being employed as a department store Santa or wearing Easter Bunny outfit on or preceding Easter. Pending

·        House Bill 0514:  Requires the Department of Corrections to create transitional living programs for released sex offenders.  Requirements include a treatment plan and counseling for each offender and must provide 24 hour security. Pending

·        House Bill 2432: Extends the loitering restrictions from 500 to 1000 feet from schools unless the offender has a child present at the school  Extends the residency restriction for child sex offenders from 500 feet to 1000 feet from schools or daycares. Pending

·        House Bill 3416:  Provides that it is unlawful for child sex offenders to loiter within 500 feet of a daycare unless the offender has a child present in the daycare at the time.

·        House Bill 350:  Sex offenders must refrain from residing at the same address or in the same condo or apartment complex with another person he or she knows or reasonably knows is a sex offender.

·        House Bill 0712:  Requires a parent who intends to marry a sex offender to notify the other parent with whom he or she has a minor child prior to that marriage. Pending

·        House Bill 2432:  Makes it unlawful for an employer who knows an employee is a child sex offender not to notify school officials that the employee is a convicted sex offender if the employee does business on school grounds. Pending

·        New laws:

·        Probation Officers must verify the registration of sex offenders within 15 days of sentencing.  Officers must file a PTR request immediately after determining an offender has failed to register and offender photos must be updated annually.

·        It is unlawful to photograph or video individuals without their knowledge or consent. Class three and four felonies depending on the prurient interest of the images created.

·        Provides that a child sex offender who is the parent or guardian of a child attending the school may be present for school progress or special education conferences.  The law does not prohibit child sex offenders from being on school grounds to exercise their constitutional right to vote during any election.  Sex offenders are still banned from being on school grounds or in vehicles used to transport students when their child is not present at a school activity.

*Legislative updates are believed to be fairly accurate but the above are synopsis of the complete language. It is suggested that prior to taking action against an offender based upon this report that the statute be reviewed in entirety.  Confirmation of any of the above is available from the ATG’s office.

3.     Workshops for the next conference were discussed.  Polygraph will be the subject matter for the fall conference workshop.

4.     Our committee was visited by Mike Torcia and Frank Morelli to welcome us and thank us for our continued hard work on behalf of the organization.  Mike and Frank were reminded of the significant contributions the committee has made in offering quality workshops at each conference for the last six years (at no cost to the organization) and the contributions to the newsletter and most importantly the contribution to all 102 circuits as they implement the Sex Offender Standards and Guidelines.

5.     Request for Court orders:  Many jurisdictions have asked for help designing sex offender court orders.  Some of you have already done this.  It would be of great help if you would fax or e-mail copies of either the court orders or the special conditions forms that you are currently using.  Please send to Scott at FAX 847-360-3640 or via e-mail at ssummers@co.lake.il.us.

6.     Scott reported that Probation is currently not represented on the SOMB board but the Governor has offered the probation seat to him.  This is on the recommendation of both the Attorney General’s Office and the AOIC.  Acceptance is pending some administrative issues.  An announcement will be made at a later date. 

7.     The rest of the meeting was spent sharing stories and discussion of topics of interest.  Scott shared the Lake County SOMB “Limits of Confidentiality and Informed Consent Agreement”.  Parole for Life legistation was briefly discussed as was the recent ruling concerning the admissibility of the acturarial assessment tools.  Bill Soward from Rock Island County agreed to contacts Sarah Usrey concerning her research project.

8.     All officers who have e-mail addresses are encouraged to get them to Jerry Cobbetto.  This will enhance our ability to mass communicate without incurring expense. You can call Jerry at 618-692-6255 or e-mail him at jrcobbetto@co.madison.il.us

9.     The next meeting will be in Bloomington on July 8 at the Bone Student Center at 10:00 a.m.  The fall meeting will be at the conference in Decatur on October 19.

10. Meeting adjourned at 11:30 A.M.