New gun, porn laws have ties to Kane County

Come Jan. 1, Illinois will no longer have a statute of limitations on the manufacturing of child pornography, and judges will be able to confiscate weapons in criminal emergency orders of protection.

The new laws are among four public acts that Gov. Pat Quinn has signed and the Kane County state's attorney's office had a hand in developing.

"We've been very active this year in our own legislative agenda," State's Attorney John Barsanti said Tuesday.

Barsanti said his legislative committee wrote some of the language for the laws and saw them through the legislature by working with lobbyists and elected officials. The goal was to correct "failures of logic" and unanticipated weaknesses in various areas of the law, he said.

Currently, a judge cannot order the confiscation of weapons when an emergency order of protection is filed unless the subject is given notice of the emergency hearing. Under the new law, weapons and Firearm Owner's Identification Cards can be seized when there's any threat involving a firearm.

Assistant State's Attorney Christine Downs, who heads the legislative committee, said the old law lacked an "emergency remedy" for immediate threats of gun violence.

"If you had to wait until notice was given, the damage could already be done," she said.

In updating child pornography laws, the legislature is removing a statute limiting the prosecution of the manufacturing of child pornography to three years, and adding language allowing for harsher penalties in sex crimes against children.

Next year, victims of certain sex cases also will be allowed to read impact statements at sentencing, and some related crimes will factor into civil commitments of sexually violent offenders.

The committee also helped beef up penalties for threats of destruction or violence at schools, even when they are not in session. Under the new law, offenders can be charged with felony disorderly conduct rather than a misdemeanor.

Downs said those changes came about at the urging of a retired police officer amid frequent reports of threatening notes found at local schools last year.

"We wanted the opportunity for a higher penalty if the situation warranted it," Downs said. "It really allows for the prosecutors to exercise their discretion."

The fourth public act adds prosecutors to the list of police officers, sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement personnel permitted to register their personal vehicles at their place of employment. Downs said the law will serve as an additional layer of protection for prosecutors who want to keep their home addresses private for safety reasons.