View source for Illinois Voices for Reform

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'''Illinois Voices for Reform''' is a non-profit advocacy and support organization for [[Illinois]] [[sex offender]]s and their families. It is dedicated to providing education on issues affecting sex offenders to the public and to legislators.<ref name=CDLB>{{cite journal|title=Group tries to educate on sex offenders' rights|journal=Chicago Daily Law Bulletin|date=5 April 2010|volume=156|issue=65|url=http://ilvoices.com/uploads/2/8/6/6/2866695/_6180171.jpg}}</ref> Illinois Voices for Reform is an affiliate organization of [[Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc.]], and is one of the more than 50 organizations nationwide [[movement to reform sex offender laws in the United States]]. The group holds that current [[Sex offender registries in the United States|sex offender registry]] laws have gone far beyond their original intent of protecting children,<ref name=huff>{{cite news|title=High School Sweethearts -- Or Sex Offenders?|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abigail-pesta/high-school-sweetheartsor_b_908118.html|work=The Huffington Post|date=25 July 2011}}</ref> and therefore aims to promote and supports laws that are sensible and make society safer while protecting the constitutional rights of everyone involved.<ref name=mission>{{cite web|title=Mission Statement|url=http://ilvoices.com/mission-statement.html|publisher=Illinois Voices for Reform}}</ref>

==Advocacy==
Illinois Voices for Reform aims to inform lawmakers and the public that sex offenders are a diverse group of individuals, and that contrary to popular belief, the recidivism rate of 5% over 5 years<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zgoba|first1=Kristen|last2=Miner|first2=Michael|last3=Knight|first3=Raymond|last4=Letourneau|first4=Elizabeth|last5=Levenson|first5=Jill|last6=Thorton|first6=David|title=A Multi - State Recidivism Study Using Static - 99R and Static - 2002 Risk Scores and Tier Guidelines from the Adam Walsh Act|url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/240099.pdf|publisher=National Institute of Justice}}</ref> is the second lowest of all offender groups.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Langan|first1=Patrick A.|last2=Schmitt|first2=Erica L.|last3=Durose|first3=Matthew R.|title=Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994|url=http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsorp94.pdf|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice|date=2003}}</ref> The onerous restrictions and stigmatizing effect of public sex offender lists are unfair and unfounded when applied to all offenders indiscriminately, without considering the individual risk and underlying facts of individual cases.

Illinois Voices for Reform advocates for reforming state and federal laws that promote a "one-size-fits-all" policy, and for returning [[Sex offender registry|sex offender registries]] to their original purpose of monitoring violent sexual predators. Furthermore, they support reforming public registries and residency restrictions that have been proven to be ineffective at best,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zgoba|first1=Kristen|last2=Veysey|first2=Bonita|last3=Dalessandro|first3=Melissa|title=An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Community Notification and Registration: Do the Best Intentions Predict the Best Practices?|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07418820903357673|journal=Justice Quarterly|date=2010|volume=27|issue=5|pages=667–691|doi=10.1080/07418820903357673}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sandler|first1=Jeffrey|last2=Freeman|first2=Naomi|last3=Socia|first3=Kelly|title=Does a watched pot boil? A time-series analysis of New York State's sex offender registration and notification law.|journal=Psychology, Public Policy, and Law|date=2008|volume=14|issue=4|pages=284–302|url=http://ilvoices.com/media/ea99d28960ec776bffff84aeffffe415.pdf|publisher=American Psychological Association|doi=10.1037/a0013881}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About us|url=http://ilvoices.com/about-us.html|publisher=Illinois Voices for Reform}}</ref> and, according to research, may be counter-productive, undermining rather rhan enhancing public safety.<ref name=smart>{{cite web|title=Sex Offender Registration and Notification|url=http://www.smart.gov/SOMAPI/sec1/ch8_strategies.html|website=Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative|publisher=Office of Justice Programs}}</ref> The group seeks to educate and correct inaccurate views held by lawmakers and the general populace about sex offenders, such as their alleged high risk of re-offending, which is the core rationale behind sex offender laws.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McDermott|first1=Kevin|title=Illinois revisits sex offender list|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=16 April 2012}}</ref>

Illinois Voices for Reform says that current laws unfairly stigmatize young and low-risk offenders, such as those engaging in consensual teenage sex or [[sexting]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Yeagle|first1=Patrick|title=Advocates: ‘Don’t prosecute teens for consensual sex’|url=http://illinoistimes.com/article-8378-advocates-lsdonrst-prosecute-teens-for-consensual-sexrs.html|work=Illinois Times|date=24 February 2011}}</ref> They believe that laws should be based on research and empirical evidence of what works, and that "feel good" laws based on public [[Moral panic (dictionary)|hysteria]] surrounding high-profile, but rare<ref>{{cite web|title=Highlights From the NISMART Bulletins|url=http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/archive/documents/NISMART_highlights.pdf|publisher=U. S. Department of Justice}}</ref> cases waste taxpayer dollars, violate the rights of individuals, and can actually undermine public safety.<ref>{{cite web|title=[Journals]: Studies question effectiveness of sex offender laws|url=http://press.uchicago.edu/pressReleases/2011/August/JLE_1108_SexOffenders.html|publisher=The University of Chicago Press}}</ref> The group has voiced its concern over laws that do not differentiate between violent and non-violent offenders to Illinois General Assembly.<ref name=CDLB /> Accordingly the group heavily objected to Illinois adopting the federal [[Adam Walsh Act]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Reformers: sex offender mandate would hurt Illinois|url=http://illinoistimes.com/article-9911-reformers-sex-offender-mandate-would-hurt-illinois.html|work=Illinois Times|date=19 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Reformers blast sex offender legislation Bill increases restrictions, requirements for sex offenders|url=http://illinoistimes.com/article-8623-reformers-blast-sex-offender-legislation.html|work=Illinois Times|date=5 May 2011}}</ref> Recently, Illinois Voices for Justice has opposed a sex offender workplace registry bill that was introduced in the Illinois Senate in March 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sex offender workplace registry bill sparks debate|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/highland-park/news/ct-hpn-sex-offender-registry-tl-0326-20150318-story.html|accessdate=24 March 2015|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[California Reform Sex Offender Laws Organization]]
*[[Sex offender registry]]
*[[The Center for Sexual Justice]]
*[[SOR problems‎]]
*[[Criminalisation of youth]]
*[[Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc.]]
*[[Arkansas Time After Time]]
*[[Families Advocating an Intelligent Registry|USA FAIR, Inc.]]
*[[Illinois Voices for Reform]]
*[[Michigan Citizens for Justice]]
*[[Women Against Registry|Women Against Registry - W.A.R]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://ilvoices.com/ ilvoices.com]
*[http://nationalrsol.org/ Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc.]
*[http://nationalrsol.org/resources/support-hotline/ Registrants and Families Support Line]
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[[Category:RSOL Organizations]]