Blue Room Press Conference Wednesday: Ford, Exonerated Individuals to Discuss Need to Increase Compensatory Justice for Wrongfully Convicted

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, will welcome exonerated individuals Wednesday in the Capitol Blue Room at 12:30 p.m. to discuss the need for Springfield to take action and raise compensation caps for those wrongfully convicted.

“When people end up spending decades wrongfully convicted in prison, there’s no way to fully pay them back for what they have sacrificed and endured,” Ford said. “However, we should be taking greater action to provide an appropriate amount of restitution that can help them as they restart their life. Our existing caps are disrespectfully inadequate, and the longer we wait to address this issue the longer these victims continue to suffer.”

Currently, in Illinois exonerated individuals are capped on how much money they can receive. If they are imprisoned for five or less years, they cannot receive more than $85,350. The cap rises with each year served until a hard cap is reached after 14 years imprisonment at $199,150. Regardless of additional years a person is locked away, they cannot receive more than $199,150.

Ford is advocating for legislation (House Bills 1015 and 1016) that would award a fixed amount of $50,000 per year, prorated for partial years, to individuals wrongfully incarcerated. For years that a person was wrongfully on parole or probation or required to register as a sex offender, $25,000 would be awarded per year, with the amount prorated for partial years. Payment would max out at the state’s $2 million Court of Claims award limit, which rises with inflation.

House Bill 1015 is in the Senate, and currently has a pending amendment that reflects intent of House Bill 1015 and 1016.

For more information, please contact RepFord@LaShawnFord.com.

Who: State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, state Sen. Mattie Hunter, Exonoree Johnnie Lee Savory, Exonoree Terrell Swift, Sheikh Hassan Ali, David Day, Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston, Oliver Kupe

What: Pursuing Compensatory Justice for the Exonerated

When: Wednesday, May 1; 12:30 p.m.

Where: Capitol Blue Room