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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by JulieMSG (talk | contribs) at 22:02, 15 December 2015 (Closing request, thanks). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


Requested Additions: Illinois Campaign and Results

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Hello, I have two requests for this article. Since it was written, a similar Marsy's Law is now state law in Illinois. Updating the introduction and adding a brief "Marsy's Law for Illinois" section at the end of this article are two good ways to provide a fuller picture of Marsy's Law. My stated financial conflict of interest (see above: I work at Mac Strategies Group and am posting here as part of my work there on behalf of Marsy's Law For All) means that I should not edit this article, which is why I'm asking here rather than adding these two pieces myself.

(Note that this request replaces one I posted here on October 27 and October 28. After some advice, I realize that my last request was quite complicated, I have scaled it back. Also, I have had some help to properly format this request.)

First, I'd like to request the following paragraph to be added at the end of the current introduction:

Addition to Introduction
Voters in Illinois approved a Crime Victims' Bill of Rights constitutional amendment to create a similar Marsy's Law in their state on November 4, 2014. The implementation bill, House Bill 1121, was signed by Illinois' governor in August 2015. There are efforts to introduce similar Marsy's Laws in other states across the U.S., including Hawaii,[1] Montana,[2] Nevada[3] and South Dakota.[4]
  1. ^ "Hawaii lawmakers consider crime victims' right-to-know bill". KHON-TV. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  2. ^ Carter, Troy (25 October 2015). "Elections 2016: Montana ballot measures proposed on marijuana, guns, criminal justice". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  3. ^ Stewart, Lynn; Kirkpatrick, Marilyn (26 April 2015). "Nevada needs Marsy's Law". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ^ Mercer, Bob (26 October 2015). "Panel studying child sexual abuse seems inclined to favor victim-rights amendment". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2 November 2015.

Second, the following section outlining the campaign and results for Marsy's Law in Illinois could be added immediately after the "Results" section

Marsy's Law for Illinois
In April 2014, Illinois lawmakers in the state's House and Senate agreed to place a referendum on the fall ballot to amend the Constitution of Illinois.[1][2] The proposed amendment to Section 8.1 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution, the Crime Victims' Bill of Rights, appeared on the ballot of the November 4, 2014, general election. Seventy-eight percent of voters who answered the question approved the referendum.[3]

The state House approved HB 1121, the implementation bill reconciling the 1993 Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act with the constitutional amendment, on April 23, 2015.[4][5] A month later, the state Senate approved the bill.[4][5] Marsy's Law became effective immediately when Governor Bruce Rauner signed the legislation on August 20, 2015.[6]

Leading up to the November referendum vote in Illinois, the campaign in support of Marsy's Law included a statewide television advertisement featuring actor Kelsey Grammer.[7] He urged Illinois voters to vote yes on the Crime Victims' Bill of Rights and spoke about his experience following his sister's murder of trying to keep the man convicted in jail.[8]

The editorial boards of the Chicago Tribune,[9] The Southern Illinoisan,[10] Herald & Review,[11] Rock River Times,[12] The Pantagraph[13] and Rockford Register Star[14] encouraged voters to approve the Marsy's Law amendment. The Daily Herald (Arlington Heights),[15] The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)[16] and Quad-City Times[17] editorial boards opposed the amendment.

Provisions of the law

The Illinois Crime Victims' Bill of Rights amended the 1993 Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act by establishing additional protections for victims of crimes and their families.[6] The law says crime victims have the right to be free from harassment, intimidation and abuse throughout the court process.[6] The law ensures victims receive timely notice of all court proceedings and the accused's conviction, sentence, imprisonment and release.[6] Additionally, the law allows victims the right to communicate with prosecution; to be heard at proceedings on post-arraignment release decisions, pleas, or sentencings; to attend trials and other court proceedings, and to have an advocate attend hearings with them; restitution; and to have their safety and the safety of their family considered in bail decisions and conditions of release.[6]
  1. ^ Tareen, Sophia (20 October 2015). "Illinois voters to face a rare 5 ballot questions". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  2. ^ Chuck Sudo (11 April 2014). "Voters Rights, Crime Victims' Bill Of Rights Amendments Added To Illinois' General Election". Chicagoist. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  3. ^ Essley Whyte, Liz (5 February 2015). "Big business gave heavily to thwart ballot measures in 2014". Time. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Bill Status of HB1121 99th General Assembly". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b Ruch, Amber (26 May 2015). "Marsy's Law legislation unanimously passes IL Senate". KFVS-TV. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Public Act 099-0413" (PDF). Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Kelsey Grammer Touts Crime Victims Amendment in Illinois". WMAQ-TV. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Kirk (29 July 2014). "Kelsey Grammer forgives sister's killer but doesn't want him released". Denver Post. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Vote yes on the Illinois constitutional amendments". Chicago Tribune. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Voice of The Southern: Vote yes on Crime Victims' Bill of Rights". The Southern Illinoisan. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Two amendments that deserve passage". Herald & Review. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Nov. 4 General Election endorsements". Rock River Times. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Editorial: Constitutional proposals worth your vote". The Pantagraph. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Our View: Support victims' rights". Rockford Register Star. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  15. ^ "Endorsement: No on well-meaning but uncertain amendments". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights). 19 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Phony issues on the ballot". The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana). 24 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Six times 'no'". Quad-City Times. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.

Feedback is welcome. Please can you add this new detail to the article if it all looks good? Thank you. JulieMSG (talk) 19:44, 9 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I have reviewed the proposed text. It largely appears to be objective and due weight for the article. I have the following specific concerns:
  • In the first proposed section, the cite to the Las Vegas Review-Journal is to an editorial endorsing the legislation. Instead of an editorial, please find an objective news report covering the details of the legislation for Nevada.
  • In the second proposed section, the paragraph about Kelsey Grammar is just a shade too promotional in nature ("here's a well-liked celebrity who endorses this law") and doesn't really add much to the facts about the Illinois law. Zap it.
  • I'd like to see some well-cited information about any opposition to the Illinois law. Three newspapers opposed it, but on what grounds? Was there any notable organized opposition? Are there currently efforts to amend or repeal it?
If these concerns are addressed satisfactorily then I will feel comfortable implementing the changes. alanyst 05:22, 5 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hi alanyst! You bring up some good points that I will try to incorporate. Since I posted my proposed edits here, I have received feedback from other editors at the Teahouse who believe information on Marsy's Law for Illinois would work best in a separate article because the existing entry is about the California law. I have begun work creating that new article. From the feedback I've had, it sounds like there's agreement the two articles should cross reference each other, so it is important that information on the Illinois law is included here, too. If I were to update my draft with your suggestions, would you still be interested in adding the Illinois law to this article? Thank you. JulieMSG (talk) 19:19, 7 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, conditioned on my concerns being addressed, I'd be happy to add a bit of text cross-referencing the Illinois article when it is ready. alanyst 19:38, 7 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Submitted article draft for Illinois law

Hello, I'm pinging alanyst, Robert McClenon, onel5969 and teb728 to you know I have submitted a draft of a new article for Marsy's Law for Illinois. You can see the draft via the link on my user page. Thank you for your interest. JulieMSG (talk) 15:19, 11 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Nicely done, JulieMSG. Well written and well-sourced. My only concern is balance. It would be nice to have information in there from folks who oppose the law. Regardless, moved it to the mainspace. Onel5969 TT me 15:32, 11 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I see information about the opposition in there already, and I think it's well balanced. When I read the article I can't detect any underlying POV. alanyst 15:40, 11 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Much thanks to Onel5969 and alanyst for your help creating the new article. I did post small requests on the Marsy's Law (Illinois) Talk page about moving the connected contributor template and potentially adding back the Marsy's Law For All official website external link. Lastly, there is a typo in the Similar laws in other states on this article. It should say "amendment", not "ammendment". Thank you again for your help with these articles. JulieMSG (talk) 15:26, 14 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hi JulieMSG - If you are simply correcting a typo, no one can accuse you of COI. Onel5969 TT me 16:11, 14 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hello! I have marked this request complete. Thanks to everyone, especially alanyst and Onel5969, for helping me along in this process and for the constructive discussions. JulieMSG (talk) 22:01, 15 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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