State DNA database more than 20,000 samples behind

Eight years after Illinois started requiring convicted felons to submit their DNA, a state database is still missing about 20,000 samples that could be key to solving crimes.

But the gap, which stood at an estimated 50,000 as recently as September, is dwindling, authorities say, as the Illinois Department of Corrections and county probation offices step up efforts to get compliance from those who slipped through the cracks.

"We may not get everyone, but we're making progress," said DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett. "I think everybody is taking this seriously."

Birkett wrote the state law that requires every felon sentenced since Aug. 22, 2002, to submit DNA to state and national crime databases, regardless of whether they're sentenced to prison.

So far, the state database has grown to include nearly 400,000 samples, and has generated some 10,000 "hits" in investigations, said Illinois State Police Sgt. Juan Valenzuela. Police do not keep data on how many of hits lead to arrests, charges or convictions, he said.

But one recent case in DuPage County led to the arrest of 35-year-old Juan Rivera-Rodriguez, whose DNA was linked to a 2006 break-in and rape attempt in Villa Park. Police made the connection in April, just as Rivera-Rodriguez was about to be paroled from a prison term he received for repeatedly driving with a suspended license, prosecutors said.

"There's plenty of cases where the break in the case is because of a DNA match," said Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. "It's a reminder of how important this project is."

Under the law, DNA must be collected either by the Illinois Department of Corrections or county probation officials. The effort is funded through mandatory fees paid by the felons themselves.

It's difficult, however, to determine specifically how many samples have been missed because the 2002 legislation didn't require any government agency to track compliance.

"Part of the problem is there are so many different collection points - probation, sheriffs, corrections," Smith said. "There's lots of holes to plug."

Officials acknowledge the collection got off to a slow start due to a lack of supplies and medical staff needed to take blood.

But in 2004, authorities switched to a more basic procedure, requiring only a saliva swab inside a felon's mouth.

"There's really been pretty much full compliance from then on," Smith said.

Jeffrey Jefko Sr., deputy director of Kane County probation, estimated that his office has taken in more than 13,500 samples since 2002, for a compliance rate in the 90th percentile.

Generally, he said, breakdowns mostly occur when a convict fails to report for probation. Then, there are others who were missed in the early implementation of the law and are no longer in the court system.

"In those cases, there's not much we can do because the court doesn't have jurisdiction over the defendant anymore," Jefko said.

State officials say they saw the least compliance from Cook County early on after the law passed, with an estimated tens of thousands not providing DNA.

But Jesus Reyes, the county's acting chief probation officer, said much of that gap was reconciled with cooperation from the state's attorney's office, which monitors felons who re-enter the system to see whether their DNA is already on file.

If not, the DNA can be taken regardless of whether the defendant is convicted on the later charge, he said.

"We've added about 9,600 individuals or so," Reyes said. "It's hard to predict, but I expect, in time, we will look at our list and say everyone is accounted for one way or another."

Looking ahead, Birkett said he envisions a day when anyone convicted of a Class A misdemeanor is required to supply DNA.

He added that it also might be more efficient to collect all samples upon arrest, then destroy them if a defendant is acquitted.

"My view is, if you are arrested on charges of a serious offense, a Class A misdemeanor or greater, these are borderline indicators of somebody who may be anti-social," Birkett said. "Oftentimes, a rapist will also be out committing drug deals and burglaries - they take what they want, whether it's drugs or a human body."