Attorney General Madigan reminds families to check Sex Offender
Registry to plan safe trick-or-treat
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[October 31, 2012]
CHICAGO -- As Halloween
approaches, Attorney General Lisa Madigan reminded parents to check
the state's registry
of sex offenders before determining trick-or-treat routes for their
children. This week, Madigan's office will assist local law
enforcement agencies in conducting compliance checks on registered
sex offenders through her Illinois Sex Offender Registry Team to
ensure safe neighborhoods for children and their families as they
venture out for the holiday.
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"We conduct compliance checks to verify that offenders actually live
where they claim to so we can ensure the registry continues to serve
as a useful tool for parents," Madigan said. "I encourage families
to check the registry before they head out on Halloween, to help
them plan safe trick-or-treating routes for their kids." Madigan
noted that Illinois law prohibits sex offenders on parole, mandatory
supervised release or probation from distributing candy or other
items to children on Halloween. In 2003, Madigan created the
Illinois Sex Offender Registry Team, also known as I-SORT, to
improve the Illinois Sex Offender Registry and increase the
compliance rate of registered sex offenders. I-SORT launched a
statewide public awareness campaign to educate Illinoisans about the
registry and the information available on the site.
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Madigan's office also established a toll-free hotline,
1-888-41-ISORT, which the public and law enforcement can call with
questions and with tips about noncompliant sex offenders. Since
creating I-SORT in 2003, the Illinois compliance rate has jumped
from 86 percent to 93.4 percent, as of Oct. 26. There are more than
26,000 registered sex offenders in Illinois as of October.
[Text from file received from the office
of
Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan] |