July 8, 2021

Laws are powerful. They shape people’s lives—including survivors of sexual harm. Well-crafted legislation can expand survivors’ options, offer them new protections, shift how our community treats its most vulnerable people, and prevent future violence. That’s why CAASE’s work changing laws is critical to our mission of ending sexual harm. 

This year, our public policy efforts focused on six bills. We worked tirelessly with our allies to advocate on behalf of survivors, and it paid off. The Illinois General Assembly passed five of the bills! Considering that the success rate for bills in Illinois is only 9%, this is a landslide victory for survivors.

Passed Bills

So what’s so great about these bills? Let us tell you a bit about each and what you can do to support them.  

Ensuring Student Survivors Can Succeed in School

HB 3223 (ESSL)– (Sponsored by Rep. Anna Moeller and Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford) 

1 in 4 girls experiences sexual violence before age 18. Survivors tend to have lower graduation rates because the trauma of gender-based violence creates barriers to learning, making it more difficult for students to stay and succeed in school. 1 in 4 girls experiences sexual violence before age 18. Despite this, K-12 student survivors have fewer rights and accommodations in their schools than adults in the workplace under Illinois law. 

The Ensuring Success in School Law (ESSL) would help schools become trauma-informed spaces for K-12 students who have experienced sexual or domestic violence or are pregnant/parenting. This bill gives schools clear parameters about what they must do to support survivors and ensure that students have options to seek resources, request changes from the school without penalties, and more. In addition, the bill would see to it that these students are supported so that they can continue their education, successfully graduate, and stop the cycle of trauma. You can learn more about ESSL in these blog posts.

Status: Passed Both Houses, signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on 8/20/21

Effective date: 2024 and 2025

Improving Survivors’ Options Through Restorative Justice

SB 64 – (Sponsored by Rep. Carol Ammons and Sen. Robert Peters) 

Restorative justice practices allow victims to seek justice for the harms against them when their needs and desired outcomes can be met outside of the criminal legal process. SB 64 would ensure that dialogue from restorative justice practices is privileged and cannot be used in future proceedings (with some exceptions)—incentivizing a perpetrator to take accountability for their actions and offering another option to the survivor. You can learn more about how the bill supports survivors here.

Status: Passed Both Houses, signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on 7/15/21

Effective date: 2022

Protecting and Enforcing Victim’s Rights

HB 1739 – (Sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy) 

Illinois was among the first in the nation to provide state constitutional rights for victims. Still, our statute does not address the enforcement mechanism for how a victim can seek redress if those rights are violated. This bill would clarify when a victim should be consulted or notified about their case, and if a right is violated, it would determine the pathway to enforcement and create remedies. It also extends SASETA COVID-19 allowance for IDPH-approved federally qualified health centers to complete forensic medical exams from 6/30/21 to 12/31/21. That means Howard Brown Health can continue offering this care in Chicago. 

Status: Passed Both Houses, signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on 6/25/21

Effective date:  June 30 to December 21, 2021, 2022, and 2023

Ensuring Rape Crisis Center Privilege

HB 3265 – (Sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy) 

This bill would clarify the privileges of rape crisis centers to ensure a victim’s records and privacy are protected.

Status:

Passed Both Houses, signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on 8/20/21

Effective date: 2022

Expungement For Felony Prostitution Convictions

SB 2136 – (Sponsored by Rep. LaShawn K. Ford, Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins) 

Having a criminal record is a common burden among trafficking and sex trade survivors, and it creates many barriers for them as they exit the sex trade. Therefore, an expungement of these felony records is critical to allowing survivors to have safe and secure lives after the sex trade. Expungement is especially needed because prostitution is no longer a felony in Illinois.

Passed Both Houses, signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on 8/27/21

Effective date: 2022 

When Will These Bills Become Law?

Illinois General Assembly has chosen to stand with survivors by passing these bills. Yet, Gov. J.B. Pritzker must demonstrate the same commitment by signing them for each to become law. 

You Can Help! 

It took years of hard work and coordinated advocacy to pass these bills, and most have them have been signed into law. Now it’s time for the final push! Simply email or call Gov. J.B. Pritzker and ask that he show up for SB 2136 into law and thank him for supporting gender justice. Need help? Our quick guide gives you everything you need to contact the governor today. 

Stay Informed 

Each year, CAASE advocates for legislation that expands options for survivors of sexual harm, curtails the criminalization of trauma behaviors, and holds perpetrators and systems accountable. We invite you to be part of this work! Be sure to follow us @theCAASE on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date. You can also check out our legislative priorities at the start of each session. 

Hayley Forrestal authored this piece with support from Madeleine Behr of CAASE. Learn more about our staff here.