Rape victim gains threatened by budget
Just more than a year ago, the Belleville News-Democrat chronicled the abysmal record of prosecuting sexual felonies in Southern Illinois: Of the estimated one in 10 sex crime victims who reported their attacks, only three in 10 of their cases made it to a courtroom. The prosecution rates and victims stories were chronicled in our series, “Violation of Trust.”
After the series appeared, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan decided to do something about the issue. She created a task force to look into sexual felony investigations and prosecutions. Results of her efforts include:
• Obtaining $6 million for testing rape kits at the state crime labs.
• Training prosecutors in Chicago and the metro-east to better handle sex crimes.
• Creating legislation to establish protocols and best practices for law enforcement on sexual assault cases.
• Teaching cadets at the police academies to better handle sex crimes.
The irony is that Madigan’s father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, is part of the statehouse dysfunction that is currently bottling up funds and hurting some of the state’s frontline victim response through rape crisis centers. Illinois has gone 283 days without a 2016 budget as spending has continued unchecked on a trajectory that could land our state in a $12 billion hole.
The Decatur rape crisis center cut 40 percent of its staff. Here in Southwestern Illinois we’ve been fortunate that Call for Help has remained whole because it has diverse services and funding streams, plus cut costs in anticipation of state dollars drying up.
They also have been part of a $1.95 million federal grant obtained by St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly to improve the outcomes of sex crime and domestic violence cases. Kelly serves on Madigan’s task force.
Illinois appears to be making progress on its responsibilities toward sex crime victims thanks to one Madigan. Let’s hope the other Madigan and Gov. Bruce Rauner can meet soon so that state finances do not undermine that advance.
This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Rape victim gains threatened by budget."