(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The murder of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins — allegedly committed by a man who was released from prison one day prior — appears to have united some Democrats and Republicans in Springfield, who are pushing for changes to the state’s Prisoner Review Board.
Under the proposal, which is currently moving through the Illinois Legislature, annual training for members of the Prisoner Review Board would be required. The board would also be required to give notice to victims of hearings and decisions, and some of those hearings would be broadcast live.
Senate Republican Leader John Curran, a former Cook County prosecutor, said there should be no pushback to transparency in the process.
“If the governor believes that the advocates he has placed on this board would change how they actually rule and view these violations if the public was watching, that in and of itself is a problem,” he said.
Curran added that Republicans in the Illinois Senate “have been voicing these concerns for years.”
A spokesperson for Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he’s working on making some of the changes in an executive order but called the bill “an unfunded and completely unworkable mandate,” given the number of cases the board hears.
As for transparency, Pritzker’s office said records of Prisoner Review Board hearings are available through Freedom of Information Act requests.
Days after Jayden was killed, two members of the board who authorized the release of his accused killer — Crosetti Brand — resigned.
Brand was charged with first-degree murder, domestic battery and other charges in March.
The full bill, including its status as it moves through the Legislature, can be found online.
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