August 5, 2010
Cross/Radogno Announce Formation of Illinois Joint Investigatory Committee on Early Release
Hearings scheduled for Peoria and Chicago
Springfield, IL….House Republican Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) and Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno today announced formation of the Illinois Joint Investigatory Committee on Early Release. The mission of the committee is to determine the whereabouts of early release inmates, and to resolve unanswered questions about the details and community impact of Governor Quinn’s “MGT Push” and early release programs. Hearings have been scheduled for Peoria on August 11th and Chicago on August 25th.
“Since January we have tried to get answers from Governor Quinn and his administration about the MGT Push and early release programs to no avail,” said Cross. “At least one murder has been committed by an inmate released under this program and yet we still can’t get answers to basic questions such as: How did the Department of Corrections chose which inmates to release? What crimes had they committed? And most importantly, where are they today?”
Cross selected State Representative Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst) to serve as Co-chair of the committee. Reboletti is a former prosecutor and has sponsored legislation to prevent implementation of early release programs in the future and has previously called for a legislative investigation into Quinn’s early release programs.
Radogno named State Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) as Co-Chair of the committee. Dillard is the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a member of the Senate Criminal Law Committee. Dillard serves on the CLEAR (Criminal Law Edit, Alignment and Reform) Commission, a blue-ribbon panel that since 2005 has been working on a comprehensive rewrite of the state’s Criminal Code.
“We want to give the administration an opportunity to explain what steps they have taken to protect the public and what policies they have put into place since the MGT Push program came to light,” Radogno said.
Governor Pat Quinn’s Chief of Staff Jerome Stermer and the Illinois Department of Corrections Director Michael Randle are among those who have been invited to testify at the hearings.
The first hearing will be held on August 11th from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Illinois Central College North campus at 5407 N. University in Peoria. It will be held in the Arbor Hall 2nd Floor Auditorium.
The second hearing will be held on August 25th at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago from Noon to 2 p.m.
Other legislators who will be participating include: State Representative Bill Mitchell (R-Forsyth), State Representative David Leitch (R-Peoria), State Representative Jim Durkin (R-Countryside), State Representative Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), State Representative Jim Sacia (R-Pecatonica), Senator Dale Risinger (R-Peoria) and Senator Tim Bivins (R-Dixon).
