ALL FELONS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT DNA

Governor Signs Bill, But No Funding Set Aside In Budget

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. George Ryan signed legislation Thursday to dramatically
increase Illinois' database of DNA from convicted offenders, but the state
agency responsible for the new crime-fighting plan isn't promising when the
expansion will begin.

The General Assembly failed to include in the state budget money to pay for
the almost $6 million in startup costs and $1.7 million in ongoing annual
expenses connected with the new requirement. It mandates that all convicted
felons - not just sex offenders - now must submit DNA samples.

"The Illinois State Police supports the addition of all felons into the
database and will give its best effort toward handling the significant
challenges presented in this new law," state police spokesman Dave Sanders
said.

But Senate Bill 2024's chief sponsor, state Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale,
said he is confident that federal grants and a $200 fee that judges can
force convicted felons to pay will be more than enough for the state to
gear up for the expansion and sustain it.

Many judges have waived the previous $500 fee for felons whose blood was
taken for the database, and only about 5 percent of the offenders ended up
paying it.

"There will be hundreds of rapes, murders and unsolved crimes that will be
solved by this," Dillard said. "It will be amazing."

Some law enforcement groups, while supporting the plan, have expressed
concerns that the lack of funding would cause backlogs in the processing of
DNA from crime scenes. But state police said the two systems are separate.

The current database receives about 2,000 DNA samples a year from convicted
sex offenders in the form of vials of blood from which computerized genetic
profiles are constructed. The new law is estimated to bring the total to
100,000 samples a year.

The law also will require everyone currently incarcerated in the state
prison system - about 43,000 adults and some juveniles - to submit samples
as a condition of release if they haven't done so already. The prison
population turns over significantly each year, with about 35,000 inmates
scheduled for release in the next 12 months, said Brian Fairchild,
spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Law enforcement officials in central Illinois are excited about the new law.

Capt. Dave Briggs of the Peoria County Sheriff's Department said, "As long
as the funds are there and the resources are there, it's a fantastic tool."

Peoria police have said their investigation into the October 1999 murder of
22-year-old Nicole Palley outside a Peoria McDonald's restaurant brought
home the importance of DNA databases.

Peoria County authorities charged Edmond Duffin, 21, of Peoria with
Palley's murder after learning earlier this year that a blood sample Duffin
had submitted to Tennessee's DNA database after a rape conviction in that
state matched the DNA found in blood at the Palley murder scene.

Dillard said the improvements will be just as important in helping
authorities eliminate potential suspects and exonerate people who've been
wrongfully accused.

He predicted an enlarged database would save "hundreds and hundreds" of
hours of investigative work by police by making it more likely that DNA
found at crime scenes in blood, semen, saliva and hair can be matched to
criminals' profiles in the Springfield-based database.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett, the Republican candidate for
attorney general, spearheaded the legislation, which his opponent,
Democratic Sen. Lisa Madigan of Chicago, co-sponsored in the Senate.

He said people convicted of felonies often serve no prison time or short
sentences, and then continue to commit crimes later.

"Serial killers don't wake up one morning and decide to kill," he said.
"History shows that they begin with lesser offenses and eventually turn to
more violent offenses. If we have the DNA from all convicted felons from
lesser offenses . . . we will be able to match their DNA in crime scenes
from more violent, unsolved crimes."

At least 14 states already test the DNA of all felons: Alabama, Colorado,
Florida, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.