Her husband's killer, ten minutes away

The passage of House Bill 4807 Wednesday by the state House probably didn't mean much to most Illinoisans.

But it meant a great deal to Barbara McNally.

She has lobbied for the proposal's passage from the time James Masino was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the September 2006 murder of her husband, stay-at-home dad Jim McNally, and was committed to the Elgin Mental Health Center, located less than 10 miles from the McNally family's Bartlett home.

That the measure passed unanimously testifies to its bipartisan appeal, said McNally.

"The legislation is really just common sense. It doesn't invoke any partisanship," said McNally, who was flanked by two of her three children when she testified during last week's hearings in Springfield.

"There is a true willingness to be victim advocates," she said.

If the measure becomes law, it ensures no other victims will endure what the McNally family endured: having Jim McNally's killer so close that an escape would put him about 10 minutes and one train stop away from the family he shattered.

In September, a Chicago man named Maikobi Burks, found not guilty by reason of insanity of the 1993 murders of his parents and sister, escaped from Elgin center and was picked up by Bartlett police several hours later at the Bartlett train station.

The legislation would require the Illinois Department of Human Services consider the proximity of surviving victims when determining the placement of murder defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed by the court into secure treatment facilities such as the Elgin center.

The state Senate had its first reading of proposal Thursday and if all goes as sponsors hope, it will pass the Senate and go on to Gov. Pat Quinn for his signature.

State Rep. Randy Ramey, whose 55th District encompasses portions of Bartlett, Hanover Park, St. Charles, South Elgin and Wayne, sponsored the bill along with Senator John Millner, of Carol Stream.

Ramey, who said the human services department helped write the legislation, also sponsored its predecessor which allows victims and family members to read victim impact statements at commitment hearings for defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity. McNally also lobbied for that, which took effect in January.

Ramey commended McNally for her poise and stoicism and said he hopes that if the bill become law, it helps bring the family closure.

"Knowing (the legislation) won't directly affect her, but will help others, I think that helps her deal with the whole situation," said Ramey who is also considering introducing a bill dealing with escapees that stems from the incident last year.

Illinois law does not require police to arrest such patients who escape, nor does it demand such patients be extradited if located in another state, Ramey said. He wants that changed.

Barbara McNally has higher aims. She wants the legislature to abolish the not guilty by reason of insanity finding entirely, and replace it with a finding of guilty but mentally ill which acknowledges a defendant's illness, but still holds him or her accountable for the crime.