ABOUT THE CLEAR COMMISSION
Since the Illinois Criminal Code was last overhauled by the General Assembly more than 45 years ago, thousands of well-intentioned changes have riddled the Criminal Code with redundancies, inconsistencies and confusing language. A Code that once made clear distinctions between right and wrong and concisely explained the penalties for each transgression now confounds even experienced lawyers and judges.
The CLEAR Commission has been meeting since early 2005 in an intensive process to review and reform the Illinois Criminal Code and Code of Corrections to make them more readable, understandable, consistent and just. The Commission has completed its recommendations and they are currently being drafted. The new Criminal Code is less complex, easier to comprehend and includes the same crimes and punishments enacted by past legislatures.
BENEFITS OF LESS COMPLEX ILLINOIS CRIMINAL CODE
- The Code will be more accessible to laypeople trying to obey the law.
- Judges and lawyers will find the Code easier to understand and apply.
- The reform will eliminate disputes over interpretation of the Code that can reduce costly retrials, court delays and mistakes.
- The size of the Code will be reduced significantly, and indexing will be improved.
- Policy makers will more easily understand the implications of amendments proposed in the future.
- The new Code will limit the opportunity for lengthy and expensive appeals due to confusion with the existing Code.
HOW THE REVIEW PROCESS WORKED The CLEAR Commission includes respected policy makers and practitioners representing diverse perspectives on the criminal justice system, as well as the geographic, racial and economic composition of the state. Co-chaired by former Governor James R. Thompson and former Illinois Appellate Court Justice Gino L. DiVito, the Commission detailed on the left includes members appointed by the four legislative leaders, as well as prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement representatives, the Attorney General and a representative of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The Commission met quarterly to discuss recommended changes, hear alternatives and refine draft language. Over the past two years, every line of the more than 300,000 word Code was reviewed and replacement language will reduce the size of the Code by about one-third.
All Commission decisions were made by consensus and required the approval of all members.
2008 ACTION AGENDA
Beginning in January 2008, CLEAR Commissioners agreed to explore the following issues relating to criminal sentencing and imprisonment:
- Illinois policymakers must better understand the data/information about Illinois’ sentencing system – including (1) who goes to prison (2) for what crimes (3) for how long, (4) what the underlying costs are and (5) how these issues impact public safety.
- Illinois should consider designing or mandating one entity to gather and analyze sentencing data in order to provide policymakers with factual information on how current laws are working, as well as the long term effect and potential unintended consequences of proposed sentencing changes with the goals of reducing the costs of incarceration and recidivism while improving public safety.
- Based on similar analytical approaches in other states, an Illinois analysis will likely suggest the need to divert certain populations out of prison and into incarceration alternatives like mental health courts, drug schools and drug courts.
- There should be a cost-benefit analysis done in Illinois to quantify the impact of incarceration alternatives, leading to better informed decisions about how Illinois resources spent on the criminal justice system could be redeployed at the local and state levels more effectively.
- It may be necessary to develop an entity/process to assess which people in the system are to be appropriately assigned to incarceration alternatives. This assessment approach would be constantly monitored and analyzed based on actual case outcomes.
- Along a parallel track, there should be further analysis of how to classify Class X and 1-4 felonies in order to make these sentencing classification laws more understandable, consistent and clear.
WORKGROUP OVERVIEW
Work Groups are being established to address these issues and will operate with the following charges:
Data and Sentencing Structures Work Group
Based on Illinois experience and models from other states:
- Develop an understanding of what data and information will be necessary to analyze the impact of current sentencing and incarceration practices
- Design a format to collect future data
- Create a process to collect the data
- Consider the advisability of a Sentencing Commission for Illinois.
Public Safety and Diversion Work Group
Based on Illinois experience and models from other states, and using data collected consistent with recommendations from the Data and Sentencing Commission Work Group
- Explore how to design a risk-assessment process to help determine who should be incarcerated and who are possible candidates for diversion from incarceration
- Design a cost-benefit model to determine what implementation of this process could achieve
- Examine what institutional entities would be appropriate to oversee the implementation
- Examine what alternative programs are effective, their costs, and the Illinois capacity to employ these alternatives currently and in the future.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SUPPORTERS
Financial and in-kind support for the CLEAR Initiative has been provided by Bank One Foundation; the Chicago Bar Foundation; the Field Foundation; David Heller; Illinois Bar Foundation; the JEHT Foundation; the Joyce Foundation; Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP; the New Prospect Foundation; The Pew Charitable Trusts; the Rockit Fund; the Steans Family Foundation; the University of Chicago Law School; the Wieboldt Foundation; Winston & Strawn LLP; and the Woods Fund of Chicago.
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