From the Chicago Sun-Times 12-7-99
http://www.suntimes.com/cgi-bin/track.cgi?p=/output/news/gun07.html
1994 crime bill to be rewritten by
Legislature
December 7, 1999
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND FRANK MAIN STAFF REPORTERS
The General Assembly will meet in special session Monday to rewrite a sweeping
crime bill and close a legal window opened by the Illinois Supreme Court that could
free thousands of convicted felons.
Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan also will petition the Supreme Court for a
rehearing, a legal long shot designed to put the seven justices who voted unanimously
to overturn the Safe Neighborhoods Act where Mayor Daley wants them--on the
political hot seat.
Daley was the main architect of the sweeping crime-fighting bill that revamped 55
statutes and added 10 new ones in 1994. Chief among them was a provision
elevating the charge of unlawful use of a weapon from a misdemeanor to a felony
and raising the potential jail time from one year to 30 years.
The mayor accused the Supreme Court of ignoring safety implications and legislative
history with its decision to overturn the law because gun crimes and welfare reform
were included in the same package. The court ruled that the act violated a
constitutional provision barring legislators from putting unrelated subjects into the
same bill.
"They forgot about the average citizen of Illinois," he said, adding that many other
laws have violated the "single-subject rule," enacted in 1970.
Jim Ryan said there was "good reason" for the rule, but it can be argued that, since
welfare fraud is also a crime, it belongs in a crime bill. Judges probably will wait for
the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision before freeing any inmates, who will
have to file separate motions to have their sentences overturned, he said.
Among the inmates who could go free is Ezra Evans, sentenced to four years in
prison for gunrunning after he bought the pistol used to kill Chicago Police Officer
Michael Ceriale. Gunrunning was one of the laws created in the Safe Neighborhoods
Act.
At least 2,666 adult inmates and 28 juveniles could be affected by the Supreme
Court ruling made Thursday, officials say. It's imperative that the legal window be
slammed shut as soon as possible, said Gov. Ryan, who decided to call the seventh
special session of this decade after an hourlong meeting Monday with Daley,
legislative leaders and prosecutors.
"If somebody goes out and commits a crime that's covered by these laws today,
there's nothing you can charge them with," Ryan said. "We have to act as fast as we
can to put these laws back into effect."
Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine said he worries about returning to the
pre-1994 days of "assembly-line justice" when unlawful use of a weapon was a
misdemeanor.
"We are concerned . . . that there will be more people out there with guns
threatening individuals and committing criminal acts in a very dangerous fashion," said
Devine, who asked legislative leaders to review the entire Criminal Justice Code to
see whether any other laws violate the "single-subject rule."
"If there is any question, I think they should repass those in proper form to make
sure we don't have any more problems," Devine said.
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago), who accepted his share of the
blame for the single-subject violation, predicted that he would easily produce the
three-fifths vote needed to pass a revised version of the crime-fighting bill and any
other criminal statute that needs rewriting for similar reasons.
Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard said the number of guns confiscated by police
dropped from 21,243 in 1994, when the Safe Neighborhoods Act was enacted, to
16,232 in 1995.
http://www.suntimes.com/cgi-bin/track.cgi?p=/output/news/gun07.html
1994 crime bill to be rewritten by
Legislature
December 7, 1999
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND FRANK MAIN STAFF REPORTERS
The General Assembly will meet in special session Monday to rewrite a sweeping
crime bill and close a legal window opened by the Illinois Supreme Court that could
free thousands of convicted felons.
Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan also will petition the Supreme Court for a
rehearing, a legal long shot designed to put the seven justices who voted unanimously
to overturn the Safe Neighborhoods Act where Mayor Daley wants them--on the
political hot seat.
Daley was the main architect of the sweeping crime-fighting bill that revamped 55
statutes and added 10 new ones in 1994. Chief among them was a provision
elevating the charge of unlawful use of a weapon from a misdemeanor to a felony
and raising the potential jail time from one year to 30 years.
The mayor accused the Supreme Court of ignoring safety implications and legislative
history with its decision to overturn the law because gun crimes and welfare reform
were included in the same package. The court ruled that the act violated a
constitutional provision barring legislators from putting unrelated subjects into the
same bill.
"They forgot about the average citizen of Illinois," he said, adding that many other
laws have violated the "single-subject rule," enacted in 1970.
Jim Ryan said there was "good reason" for the rule, but it can be argued that, since
welfare fraud is also a crime, it belongs in a crime bill. Judges probably will wait for
the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision before freeing any inmates, who will
have to file separate motions to have their sentences overturned, he said.
Among the inmates who could go free is Ezra Evans, sentenced to four years in
prison for gunrunning after he bought the pistol used to kill Chicago Police Officer
Michael Ceriale. Gunrunning was one of the laws created in the Safe Neighborhoods
Act.
At least 2,666 adult inmates and 28 juveniles could be affected by the Supreme
Court ruling made Thursday, officials say. It's imperative that the legal window be
slammed shut as soon as possible, said Gov. Ryan, who decided to call the seventh
special session of this decade after an hourlong meeting Monday with Daley,
legislative leaders and prosecutors.
"If somebody goes out and commits a crime that's covered by these laws today,
there's nothing you can charge them with," Ryan said. "We have to act as fast as we
can to put these laws back into effect."
Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine said he worries about returning to the
pre-1994 days of "assembly-line justice" when unlawful use of a weapon was a
misdemeanor.
"We are concerned . . . that there will be more people out there with guns
threatening individuals and committing criminal acts in a very dangerous fashion," said
Devine, who asked legislative leaders to review the entire Criminal Justice Code to
see whether any other laws violate the "single-subject rule."
"If there is any question, I think they should repass those in proper form to make
sure we don't have any more problems," Devine said.
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago), who accepted his share of the
blame for the single-subject violation, predicted that he would easily produce the
three-fifths vote needed to pass a revised version of the crime-fighting bill and any
other criminal statute that needs rewriting for similar reasons.
Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard said the number of guns confiscated by police
dropped from 21,243 in 1994, when the Safe Neighborhoods Act was enacted, to
16,232 in 1995.
