LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation advocates for legislation that expands options for survivors of sexual harm, curtails the criminalization of trauma behaviors, and holds perpetrators and systems accountable. CAASE supports systemic solutions that prevent future sexual violence by breaking down the layers of oppression that increase the likelihood of victimization, including sexism, racism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, and transphobia.
The work of ending gender-based violence and advancing criminal justice reform is intertwined, not oppositional. Our institutional systems are neither supportive nor humane towards survivors or those punished for causing harm. CAASE envisions a system where dignity and appropriate accountability are front and center.
2024
Passed House, in Senate: Prostitution Investigation Act and criminal records relief
HB 4410 – Sponsored by Rep. Will Guzzardi
HB 4410 would require all state law enforcement agencies to develop a policy to prohibit officers from performing any sex act involving penetration with people suspected of prostitution during the course of investigation. In our research of how Chicago Police enforced prostitution laws, many of the survivors we spoke with shared that they had been groped and/or sexually harmed by police officers.
The bill also automatically expunges a person’s prostitution felony convictions from their records. Most sex trafficking survivors have criminal records, especially for prostitution offenses. This bill expands on past CAASE priorities to allow for individual state’s attorneys to automatically expunge felony prostitution convictions, and to eliminate felony penalties for prostitution.
✔✔Signed into law: Gender-based violence re-sentencing fix
SB 3285 – Sponsored by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy and Sen. Robert Peters
Instead of being provided safety and support, some survivors of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and domestic abuse are sent to prison—sometimes for the crimes of their abusers. In 2015, Illinois created a path to request resentencing for incarcerated survivors. However, technical ambiguities in the policy lead to only four known survivors being able to gain the intended relief of the law, so a fix was passed in 2023 to allow more survivors to benefit from the law.
In December 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court, however, made a ruling that prohibited defendants who plead guilty in their cases from seeking this post-conviction relief created under the gender-based violence re-sentencing law. SB 3285 explicitly states that convictions resulting from negotiated plea deals are eligible for re-sentencing.
In House committee: Right to Speak Your Truth Act
HB 5452 – Sponsored by Rep. Mary Beth Canty
HB 5452 creates the Right to Speak Your Truth Act, to allow survivors to share their stories of harm publicly without fear of defamation claims against them. Unfortunately, there has also been a rise in threats of legal action and lawsuits alleging survivors’ statements were defamatory, especially after the #MeToo movement. Perpetrators sometimes use defamation lawsuits as a tool to further harm victims. Defending against a defamation claim can be costly, and not just financially. It can be a form of extended abuse as it drags through the legal system.
This bill ensures that speech related to gender-based violence is protected speech under the Citizen Participation Act, the anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) law in Illinois. The bill also amends the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act to ensure survivors are not retaliated against in Title IX or sexual misconduct cases at their colleges for speaking out about the harm against them.
In House and Senate committees: Pretrial Success Act
HB 4816/SB 3470 – Sponsored by Rep. Maurice West and Sen. Elgie Sims
The Pretrial Success Act continues the implementation work of the Pretrial Fairness Act, which ended the use of money bond in pretrial decisions in Illinois. The Pretrial Fairness Act ensures that pretrial decisions are determined by safety and justice – not access to money.
The Pretrial Success Act continues this work by creating a $15 million funding stream through the state Department of Human Services to. (1) help defendants with navigating the criminal legal and social services systems as they await trial, (2) create linkages to mental health or substance use treatments for defendants as they await trial, and (3) assist with transportation and child care so defendants can ensure they appear in court. This program would reduce pretrial jailing and better ensure community safety by expanding access to case management, mental health care and substance use disorder services for people awaiting trial.
✔✔Signed into law: Protecting incarcerated pregnant survivors
HB 5431 – Sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy and Sen. Mary Edly-Allen
HB 5431 would better improve the treatment of incarcerated pregnant people in both state prisons and county jails. Too often, the reproductive rights of people who are incarcerated are disregarded, and the repercussions incarceration will have on their families go unrecognized.
This bill would require county sheriffs to annually report the number of pregnant prisoners in custody each year, as well as any incarcerated people who deliver or miscarry while in custody. The bill would also require corrections officers to remove any electronic monitoring devices of a pregnant person during labor and delivery, and remove the requirement that postpartum prisoners be restrained by handcuffs when being transported from a medical facility back to prison.
While ensuring access to abortion care is critical, reproductive rights go far beyond the ability to make choices about pregnancy: any conversation about reproductive rights must also include legislation that recognizes the effects of intimate partner violence on survivors’ health, protects incarcerated individuals, and so much more.
2023
✔✔ Signed into law: Prevent Unfair Sentencing of Youth Act
HB 3414 – Sponsored by Rep. Lilian Jiménez
CAASE is partnering with Rights4Girls and other statewide and national partners to bring the Prevent Unfair Sentencing of Youth Act to Illinois this year. The Prevent Unfair Sentencing of Youth Act, formerly known as Sara’s Law, encourages the criminal legal system to recognize youth who are criminalized and convicted of acts of self-defense as victims of gender-based violence. Too often, youth survivors of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and domestic abuse are convicted in adult court and sent to prison for long (even lifelong) sentences—sometimes for defending themselves against further harm, like in the experiences of Cyntoia Brown-Long, Sara Kruzan and many more survivors.
HB 3414 creates three new options for judges to use at the time of sentencing: to move away from the mandatory minimum for different offenses, to suspend any part of the sentence, or to move the survivor’s case back to juvenile court for sentencing, where they have more opportunity for treatment and support. By limiting sentencing terms and keeping trafficking-related cases in juvenile court, youth will be afforded a reduced sentence and a better opportunity to make a life for themselves after the trauma of sexual abuse. HB 3414 helps Illinois align with human rights principles that foster the physical, psychological, and social recovery of child survivors of abuse and exploitation.
Read more about the Prevent Unfair Sentencing of Youth Act on our blog.
Introduced: Victims’ rights and criminal records relief for trafficking survivors
HB 2755 – Sponsored by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy
HB 2755 seeks to create parity for victims’ rights after a new law last session created stronger rights for victims of crime that are businesses and retailers rather than victims of violent crimes like sexual assault, domestic violence and more. The bill creates the same right to notice for all victims of crime, and prohibits law enforcement from discouraging the filing of reports for domestic violence and sexual assault.
The bill also amends the Justice for Victims of Sex Trafficking Act to create better opportunities for trafficking survivors to petition for expunged and vacated criminal records tied to their victimization. Current law only allows for prostitution convictions tied to trafficking victimizations to be expunged. HB 2755 would expand the types of offenses survivors could petition for vacatur and expungement, like retail theft and others, as well as add in procedural guardrails to ensure continuity between survivors’ experiences seeking criminal records relief across the state. This bill is being led by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and a coalition of supporters.
Passed Senate: Privacy protections for survivors seeking medical treatment
SB 333 – Sponsored by Sen. David Koehler
SB 333 amends the mandate that hospitals and healthcare providers treating crime victims must notify law enforcement as soon as treatment permits. Instead, SB 333 would allow survivors of sexual assault to choose to delay notification up to 24 hours and control what information is shared. The option of delayed notification empowers survivors to choose when to interact with law enforcement and still provides a notification, which can be connected to the medical record and, if applicable, evidence collection kit, if the survivor chooses to make a report later.
Currently, some victims of sexual harm do not seek medical care because of the requirement that hospitals and healthcare providers call law enforcement. Allowing a short delay in notification when a survivor chooses to not interact with law enforcement is important to protect survivors’ privacy and give them back control. This bill is being led by the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault and a coalition of supporters.
✔✔Signed into law: Gender-based violence resentencing
SB 2260 – Sponsored by Sen. Robert Peters
Instead of being provided safety and support, some survivors of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and domestic abuse are sent to prison—sometimes for the crimes of their abusers. In 2015, Illinois created a path to request resentencing for incarcerated survivors. However, technical ambiguities in the policy lead to only four known survivors being able to gain the intended relief of the law.
SB 2260 creates a “fix” to align the law with the original legislative purpose. It also allows for coercion and compulsion defenses to accountability and removes outdated references to the death penalty. The bill includes survivors of “gender-based violence”—not just domestic violence—as eligible for relief. This grants survivors of sexual assault and trafficking more robust opportunities for resentencing. This bill is being led by allies at the Women’s Justice Institute and a coalition of supporters.
✔✔ Signed into law: Confidentiality seal and remote hearings for trafficking survivors with criminal records
HB 2418* – Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Keicher
HB 2418 improves the Criminal Identification Act to better support trafficking survivors who seek criminal records relief. The bill makes it easier for trafficking survivors to seal the criminal records stemming from their victimization, rather than just expunge or vacate, and adds the option for survivors and their counsel to file their petition for relief under confidential seal. This better protects survivors and their safety and privacy as they undergo this process. The bill would also make statute align with Supreme Court rules to allow for remote hearing options, instead of only requiring hearings be done in-person.
2022
Because 2022 is an election year in Illinois, the General Assembly has been less active. Therefore, our public policy and advocacy efforts have focused on defending legislative wins from last session, such as the Pretrial Fairness Act to end wealth-based incarceration. We’re also supporting legislative initiatives spearheaded by allies and preparing for upcoming legislative campaigns and reports.
✔✔ Signed into law: Remote filing and hearings for protective orders
SB3667 – Sponsored by Sen. Steve Stadelman and Rep. Maurice A. West II
Remote hearings and filings ensure that limitations or needs that prevent in-person court appearances—like child care, transportation, disabilities and more—do not prevent a survivor from getting the protective orders they need. SB3667 requires that courts allow in-person and online filing of protective orders (orders of protection, stalking no-contact orders, and civil no-contact orders) and remote hearings for such cases in all counties with populations of 250,000 or more, subject to the court’s discretion on the request for the remote hearing from the petitioner. It will expand access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence.
✔✔ Signed into law: Task force on missing and murdered Chicago women
HB3988 – Sponsored by Rep. Kam Buckner and Sen. Mattie Hunter
HB3988 creates a task force to explore the causes and the investigations of 75+ missing and murdered Chicago women and girls, most of them Black. Many of these women were engaged in the sex trade and did not receive proper investigations into their deaths and disappearances. The task force will explore appropriate methods for tracking and investigating cases. It will also analyze the underlying causes of systemic violence experienced by Chicago women and girls and policies that impact it.
✔✔ Signed into law: Remove mistaken age defense for solicitation for sex act from a minor
HB4593 – Sponsored by Rep. Chris Bos and Sen. Dan McConchie
Eliminates the affirmative defense of mistaken age for charges of solicitation of a sex act from a minor, so a defendant with these charges can no longer claim they did not know the minor’s age or that they assumed they were an adult. HB4593 is protective of minor victims of sex trafficking, as all juveniles engaged in the sex trade are legally victims of sex trafficking under state and federal law and are immune from being prosecuted for juvenile prostitution. It’s a commonsense move that puts Illinois in line with more than 30 other states with this prohibition on the defense of mistaken age.
✔✔ Signed into law: Prohibition on source of income discrimination in housing
HB2775 – Sponsored by Rep. LaShawn K. Ford and Sen. Ram Villivalam
HB 2775 prohibits “source of income” discrimination which has allowed landlords and rental owners to discriminate against potential tenants based on the type of income they use to pay for housing—such as public housing vouchers and other public benefits. Securing safe and affordable housing is a top reason people enter the sex trade, and fail to exit it successfully. By ensuring people are not discriminated against for using such benefits to pay for housing, Illinois supports survivors of the sex trade at all stages of their healing and restoration process. This bill is an effort by housing advocates like Shriver Center, Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, Housing Choice Partners, and many more.
Led by Housing Action Illinois, the Shriver Center, and other housing advocacy groups
✔✔ Signed into law: Commission on Children of Incarcerated Parents
HB5525 – Sponsored by Rep. Delia Ramirez and Sen. Mike Simmons
Most incarcerated women are survivors of gender-based violence and more than 80% of women in prison in Illinois are mothers of children. More than 70% were their children’s primary caregivers before incarceration. Children experiencing parental incarceration are rarely heard or have their rights respected, including the right to be with their parents. HB5525 seeks to change that by creating a commission following the in the steps of the previous Task Force for Children of Incarcerated Parents. It would convene stakeholders, conduct research, and make recommendations related to children of incarcerated parents.
Led by Women’s Justice Institute, WJI; and Cabrini Green Legal Aid, CGLA
✔✔ Signed into law: Gender-based Violence Resentencing
HB4847 – Sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy
Instead of being provided safety and support, some survivors of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and domestic abuse are sent to prison—sometimes for the crimes of their abusers. In 2015, Illinois created a path to request resentencing for incarcerated survivors. However, technical ambiguities in the policy lead to only four known survivors being able to gain the intended relief of the law.
HB 4847 creates a “fix” to align the law with the original legislative purpose. It also allows for coercion and compulsion defenses to accountability and removes outdated references to the death penalty. The bill includes survivors of “gender-based violence”—not just domestic violence—as eligible for relief. This grants survivors of sexual assault and trafficking more robust opportunities for resentencing.
Led by Women’s Justice Institute, WJI
2021
Our public policy efforts in 2021 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. You can read more about them below or in this blog post.
✔✔ Signed into law: Ensuring Success in School Law (ESSL)
HB 3223 – (Rep. Anna Moeller, Sen. Kimberly Lightford)
Research shows 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 7 boys experience intimate partner violence before they turn 18. This trauma makes it more difficult for students to stay and succeed in school since it creates barriers to learning. This harm can manifest itself through criminalized trauma behaviors, perpetuating the abuse-to-prison pipeline among Black and brown girls, as studies show more than 80% of girls in juvenile detention have experienced abuse.
Despite this, K-12 student survivors have fewer rights and accommodations under Illinois law compared to college students and adults in the workplace. ESSL would help schools become trauma-informed spaces for K-12 students who have experienced sexual or domestic violence or who are pregnant/parenting. This bill—which does not mandate more or additional resources—gives schools clear parameters about what they must do to support survivors, and ensure that survivors have options to seek resources, request changes from the school without penalties, and more. The bill would see to it that these students are supported so that they continue their education, successfully graduate, and stop this harmful cycle of trauma. You can learn more about our support of ESSL in these blog posts.
Status: Passed Both Houses, signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on 8/20/21
✔✔ Signed into law: Improving survivors’ options through restorative justice
SB 64 – (Rep. Carol Ammons, Sen. Robert Peters)
Accessing our criminal justice system is often a re-traumatizing experience for survivors. It also doesn’t reflect the justice some survivors seek, where their needs and desired outcomes can be met outside of the courtroom. Choosing a restorative justice practice can allow survivors to seek justice for the harms against them, and where a perpetrator can take accountability for their actions. The bill would ensure that dialogue from restorative justice practices are privileged and cannot be used in future proceedings (with some exceptions)—incentivizing a perpetrator to take accountability for their actions and offering another option for a survivor seeking justice. You can learn more about how this law supports survivors on our blog and in this coverage from Mother Jones: Restorative Justice Won’t Work Without This Crucial Piece.
Status: Passed Both Houses, signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on 7/15/21
✔✔ Signed into law: Protecting and enforcing victim’s rights
HB 1739 – (Rep. Kelly Cassidy)
Illinois was among the first in the nation to provide constitutional rights for victims, but 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, determine the pathway to enforcement when a right is violated, and create remedies that can be accessed when a victim’s rights are violated. We also support efforts to clarify the privilege of rape crisis centers to ensure a victim’s records and privacy are protected.
HB 1739 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.
✔✔Approved: Ensuring rape crisis center privilege
HB 3265 – (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, approved by Gov. Pritzker 8/20/21.
✔✔ Approved: Expungement for felony prostitution convictions
SB 2136 – (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. A national survey of survivors found that 73 percent said they had difficulty securing a job, and nearly 60 percent reported difficulties in securing affordable housing because of their criminal record. An expungement of these felony records, especially needed because prostitution is no longer a felony in Illinois, is critical to allowing survivors to have safe and secure lives after the sex trade.
Status: Passed Both Houses, approved by Gov. Pritzker 8/27/21.
Removing barriers for people on the sex offender registry
HB 3913 (Rep. Camille Y. Lilly)
The sex offender registry has proven to be an ineffective method to ensure public safety and has continually let legislators and law enforcement off the hook for actually changing rape culture. Instead, our goal should be to reduce or eliminate punishments that are not evidence-based and redirect resources to actual prevention strategies and support for survivors. This bill would eliminate weekly sex offender registration for people without homes on the registry, and reduce housing banishment laws that keep more people on the registry housing insecure or stuck in prison past their sentence trying to find approved housing. Not only would this reduce the housing crisis for people on the registry, but it would also allow law enforcement to prioritize the survivors who are seeking justice in real-time—not continuing to penalize people who have already completed sentences, and are likely to be survivors of sexual harm themselves.
You can learn more about our position here.