Freed and exonerated Illinoisans joined State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. and State Representative Justin Slaughter at a press conference Tuesday to celebrate a newly signed law creating a clearer path to financial relief for people who have been wrongfully incarcerated in Illinois.
“Today marks a change in how the state of Illinois sees and responds to the injustice of a wrongful incarceration,” said Sims (D-Chicago). “When the system gets it wrong, it’s on us as leaders to step up and make it right. This law goes beyond compensation to provide a path toward justice.”
Since 1989, there have been nearly 600 exonerations in Illinois, with individual compensation often inadequate and awarded inconsistently. The average award for exonerated Illinoisans has been $11,190 per year of wrongful imprisonment, according to the Illinois Innocence Project, located at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Beyond financial compensation, many exonerated individuals struggle to find stability after having lost irreplaceable years – including years of work experience and paychecks. The impact is felt beyond the individual, causing financial and emotional hardship for their children, families and entire communities who lose not just a loved one’s income but their presence in the home.
Sims has worked tirelessly to addresses the injustice of wrongful imprisonment by raising state compensation for people who have been exonerated. The new law – House Bill 3663 – will provide compensation of up to $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment and $25,000 per year wrongfully spent on probation, parole or the sex offender registry.
“After years of advocacy, HB 3663 marks a monumental shift in how the state compensates exonerees – innocent women and men who have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned in IL prisons and received their Certificate of Innocence,” said Illinois Innocence Project Director Stephanie Kamel. “By removing the current cap and enabling the court to award up to $50,000 for each year spent wrongfully imprisoned, the state more fully acknowledges the injustice suffered by exonerees and the state’s moral obligation to provide greater restitution as they work to rebuild their lives. We are grateful for the bipartisan passage of HB 3663 by both the Illinois House and Senate; it is the least we, the citizens of Illinois, can do to support exonerees on their journey forward!”
House Bill 3663 was signed into law Tuesday and took effect immediately.
