SPRINGFIELD- The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission found that between 2004 and 2014, only 0.26 percent of juvenile arrests in Illinois were expunged, and 87 percent of counties granted an average of less than one juvenile expungement per year.

State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park) advanced Senate Bill 2021 to change that.

“Children make mistakes,” Hastings said. “We need to be working toward rehabilitating children caught in our court system to give them a chance to succeed, not crippling them with the mistakes of their past.”

Senate Bill 2021 does three things.

Senate BIll 2021 eliminates occasions when juvenile records for nonviolent crimes may be shared.

And creates penalties for the improper disclosure of juvenile records.

These two steps will protect privacy and give younger nonviolent offenders a fair chance at reforming their lives and being successful in future endeavors.

And lastly, it expands the scope and eligibility requirements for expungement. Adolescents can be eligible for automatic expungement if there is not a discovery of delinquency on any offense two years after the case proceedings.

“We need to help our young people transition to be productive adults,” Hastings said. “Current policies concerning the arrest records of youth are not making our streets any safer and costing the state immeasurable costs.”

Senate Bill 2021 passed the Senate’s Committee on Criminal Law with bipartisan support and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD- Illinois residents may soon be able to request to know what personal data is being stored by commercial websites.

State Senator Michael E. Hastings advanced Senate Bill 1502, the Right to Know Act, to protect Illinois residents’ privacy.

“The price of surfing the web shouldn’t mean sacrificing your privacy and personal information,” Hastings said. “Every time someone simply engages on a website from the comfort of their home, commercial websites could possibly be storing and sharing this data.”

Current Illinois law requires businesses that collect personal informational to implement security measures to notify customers of security breaches. However, commercial websites are not required to notify residents what data they collect or whom they share that data with.

“This is your personal information,” Hastings said. “You should know who is storing your records and who has access to it.”

This new initiative would require commercial Internet websites that collect personal information to notify customers of the information they have collected as well as any third parties with whom they may have disclosed personal information with.

“Cybersecurity is a big deal,” Hastings said. “It’s important for Illinois’ laws to update and evolve with the needs of the people. This is a small step to protect Illinois residents’ privacy and security.”

Senate Bill 1502 passed the Senate’s Judiciary Committee and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois veterans may soon have a streamlined process to apply for small business contracts.

State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park) advanced Senate Bill 1620 to create a one-stop shop for veterans to gain certification to bid on small business contracts.

“Our veterans have taken care of us, now it is our time to take care of them,” Hastings said. “Illinois has a wide range of programs available to assist Illinois veterans and honor them for their dedication and sacrifices. However, these programs are not useful if they are hidden behind red tape and multiple levels of bureaucracy.”

Senate Bill 1620 is Hastings initiative after listening to veterans across Illinois who were struggling to apply to be eligible to qualify for state-certification service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB) and veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB).

“My goal is to clear up all confusion and create a streamlined process for veterans to apply for state, county and municipality veterans certifications,” Hastings said.

Under Senate Bill 1620, veterans who achieve state certification through Illinois Central Management Services would no longer have to reapply for county and municipality veteran certifications. The state certification would preempt local processes.

“Eliminating redundancies and paperwork will remove unnecessary hurdles for our nation’s heroes,” Hastings said. “Veterans should not have to prove their status at every level of government.”

Senate Bill 1620 passed the Senate’s Committee on Veterans Affairs with bipartisan support and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park) spent the week asking Illinois agencies to address Governor Bruce Rauner’s nearly $5 billion budget deficit.

The $5 billion budget deficit would in turn mean a 20 percent budget cut across the board for Illinois agencies and programs.

Hastings, chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Criminal Law, brought in agency directors from the Illinois State Police and Illinois Department of Corrections to directly ask them where the 20 percent state agency cuts would come from.

Illinois Department of Corrections Director John Baldwin did not appear in front of the committee or notify the committee of any scheduling conflicts.

“The director of the Illinois Department of Corrections did not bother to notify the committee of his absence,” Hastings said. “It is offensive for directors to not come to Senate committees unprepared to answer questions. However, it is unimaginable for a director to not even bother to show up to committee. Come to work, do your job and explain the budget.”

The Illinois State Police (ISP) is hoping for additional state funding to meet public safety needs. ISP needs to train additional cadets to fill workforce needs and keep Illinois safe.
Governor Rauner did not seem to consult with the ISP while developing his proposed budget.

“There is a void in leadership,” Hastings said. “The governor needs to lead our state forward, not obstruct progress. We are going on year three without a budget. We know our people are hurting. Governor, you need to step up and do your job.”

ISP and IDOC did not list any potential budget cuts to meet the governor’s nearly $5 billion deficit.

Hastings is looking forward to meeting with the Director Baldwin during Senate appropriations hearings.