House Republicans Introduce Life-Saving Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence

Springfield, IL…A group of House Republican lawmakers, including State Representative Ron Wait (R-Belvidere), are calling for new protections to safeguard victims of domestic violence following the murder in Elmhurst of Cindy Bischof.   House Republicans are pushing for global positioning satellite (GPS) tracking of offenders who violate orders of protection.

 “Last month, Cindy Bischof was murdered in a parking lot outside her workplace by a man who had been stalking her for nearly a year.  Cindy did what she could to protect herself under the law.  She got an order of protection against her stalker, and she moved her residence several times during the course of the year – unfortunately, the man who killed her ignored the order of protection on several occasions and ultimately claimed her life.  It is clear more needs to be done to protect stalking victims and victims of domestic violence.”   

Rep. Wait co-sponsored HB6325, creating the Cindy Bischof Domestic Violence Electronic Surveillance Law.  This bill would allow law enforcement officials to perform electronic surveillance for violators of an order of protection.  The bill also states that domestic violence offenders must complete intervention treatment, such as drug/alcohol counseling and psychological counseling, or be considered in violation of the order of protection. 

A second bill co-sponsored by Rep. Wait, HB6326, would create a domestic violence risk assessment workshop for Illinois judges who are assigned to domestic violence cases.  These workshops would help judges to access domestic violence complaints and better identify domestic violence aggressors who may have the propensity to commit more heinous crimes. Wait also introduced HB 6327, which would make the unlawful purchase of a firearm a Class 1 felony (4 to 15 years in prison) when the unlawfully-purchased firearm is used in an act of domestic violence.

Rep. Wait is optimistic that these bills will be approved by lawmakers this spring.