Legislative Update on Removing Barriers to Employment - Action Alert - Please Act Now

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Public Policy and External Relations March 9, 2012 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Urgent SAFER FOUNDATION: ACTION ALERT    ___________________ LEGISLATIVE UPDATE REMOVING BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT    We are extremely pleased to announce the progress of two pieces of legislation we believe will diminish barriers to employment for thousands of citizens in the State of Illinois who have criminal records. HB 1210 (State Employment Application) and HB 5723 (Criminal ID - Felony Sealing) passed out of Illinois House of Representative committees this week in Springfield.    HB 1210 - State Employment Application  provides that an application for State employment may not contain any question as to whether the applicant was convicted of or placed on supervision for a non-violent criminal offense. This legislation passed out of the Judiciary II Criminal Law Committee on Wednesday, March 7, 2012.   HB 5723 - Criminal ID - Felony Sealing expands eligibility for the sealing of non-violent felony offense records, from the current number of just three eligible offenses. The most common offenses that would become eligible under this new legislation include: theft, forgery, retail theft, possession with intent, and burglary. This bill passed out of the State Government Administration Committee on Thursday, March 8, 2012.     We want to thank all of the sponsors of both legislative initiatives, especially the primary sponsor, Representative LaShawn Ford (D-8), for their commitment and tireless efforts to guide these initiatives to the floor of the Illinois General Assembly. We also thank all of the advocates, non-profits, employers, and individuals for your work and support of this legislation through your calls, emails, letters, and other contact made to our policymakers.   The next steps for the legislation are readings before the full body of the Illinois House of Representatives, where we are hopeful for concurrence and passage. Our real work is still in front of us, and we encourage all CARRE members to continue your support and advocacy of this legislation, which will reduce barriers to employment for people with criminal records in the State of Illinois.   We will continue to update you on the progress of this important legislation. If you have any questions, please contact Jon Kaplan or Veronica Cunningham at Safer Foundation,   (312) 922-2200. Follow Us on Twitter! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Follow @SaferFoundation on Twitter for more updates on criminal justice news and more information about the organization. We appreciate your support!  Public Policy and External Relations Contacts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ B. Diane Williams, President / CEO Veronica Cunningham, Vice President, Public Policy and External Relations Jon Kaplan, Director, Marketing ans Communication Anthony Lowery, Director, Policy and Advocacy phone: 312-922-2200 www.saferfoundation.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * Many articles refer to people with criminal records as "ex-offenders" or "offenders". While we appreciate all the positive press these issues receive, we are working to use other terms to describe our clients that do not carry such negative connotations. These terms include "people with criminal records" or "people reentering society".