Illinois Voices is providing these FAQs and Rights of Registrants as general information only. Please do not take this as legal advice. Always verify information with your local law enforcement agency, the Illinois State police, or check with your attorney.
Registration FAQs
A sex offender visiting the State of Illinois for more than 3 days in a calendar year will be required to register with the local law enforcement jurisdiction where the sex offender is staying. This means cumulative days; it does not necessarily have to be 3 consecutive days.
According to Public Act 97-0578 which became effective January 1, 2012, if a person moves to Illinois on or after the effective date of this public act, the person is considered a sexual predator with lifetime registration if the person is required to register in another state due to a conviction, adjudication or other action of any court triggering an obligation to register as a sex offender, sexual predator, or substantially similar status under the laws of that State. Registration is required within 3 days of arriving in Illinois.
A person who moved to Illinois prior to January 1, 2012, is required to register in Illinois if the offense in his/her convicting state is substantially equivalent to an offense in Illinois requiring registration. Length of registration is determined by the substantially equivalent offense in Illinois (either 10 year registration or lifetime).
To date, there is only a process of removal from the Illinois registry if the person was a juvenile at the time of conviction.
The offender must notify their registering agency that they are planning to travel outside of the State of Illinois. If an offender is leaving the country the National Sex Offender Targeting Center must be notified regarding the plans of travel.
Rights of Registrants
In Illinois, people convicted of felonies have their voting rights restored after their prison sentence is completed.
Source: https://statewiki.narsol.org/doku.php?id=illinois
There are no Illinois laws which prohibit a child sex offender from being around children, unless it is at a park, school, or any location designed exclusively for people under the age of 18. However, t is unlawful for a parent or guardian of a minor to knowingly leave that minor in the custody or control of a child sex offender, or allow the child sex offender unsupervised access to the minor. This does not apply to those child sex offenders who 1) is a parent of the minor, 2) convicted of Sexual Abuse (720 ILCS 5/12-15-c), or 3) is married to and living in the same household with the parent or guardian of the minor. A person who violates this provision is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
Source: https://isp.illinois.gov/Sor/FAQs
As of January 1, 2011, it is unlawful for a sexual predator or a child sex offender to knowingly be present in any public park building or on the real property comprising any public park. The definition of public park includes a park, forest preserve, or conservation area under the jurisdiction of the state or unit of local government. A person who violates this is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Exempts child sex offenders convicted of Criminal Sexual Abuse (720 ILCS 5/12-15-b) and Sexual Abuse (720 ILCS 5/12-15-c).
Source: https://isp.illinois.gov/Sor/FAQs
It is unlawful for a child sex offender to be present in any school building or property, or loiter within 500 feet of school property without the permission of the superintendent or school board, or in the case of a private school the principal unless the child sex offender is a parent of a child at that school, and the parent is on school grounds for one of the following reasons:
- to attend a conference at the school with school personnel to discuss the progress of his or her child academically or socially;
- to participate in child review conferences in which evaluation and placement decisions may be made with respect to his or her child regarding special education services;
- to attend conferences to discuss other student issues concerning his or her child such as retention and promotion.
Source: https://isp.illinois.gov/Sor/FAQs