(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The legislature has passed and sent to the governor a bill that would change how the state refers to people currently considered offenders. The bill changes the term “offender” to “justice impacted individual.”
The sponsor, Senator Robert Peters, Democrat from Chicago, said it just means that someone who has been impacted by the criminal justice system is an individual.
Republican Senator Steve McClure questioned Peters on if victims would be called “criminally impacted individuals.”
“Well, we don't mess with anything in terms of the term ‘victim.’ We just change ‘offender’ to ‘justice impacted individual,’” Peters said.
McClure said the change is taking away accountability for people who commit crimes.
He also said, this apologizing for the criminal, the person who chooses to commit crimes to the detriment of victims is “absolutely incredible.”
“There’s been a tremendous rush in this chamber to take away penalties, take away accurate language to reflect criminal behavior, take away crimes. Most importantly there seems to be this incredible rush to take away all accountability for people who commit crimes,” McClure said.
There were also practical arguments against the change, the cost. Multiple agencies would have to change documents to read “justice impacted individual” instead of “offender.”
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