For an Illinois sex offender, it is against the law to be anywhere within 500feet of a school, playground, or childcare facility. The state of Illinois wants to maintain the safety of its children and other vulnerable people that could be affected by the actions of a sexual predator. Because of this, the Illinois state police department remains diligent about maintaining and updating the Illinois sex offender registry.
Illinois Sex Offender Registration
When a person that has been convicted of a sex crime is released from the institution that they were incarcerated in they must register with the state police as a sex offender. The state police of Illinois will collect information from the registrant such as name, current residential address, phone number, vehicle information, and a current photograph. Whatever information is required by the laws will be submitted into a database where it will become public information. The Illinois state police department has a website that anybody can access and search for sex offenders that may live around them. People can search by name, address, or zip code so that they know whether or not sex offenders live near them.
Why Sex Offender Registries Exist
The reason why sex offender registries are in place is to provide an extra layer of security for children that could become victims of sexual predators. In 1996 the town of Hamilton Township New Jersey was rocked by the horrible murder of Megan Kanka. A convicted sex offender had recently been released from prison after serving time for sexually assaulting children. Nobody was aware that this man was a sex offender, nor did they ever dream that Megan was in such danger. Megan’s Law was established shortly after her death as a way to give citizens access to information that could stop future attacks like this from happening.
Illinois Sex Offender Information
At the time of the year 2021, there are 1,844 registered sex offenders in the state of Illinois. The three top offenses of convicted sex offenders in the state are criminal sexual abuse where the victim is a child between 13 and 16 years of age, criminal sexual abuse where the victim is under 13 years of age, and violation of sex offender registration regulations. The counties in Illinois with the largest number of convicted sex offenders are Cook county, at number one, Lake county at number two, Winnebago county at number three, Peoria county at number four, and at number five is Will county. The Illinois state police department is committed to maintaining a safe environment for children in all of these counties and the rest of the state.
Sex Offenders Around Children
The state of Illinois does not allow convicted sex offenders to loiter around any places that children would be prone to hang out in. Skating rinks, schools, playgrounds, and so on. Convicted sex offenders are not allowed to obtain empoyment anywhere that they will be in direct contact with anybody under the age of 18. It is through laws like this that we can join together as a community and stop child sex crimes from happening before they have a chance to start.
***Registered Offenders List is a free online resource that strives to offer helpful content and resources to its visitors regarding registered sex offenders that live near you.
