ARE WE TOO TOUGH ON CRIME?

SPRINGFIELD - Dawn Roberts could go to prison for five years for hitting
someone in the face with a pie because:

A: That person was the governor.

B. That person was a senior citizen.

C. That person was in a public place.

If you answered B or C, you are right.

Because Roberts' political protest took place in the Carbondale Civic
Center, a public place, she faces aggravated battery charges for smashing a
pie in Gov. George Ryan's face last year. She also could have been charged
with aggravated battery rather than plain old battery because Ryan, age 66
at the time, is a senior citizen and the law grants seniors special
protection. His status as governor, however, provides no special treatment
in this case.

If Roberts had hit almost anyone else with a pie almost anywhere else,
she'd likely face lesser charges, lower fines, and the possibility of jail
rather than prison. Physically attacking someone - battery - is a
misdemeanor in Illinois, punishable by, at most, a year in the county jail.
But there are at least 15 factors that elevate the crime to aggravated
battery, a Class 3 felony punishable by two to five years in a state prison.

Roberts' trial is set to begin in May. A prison sentence for pie throwing
remains doubtful, but the case serves as an interesting, if not somewhat
humorous, introduction into the increasingly complex list of special
protections granted under Illinois' criminal laws.

This year, like every year, legislators have proposed an array of new
enhancements and tougher penalties. But some lawmakers say this needs to
stop because politics have taken over.

Ryan has appointed a commission to review the state's entire criminal code
and recommend changes. At least one prosecutor suggests the General
Assembly should impose a two-year moratorium on passing any new criminal laws.

"You have to be tough on crime, but when you've got a criminal code that
basically covers every crime, and there's penalties set forth for every
crime, how does anybody appear tough on crime anymore?" asked state Rep.
Tom Johnson, a West Chicago Republican and lawyer. "So we enhance
penalties. Instead of three years, it's four years. When the elections come
around, we're all tough on crime."

For example, attacking a senior citizen always was illegal. But once
someone suggested making it more illegal, legislators feared repercussions
if they voted "no." Similarly, nearly any crime committed is considered a
worse offense if it is committed within 1,000 feet of a school. Recent
proposals would extend that zone to 2,000 feet. Critics have argued that
these zones will eventually cover entire communities.

State Sen. John Cullerton of Chicago, the top Democrat on the Senate
Judiciary Committee, observes that each year penalties creep up a notch. He
jokes that the day will come when every crime in Illinois is a Class X
felony, the worst.

In most cases, politics dictates that lawmakers support these incremental
steps else run the risk of appearing soft on crime. "It's just that it'd
probably be better if we looked at the whole picture," Cullerton said.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett is on the governor's
commission that is reviewing criminal laws. He said the goal is to fix the
current system, not scrap it.

And Birkett said many of the special provisions and enhanced penalties are
needed. "There should be special recognition," he said. "A crime against a
senior is especially atrocious."

Few would disagree. But the annual crush of new laws often leaves
prosecutors scratching their heads as they try to figure out why the laws
were enacted, let alone how to keep up with them.

"Is it too cumbersome? Absolutely," said downstate Jackson County State's
Attorney Michael Wepsiec, whose office is prosecuting Roberts.

While the governor has declared a moratorium on executions because of
problems with the legal system, Wepsiec said he could use a "two-year
moratorium on new laws so we can catch up."

Some lawmakers admit they have a tendency to go overboard.

State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat, has sponsored
legislation this year to undo previous laws that required 15- ,16- and
17-year-olds charged with serious drug crimes to be tried as adults.
However, recent reviews of cases show few have been convicted as adults,
and those that do end up with probation rather than going to prison, Currie
said. Hardly the tough-on-crime image lawmakers envisioned when the law passed.

Still, Currie said, similar laws would continue to be introduced annually.
"People like to get tough on kids and they like to get tough on crime," she
said. "The combination is one that politicians seem delighted to embrace."

Crime: Some laws become less effective