Current:Home > InvestIllinois Republicans propose overhaul for Gov. Pritzker’s ‘anti-victim’ parole board after stabbing -Thrive Success Strategies
Illinois Republicans propose overhaul for Gov. Pritzker’s ‘anti-victim’ parole board after stabbing
View
Date:2025-04-17 08:29:53
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Senate’s minority leader proposed legislation Tuesday to overhaul the Democrat’s Prisoner Review Board, after it released a convicted domestic abuser who then attacked a pregnant Chicago woman with a knife and fatally stabbed her 11-year-old son.
Republican Leader John Curran criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker and said he will introduce legislation that includes requirements for appointees to have 20 years’ criminal justice experience as a prosecutor, defense attorney, probation officer or judge and that each member undergo annual training on domestic violence and sexual assault and the warning signs that precede repeat attacks. Other proposed measures would require advance notice to victims of the board’s decision to release perpetrators and more transparency on the board’s deliberations in each case, including how they voted.
“For too long, these $100,000-a-year positions at the Prisoner Review Board have been given to political appointees who don’t have the requisite experience to make these life-and-death decisions,” Curran, who’s from the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, told reporters in a teleconference. “We must take politics out of the appointment process to create a qualified board with a deep understanding of the criminal justice system.”
Pritzker has acknowledged the parole board didn’t sufficiently consider evidence in releasing 37-year-old Crosetti Brand on March 12. The next day, Brand allegedly broke into the apartment of Laterria Smith, 33, who had an order of protection against him, attacked her with a knife and killed her son Jayden Perkins when he intervened to protect his mother.
The dust-up prompted the resignation on March 25 of board member LeAnn Miller, who conducted Brand’s release hearing and wrote the report recommending he be freed. Later that day, board chairperson Donald Shelton also quit. Pritzker announced changes requiring the board to consult experts to develop training on domestic abuse and to improve the Department of Corrections’ process for sharing information with the board.
Curran and his colleagues, Sens. Jason Plummer of Edwardsville and Steve McClure of Springfield, parried questions about whether Senate Democrats, who hold a supermajority, would entertain their plans.
“We’ve been warning about the lack of qualifications of some of the governor’s appointees for years,” Plummer said. “I don’t know why it’s taken a dead child for people to finally recognize some of these people are not qualified to serve on the board. My Democratic colleagues have largely taken a step back and allowed the governor’s office to drive the train.”
Brand and Smith had a relationship 15 years ago, police said. Brand was paroled in October after serving eight years of a 16-year sentence for attacking another ex-partner. He was shipped back to prison in February after going to Smith’s apartment. But while seeking release in a Feb. 26 hearing before board member Miller, he denied trying to contact Smith in February and the Corrections Department failed to alert the board to Smith’s attempt at an emergency order of protection on Feb. 22.
Smith recommended release in her report in which two other board members concurred.
An emailed request for comment was left with Pritzker’s spokesperson. The governor on Monday said it’s difficult to make appointments because Republicans have “politicized” the process. Curran called such a suggestion “ridiculous.”
“I would hope that the Democrats in the Senate now realize that Gov. Pritzker has a policy of trying to get the most far-left, anti-victim people on the Prisoner Review Board,” McClure added. “My hope is that moving forward, the Democrats have learned their lesson.”
veryGood! (75)
Related
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Woman charged with selling fentanyl-laced pills to Robert De Niro's grandson
- Unwinding the wage-price spiral
- Missed the northern lights last night? Here are pictures of the spectacular aurora borealis showings
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- World Meteorological Organization Sharpens Warnings About Both Too Much and Too Little Water
- Inside Clean Energy: In South Carolina, a Happy Compromise on Net Metering
- Wisconsin boy killed in sawmill accident will help save his mother's life with organ donation, family says
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Unwinding the wage-price spiral
Ranking
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- Kesha Shares She Almost Died After Freezing Her Eggs
- The U.S. could run out of cash to pay its bills between July and September
- Inside Clean Energy: Illinois Faces (Another) Nuclear Power Standoff
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- How Some Dealerships Use 'Yo-yo Car Sales' To Take Buyers For A Ride
- And Just Like That's David Eigenberg Reveals Most Surprising Supporter of Justice for Steve
- Missing Sub Passenger Stockton Rush's Titanic Connection Will Give You Chills
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Iowa's 6-week abortion ban signed into law, but faces legal challenges
A U.S. Virgin Islands Oil Refinery Had Yet Another Accident. Residents Are Demanding Answers
As the US Rushes After the Minerals for the Energy Transition, a 150-Year-Old Law Allows Mining Companies Free Rein on Public Lands
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Don't Miss This $40 Deal on $91 Worth of MAC Cosmetics Eye Makeup
Titanic Sub Search: Details About Missing Hamish Harding’s Past Exploration Experience Revealed
World Meteorological Organization Sharpens Warnings About Both Too Much and Too Little Water