Illinois Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they want enhanced criminal penalties for offenders who violate an order of protection and a more stringent set of requirements for Illinois Prisoner Review Board appointees — amid a board shake-up stemming from the controversial decision to release a convicted felon who then allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend and killed her 11-year-old son.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week announced the resignation of LeAnn Miller, a board member who oversaw the decision to release Crosetti Brand after Brand allegedly violated his parole by showing up at the woman’s home about a month before the deadly attack. The woman’s son, Jayden Perkins, “attempted numerous times to help his mother” and was stabbed to death, prosecutors said.
Board chair Donald Shelton followed Miller out the door the same day. In an email to the Sun-Times on Monday, Shelton said he takes responsibility for all of the board’s actions, without directly referencing the Brand case.
“I resigned because I take responsibility for all the decisions made by the members of the PRB, whether I agree with them or not,” Shelton said. “My name was on the door.”
Senate Republicans say they want key reforms, including a requirement for appointees to have served at least 20 cumulative years in the criminal justice system as a prosecutor, a criminal defense attorney, a judge, a probation officer or a public defender.
They also want enhanced criminal penalties for those violating a protection order — raising a first-time violation from a misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony. If the protection order involved a previous conviction, the felony would increase to a Class 3 felony.
And, Republicans said they want a written public notice issued within 24 hours when a decision is made to release someone who has violated the conditions of their mandatory supervised release. The notification would also include votes from the board and any relevant notes about the case.
The governor’s office on Tuesday said much of what Republicans are proposing is already “standard practice,” noting that anyone can sign up to receive victim notifications, the board is already made up of members with significant experience in the criminal justice system, and the prisoner review board’s decisions are accessible via a Freedom of Information Act request.
Even so, during a Zoom news conference on Tuesday, Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, blamed Pritzker and his board for releasing Brand, “despite overwhelming evidence he was dangerous to this family.”
Curran is pushing for immediate notifications to victims when inmates have been released — and also requiring all board members to complete yearly training on domestic violence and sexual assault “so they may better understand how these crimes impact the women and children who become victims.”
Curran acknowledged there is little appetite in the Democrat-led General Assembly to enhance criminal penalties, but he said he would continue to push for a shift in public policy.
“At some point, the majority party is going to need to come along if they truly have public safety at mind,” Curran said.
The Senate Republican leader also accused Pritzker of giving board member positions to “political appointees who don’t have the requisite experience to make these life-and-death decisions.”
Board members have partisan affiliations and are hand-picked by the governor, which frequently leads to finger-pointing when things go wrong. Under state law, the board can have up to 15 members, with no more than eight from the same party.
Miller and Shelton were among five Republicans on the board, along with seven Democrats and one independent. There are now 11 members.
“We must take politics out of the appointment process to create a qualified board with a deep understanding of the criminal justice system,” Curran said.
State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield accused the governor of appointing “the most far left anti-victim people.”
“I think that I would hope that the Democrats in the Senate now realize that Gov. Pritzker has a policy of trying to get the most far left anti-victim people on the Prisoner Review Board,” McClure said. “And that’s exactly who he’s got.”
Pritzker on Monday told reporters he wants board members to receive enhanced domestic violence training “to make sure that this never happens again.”
“Governor Pritzker has already instructed the PRB and Illinois Department of Corrections to conduct a review of current procedures and make any necessary changes in the reporting process for domestic violence cases,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement. “His administration is also working with the Prisoner Review Board to engage with experts and advocates to design and implement a more thorough training system for members of the board.”
A spokesman for Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, on Tuesday said Harmon and his team “look forward to reviewing” the Senate Republicans’ proposed legislation.
