Legislative fix in works for long-neglected Illinois arson registry (2024)

SPRINGFIELD — A legislative fix is in the works that will allow for Illinois police and fire officials to implement the state's long-neglected arsonist registry.

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, would remove a barrier that has essentially delayed the registry from going live for nearly 20 years. It passed the House with no opposition on Friday and now awaits consideration in the Senate.

Similar to the long-established sex offender registry, the database is supposed to include information about convicted arsonists along with those found not guilty of the offense by reason of insanity.

The original law, known as the Arsonist Registration Act, took effect after advocacy by survivors of a tragic school fire in Chicago that left 95 people dead. Then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed it into law in 2004 after it passed the legislature without opposition.

But two decades later, the registry remains blank.

State police and the fire marshal's office have been cited repeatedly by the Illinois Auditor General's Office for failing to set up and maintain the database as intended. ISP has in turn blamed lawmakers, saying they never provided money that the agency would need to build out the registry.

"What happened with the Arsonist Act 20 years ago is typical of what we see in the General Assembly," Crespo said. "Oftentimes, you'll hear that they'll pass a bill 'subject to appropriations.' That's my pet peeve."

The proposed change would allow Illinois State Police to identify arsonists through the agency's existing Criminal History Record Information system. It would negate the current law's mandate to build out the database using the Illinois Citizens and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting System (I-CLEAR), which agency spokeswoman Melaney Arnold characterized as "an expensive system for which ISP did not receive appropriation" and that never launched statewide.

The new measure would also empower state police to create administrative rules governing implementation of the registry. The arsonist database would be expected by July 1, 2025.

Crespo, who chairs the Legislative Audit Commission, told Lee Enterprises earlier this week that "if there are repeated (audit) findings that can be corrected by passing legislation," state agencies "should attempt to do that."

He said ISP approached him earlier this year "with an idea of meeting the intent" of the legislation "in a responsible, effective and not very expensive way."

"So obviously, this was brought up, and kudos to the press for saying, 'Hey, this has been out there for 20 years, it hasn't been addressed and it's an important thing,'" Crespo said.

A spokesman for the Office of the State Fire Marshal told Lee Enterprises in January that the agency is ready to publish the registry as soon as it receives information from the state police.

The original idea for the registry came from survivors of the 1958 fire that broke out at Our Lady of the Angels School on Chicago's Northwest Side. Ninety-two children and three nuns died in the blaze.

Though the cause of the fire was officially ruled inconclusive, many believe it was the work of an arsonist. In 1962, a 13-year-old boy accused of setting fires in a neighboring town confessed to the crime, though he later recanted.

Though similar in concept to the sex offender registry, the arsonist database would be far smaller in scale and less expensive to maintain. The number of convicted arsonists is believed to be in the hundreds compared to the more than 33,000 registered sex offenders in the state.