Mason Supports Creation of Statewide Sexual Assault Evidence Tracking System

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, is sponsoring House Bill 1440, a measure that creates and implements the first statewide sexual assault evidence tracking system in Illinois. Over recent years, 17 states have passed similar sexual assault tracking laws, as part of a national movement that has sought greater transparency when it comes to handling incidents of sexual assault.

“Survivors should be able to turn to law enforcement and health care providers with unequivocal confidence, knowing the evidence of their assault will be accurately processed and tracked,” said Mason. “Unfortunately, this is not always the case.”

House Bill 1440 was drafted using information from a 2017 commission tasked with researching how to best implement a sexual assault evidence tracking system in Illinois. The measure would require Illinois’ system to be web-based, updated in real time and accessible to all stakeholders involved in processing sexual assault evidence. Information in the system would be privately accessible to survivors, and would be exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests.

“Right now, evidence in sexual assault cases is being processed and transferred between law enforcement and health organizations without a consistent tracking system, which leads to crucial evidence being incorrectly processed, or even misplaced,” said Mason. “Implementing a statewide tracking system is the only way we can eliminate these gaps and begin providing a much-needed sense of security to survivors of sexual assault.”

For more information, please contact Mason’s constituent service office at 847-485-9986 or email info@repjoycemason.com.