Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority receives award    

InfoNet project honored for innovation in government

[NOV. 22, 2004]  CHICAGO -- The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's InfoNet project received the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Public Innovator Award Friday.

The award honors public sector teams that have developed creative and unique solutions to improve service delivery, address problems and demonstrate measurable results. The six projects receiving this award serve as "best practices" for innovation in public service.
 
"It is an honor to receive this award," said Lori G. Levin, executive director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. "ICJIA is dedicated to enhancing victim services with cutting-edge technology. This award symbolizes our agency's efforts to apply innovative strategies that will improve the criminal justice system's response to crime victims in Illinois."
 
InfoNet is a state-of-the-art, Web-based data collection system used by victim service providers across Illinois. Data is transmitted between users and the agency's database via a virtual private network that utilizes data encryption to securely transfer data over the Internet.

The agency collaborated with the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault to develop the automated data collection tool in an effort to promote and effectively coordinate data collection by service providers who assist sexual assault and domestic violence victims.

Implemented in 2003, InfoNet has gained national recognition for deploying the latest technologies to enhance data collection and reporting efforts, while creating a unique set of victim service data. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority works with service providers, state coalitions, and other state agencies and funders to maintain the system and use the data to inform and improve the response to victims of crime in Illinois.

More than 100 domestic violence and sexual assault programs access InfoNet from more than 140 sites across Illinois. This year, the system also was made accessible to 36 child advocacy centers in the state.

Agencies recognized by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation were awarded for innovation in the categories of "Physical Design," "E-Governance" and "Capacity Building." The awards were presented at the 15th annual Government Assistance Program luncheon. GAP works exclusively with government agencies to encourage and strengthen their capacity to deliver excellent services to their constituents. The program is a nonprofit organization established in 1989 and located at DePaul University.

The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation supports the arts, architecture and design. The foundation is also committed to efforts that encourage and celebrate the enhancement of services and the development of groundbreaking programs in government.
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority

[News release from the
 Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority]