THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2008
'Bischof Law' Gives Courts OK To Track Protection Violators
State Sen. Susan Garrett (D- 29th) stood next to Gov. Rod Blagojevich as he signed the Cindy Bischof Law on Monday, Aug. 4.
Inspired by the death of Arlington Heights resident Cindy Bischof last March, Garrett was chief sponsor of the bill in the State Senate.
She met with family members in early April, less than a month after Cindy was murdered.
"The family came to me, they wanted to prevent this tragedy from ever happening again," said Garrett.
Bischof's former boyfriend is alleged to have killed her after she received an order of protection against him.
The new law allows courts to order GPS tracking of offenders who violate court orders of protection.
"It is with a heavy heart for the Bischof family that I sign this legislation to enhance our state's protections for domestic abuse victims," said Blagojevich as he signed the legislation with the family and Garrett looking on in north suburban Highwood, according to a press release.
"The loss of their daughter was a terrible tragedy, but the Bischof family has used the heartbreak of her death to protect others like Cindy, who live in fear of their abuser," the governor continued. "With this legislation, we will further help victims of domestic violence by monitoring their abusers whereabouts and aiding law enforcement in tracking violations of a restraining order."
Garrett said an electronic monitor with GPS technology is placed on the offender. That GPS unit is then linked to the victim's cell phone. If the offender comes too close to the victim at their work or home, an alarm is triggered on the phone and notifies police in real time.
Garrett would like to see the program expanded to go beyond just work or home to anywhere the victim is.
State Rep. Elizabeth (R-17th) was a co-sponsor of the legislation. "When a stalker or abuser violates an order of protection, our court system must have the laws and technology that will prevent the offender from striking again," Coulson said in a press release. "Violating an order of protection demonstrates a complete disregard for the law."
Garrett said the program is self-funding. She said repeat offenders are fined $200 or more as they are put on electronic monitoring.
The new law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2009.