Illinois Voices for Reform is a non-profit advocacy and support organization for

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...

s and their families. It is dedicated to providing education on issues affecting sex offenders to the public and to legislators. Illinois Voices for Reform is an affiliate organization of the

National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) is a national civil rights and justice reform organization headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina with operations based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and with affiliated organizati ...

(NARSOL), and is one of the more than 50 organizations nationwide

movement to reform sex offender laws in the United States The movement to reform sex offender laws in the United States describes the efforts of individuals and organizations to change state laws requiring Sex offender registries in the United States. Efforts fall into two main categories, advocacy for ...

. The group holds that current

sex offender registry A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions, registration i ...

laws have gone far beyond their original intent of protecting children, and therefore aims to promote and supports laws that are sensible and make society safer while protecting the constitutional rights of everyone involved.

Advocacy

Illinois Voices for Reform aims to inform lawmakers and the public that sex offenders are a diverse group of individuals, and that contrary to popular belief, the

recidivism Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

rate of 5% over five years is the second lowest of all offender groups. The onerous restrictions and stigmatizing effect of public sex offender lists are unfair and unfounded when applied to all offenders indiscriminately, without considering the individual risk and underlying facts of individual cases. Illinois Voices for Reform advocates for reforming state and federal laws that promote a "one-size-fits-all" policy, and for returning sex offender registries to their original purpose of monitoring violent sexual predators. Furthermore, they support reforming public registries and residency restrictions that have been proven to be ineffective at best, and, according to research, may be counter-productive, undermining rather than enhancing public safety. The group seeks to educate and correct inaccurate views held by lawmakers and the general populace about sex offenders, such as their alleged high risk of re-offending, which is the core rationale behind sex offender laws. Illinois Voices for Reform says that current laws unfairly stigmatize young and low-risk offenders, such as those engaging in consensual teenage sex or

sexting Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or videos, primarily between mobile phones. It may also include the use of a computer or any digital device. The term was first popularized early in the 21st ...

. They believe that laws should be based on research and empirical evidence of what works, and that "feel good" laws based on public

hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...

surrounding high-profile, but rare cases waste taxpayer dollars, violate the rights of individuals, and can actually undermine public safety. The group has voiced its concern over laws that do not differentiate between violent and non-violent offenders to

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

. Accordingly, the group heavily objected to Illinois adopting the federal Adam Walsh Act. Recently, Illinois Voices for Justice has opposed a sex offender workplace registry bill that was introduced in the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

in March 2015.

References

{{Reflist

External links

ilvoices.comNARSOLRegistrants and Families Support Line
Sex offender registration Non-profit organizations based in Illinois Civil liberties advocacy groups in the United States

Advocacy

See also

References

External links