Articles by Capitol News Illinois

Police agencies in Illinois will soon be required to do more thorough background checks on prospective officers.

State officials on Thursday honored 9 Illinois police officers who died in the line of duty last year. Noting that the man accused of killing a Chicago officer last year was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the murder, Comptroller Susana Mendoza blasted laws that “give more rights to the criminals.”

The Illinois House shot down legislation Thursday that would have allowed some people incarcerated for crimes they committed when they were under 21 to become eligible for release.

The family of an 11-year-old Chicago boy murdered last year by his mother’s ex-boyfriend the day after he was released from prison is suing the state — including the embattled Prisoner Review Board and Illinois Department of Corrections— for negligence.

Illinois politicians outlawed life sentences without parole for juveniles, but they did not make the change retroactive. Now, men sentenced under the old laws are hoping for change.