Illinois has a housing crisis and is one of a handful of states that keep homeless registrants incarcerated beyond their sentences. What many don't know is that, as noted on the Illinois State Police website, "Public Act 094-0161 establishes that the Illinois State Police identify details on the Sex Offender Registration Information website of transitional housing facilities licensed by the Illinois Department of Corrections." But I'll save you a click by posting a screenshot of this list:
And that page I screenshot? It has not had a single place listed for roughly five years!
That is why this exchange between Republican Illinois State Senator Steve McClure and a reporter from Vice News makes my blood boil. I think Mcclure should be sent to prison and not be released until he can find housing that meets residency restriction requirements for Registered Persons.
Reporter: Are siome of these laws just kind of absurd, like, are they actually making people safe or do they just make people feel safe?
Steve McClure: There are a lot of laws and there are some that many could say are a little bit over the top. However, it's all based around the fact that these victims never get to recover from these crimes, and if you commit these crimes you should also have to face consequences for the rest of your life.
Reporter: So in Illinois right now, there are currently over 500 people who are serving time beyond their sentences and that's because there's no housing that meets the requirements. What do you think should be done about the housing problem for people on the sex offense registry?
Steve McClure: I think they have to expand their search to other parts of the state, you know, I mean, if there's a region that they want to live that doesn't meet these requirements, there are plenty of other places in this state--a lot of rural places where they could live if they wanted to.
Reporter: So you don't think there's actually a problem?
Steve McClure: I don't think there's a problem.
Reporter: Why would people be serving time beyond their sentence if there's not a problem, and I mean it costs taxpayers millions of dollars a year.
Steve McClure: It does but I think public safety trumps cost.
Reporter: So you're basically saying you think that people who are looking for housing who aren't finding it need to try harder?
Steve McClure: Yes.
See Rep. McClure spew his bullshit at 16:25
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.