Rep. Slaughter Fights for Parolees in New Bill Passed Out of Committee

CHICAGO, IL – Seeking to cut down on burdensome restrictions for parolees who are trying to improve their life, Illinois state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, passed House Bill 2990 out of committee this week in an attempt to reduce unnecessary parole violations and expand who parolees may interact with.

“Giving people a second chance is important to their personal and professional development,” Slaughter said. “If we don’t allow people to interact with their friends or family, we are doing them a true disservice. Every minor infraction a parolee makes should not send them back to prison. The criminal justice system has to do a better job of helping people and not punishing them.”

House Bill 2990 amends the Unified Code of Corrections to make the conditions of every parole and mandatory supervised release more open. Current law prohibits a person on parole or mandatory supervised release from associating with individuals who are members of an organized gang, regardless of the activity the association involves. Slaughter’s bill states that parolees should not associate with persons who are members of an organized gang except when the association involves activities related to community programs, worship, services, volunteering, engaging families or some other pro-social activity in which there is no evidence of criminal intent.

“When someone leaves prison on parole, I want to make sure that they are set up to succeed and contribute back to society,” Slaughter said. “This bill will help to prevent unnecessary parole violations that have no criminal intent.”

For more information, please contact Slaughter’s constituent service office at 773-445-9700

slaughterj@ilga.gov.