Illinois Amends Sex Offender Laws for Youths

On October 11, Illinois amended its laws to allow juvenile offenders to be removed from the state’s sex offender registry if they can demonstrate to a judge that they pose no threat to society. Juvenile justice advocates in the state told us they used our September 2007 report on the harmful impact, over-broad scope, and ineffectiveness of US sex offender laws to convince both houses of the legislature to override the governor’s veto of the amendment. Our report showed how registry requirements for youth offenders, who have extremely low recidivism rates and are often listed for non-violent offenses, are particularly damaging and counterproductive. Going forward, we will continue to urge reform of state and federal registration laws for juvenile offenders.