Another Gang database

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Burke Signs On As Co-Sponsor of Gang Registry Bill
Bill would make Illinois's gang database accessible to the public, but critics say bill is too vague about who gets entered into system.

By Lorraine Swanson, April 22, 2013


State Rep. Kelly Burke (D-36th District) signed on as a co-sponsor to HB 3082, a bill that would open the Illinois State Police’s gang member database to the public.

HB 3082, State Police Gang Database, was introduced by Rep. Deborah Mell (D-40th District) of the city’s Northwest Side, and is currently before the state house rules committee.

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Illinois’s Statewide Organized Criminal Gang Database is currently available only to prosecutors, police and other statewide law enforcement agencies.

Mell would like to list the names of known and alleged gang members, including their last known address, photos, tattoos, other physical marks and favorite hangouts.

The registry is intended to help parents determine if gang members are living in their neighborhoods, and keep track of their children's associates.

Burke signed on as a co-sponsor on April 15, spurred on by Mayor Dave Heilmann.

“I got a letter from Mayor Heilmann after some of the neighborhood safety meetings,” Burke said. “He asked me to look into it.”

There are concerns about HB 3082 that are currently being ironed out. For example, poice costs would be incurred for making such a registry accessible to the public, Burke said.

“What do you have to do to monitor it to ensure that it is timely,” the Evergreen Park-state representative said. “

Unlike the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, which requires convicted sex offenders to report changes in residence, employment or vehicle, suspected gang members would not be required to register with local local police.

The Illinois State Police also maintain a similar registry for violent offenders.

The idea has been criticized as unfairly targeting individuals who gave up their past gang affiliations, or merely hung out with gang members.

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By appearing in a public registry, critics say that miscategorized entrants would be unable to find a job, register for school or sign a lease. Such a registry may also unfairly profile minorities as gang members.

Currently, more than 68,000 suspected gang members are listed in the state’s gang database. A Cook County database of more than 16,000 suspected gang members includes 1,600 individuals who have no arrest records, the Chicago Reporter found.

Illinois’s version of a gang registry bill has been criticized for not being specific enough on who can be entered into the database and when records are expunged.

For example, in records obtained by the Chicago Reporter, members of the Communist Party were found listed in the state gang database.

“There is concern with how you keep information current so someone who isn’t a gang member isn’t pinpointed,” Burke said. “It sounds like Rep. Mell is still talking with the state police. We’ll keep pushing it.”