Tougher laws proposed for traders of child porn

Last week, a South Elgin man was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of 22 counts of possession of child pornography.

Under a bill that has passed through the Illinois Senate and is now moving to the House, child porn offenders could face tougher sentencing in the future.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan is working with lawmakers to get SB1035 passed because it also will give prosecutors power to issue more timely administrative subpoenas to Internet providers to turn over Internet Protocol, or IP, addresses, which help identify the computers used to traffic child pornography along with their owners.

Under current law, a subpoena must be issued by a grand jury, a process that can take nearly two months to complete.

Under the current law, a defendant with thousands of child pornography images can be sentenced to the same amount of time as a defendant with one image. The bill gives judges the option of imposing consecutive sentences for child porn traffickers.

“As technology advances and criminals find new ways to exploit children online, the law enforcement community must adapt and improve how they pursue child porn traffickers,” Madigan said.

Police input neededThe St. Charles Police Department is in the midst of a reaccreditation process through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.Officials came in last Friday to visit the police department and beginning at 7 p.m. Monday, residents can chime in during a hearing at the police department, 211 N. Riverside Ave.The department, which must comply with 464 standards set forth by the CALEA, was first accredited in 1989 and has been reaccredited five times since then. Written comments also may be sent to CALEA at 13575 Heathcote Blvd., Suite 320, Gainesville, VA, 20155.Detect bad checksNot that many people pay with checks these days, but when they do, you want to make sure it#146;s legitimate. The Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles chambers of commerce will co-host a presentation from the Kane County State#146;s Attorney#146;s office about its Bad Check Restitution Program. The event will be held at 8 a.m. May 11 at the Geneva History Center, 113 S. Third St. The cost is $5 and includes coffee, bagels and a presentation from State#146;s Attorney Joe McMahon on how businesses can prevent becoming victims to someone passing a bad check.For more information or to RSVP, call (630) 232-60-60 or e-mail jcarroll@genevachamber.com.hhitzeman@dailyherald.com