Two Illinois lawmakers have filed a bill in the General Assembly that would allow a registered sex offender to live closer to a public school.
On February 19th, 27th District Democrat Representative Justin Slaughter filed House Bill 3913, which would allow a registered sex offender to live within 250 feet of a public school. Current Illinois law requires a sex offender to live at least 500 feet from a public school.
The legislation would also remove the reporting requirement for people who do not have a fixed residence. These individuals would not have to provide documentation of having registered their address.
The bill has already drawn fire from DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick on his official Facebook Page, calling it “scary times” if the law is passed.
Slaughter’s sponsorship of the bill appears to have been withdrawn, which as of March 8th, has now been changed to 78th District Democrat Representative Camille Lilly of Chicago. The bill was referred to the House Rules committee on February 22nd.