Fight the Smears

Obama Passed Law Removing the Statute of Limitations on First Degree Murder. Obama sponsored a bill and voted to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 to provide that a prosecution for attempt to commit first degree murder may be commenced at any time (instead of within 7 years after commission of the offense). [91st GA, HB 2888, 1999, PA 91-0801, 00-06-13]

Obama Voted To Ensure That If A Person Uses A Gun During A Crime, The Penalties Are Increased. Obama voted to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 and the Unified Code of Corrections. Increases the penalties for certain offenses if the person committed the offense while armed with a firearm, personally discharged a firearm during the commission of the offense, or personally discharged a firearm that proximately caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or death to any person during the commission of the offense. Provides that it is the intent of the General Assembly that, if Public Act 88-680 is declared unconstitutional, the changes made by that Public Act to Article 33A of the Criminal Code of 1961 and are set forth as law in this amendatory Act of 1999 are hereby reenacted by this amendatory Act of 1999. [91 GA SB 1112 3R P 56-0-0, 3/25/99; Concur HA 2 59-0-0, 5/18/99; PA 91-0404, 8/2/99]

Obama Helped Pass A Law To Increase Penalties For Repeat Domestic Offenders, Which Was Supported By Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, And ICADV. Obama was the chief co-sponsor and voted for House bill providing that domestic battery or a violation of an order of protection is a Class 4 felony if the defendant had a prior conviction for certain enumerated offenses, including first degree murder, aggravated domestic battery, and criminal sexual assault. A person commits stalking if he or she has been previously convicted of stalking another person and knowingly (on one occasion) follows that same person or commits certain threatening acts against that person or that person’s family. The legislation for HB 4081 was an initiative of the Cook County State’s Attorney supported by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Department of Children and Family Services, the DuPage County State’s Attorney, the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Association, the Illinois Sheriff’s Association and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. [92nd GA; HB 4081; 2002; Signed into law 8/22/02, PA 92-0827; Press Release, 8/22/02]

Obama Helped Pass A Law To Increase Penalties For Committing Battery In Or Near A Domestic Violence Shelter. Obama was the chief co-sponsor of and voted for bill providing that a person commits aggravated battery if he or she (or the person battered) is in a domestic violence shelter, or if the person battered is within 500 feet going to or from the shelter. Gov. Amend. Veto makes various changes to phrasing and order of new provisions. [92nd GA, SB 0175; 3/29/01, 3R P; 55-0-0; P.A. 92-0516, 1/1/02; 91st GA, SB 1406; Session Sine Die, 1/9/01

Obama Voted To Strengthen Penalties For Domestic Battery. Obama voted to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 to provide that domestic battery or a violation of an order of protection is a Class 4 felony if the defendant has any prior conviction for aggravated battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, unlawful restraint, or aggravated unlawful restraint when any of these offenses have been committed against a family or household member. [91 GA SB 0483 3R P 58-0-0, 3/23/99; Total Veto Stands 11/18/99]

Obama Co-Sponsored Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Database; Database Became Law in 2006. Obama co-sponsored a bill that would require the Attorney General to make publicly available in a registry via the Internet, from information contained in the National Sex Offender Registry or in state sex offender websites, specified information about sexually violent predators and persons convicted of a sexually violent offense or a criminal offense against a minor, who are required to register with a minimally sufficient state sexual offender registration program; and allow registry users to identify offenders who are currently residing within a specified radius of a given location. It requires registry information to include the offender’s name, address, date of birth, physical description, and photograph, the nature and date of commission of the offense, and the date on which the offender is released from prison or placed on parole, supervised release, or probation. Linda Walker, Dru Sjodin’s mother, said that Dru’s Law “is a step in the right direction, but more work needs to be done to protect women and children. ‘I think it has to stay in the forefront of our nation’s agenda.’ she said.” The database became law as part of Public Law 109-248. [109th, S. 792, Passed by Unanimous Consent, 7/28/05; Referred to House Subcommittee, 9/19/05; Aberdeen American News, 10/6/06; Public Law 109-248; Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website]

Obama Helped Pass A Law To Extend Statute Of Limitations On Certain Sexual Offenses. Obama was the chief co-sponsor and voted for bill extending the statute of limitations for several criminal sexual offenses, including aggravated criminal sexual assault. [91st GA; HB 0329; 1999; Signed into law 8/11/99, PA 91-0475]

Obama Voted To Cut $25 Million From State Dept.’s Education & Cultural Exchange Program To Fund Tracking And Prosecuting Sex Offenders. Obama voted for the Ensign, R-Nev., amendment no. 752 that would provide $25 million for tracking and prosecuting of sex offenders. It would be offset by cutting $25 million from the State Department’s Education and Cultural Exchange program. [Vote 122 Adopted 93-0: R 48-0; D 44-0 (ND 40-0, SD 4-0); I 1-0, 3/29/07]

Obama Voted To Make Aggravated Sexual Assault With A Weapon A Class X Felony. This bill provides that aggravated criminal sexual assault when the accused displayed, threatened to use, or used a dangerous weapon…is a Class X felony for which 10 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court. Further amends the Criminal Code of 1961 by prohibiting a person from knowingly engaging in sexual conduct or sexual contact with an animal and from knowingly causing, aiding, or abetting another person to engage in said contact. Provides that a violation is a Class 4 felony, or if the violation occurs in the presence of a person under 18 years of age or if the animal suffers serious physical injury or death, a violation is a Class 3 felony. [92nd GA, ILGA Bill Summary, 7/25/02; 92nd GA, HB 4926, 3R P 56-0-0, 5/9/02; PA 92-0721, 7/25/02]

Obama Voted To Increase Penalties For Repeat Sex Offenders. Voted to require the court to impose consecutive sentences for offenses that were committed as part of a single course of conduct with no substantial change in the nature of the criminal objective, if one of the offenses that the defendant was convicted of was criminal sexual abuse or aggravated criminal sexual abuse. FN DOC: SB 1080 would cause an increase of 40 inmates in the corrections population and would have a fiscal impact of $7,617,500. [92nd GA, SB 1080, 3/30/01, 3R P; 53-0-0]

Obama Supported Death Penalty For Certain Domestic Violence Cases. Obama voted for a bill to extend the death penalty to include cases in which someone who is under an order of protection is killed by the offender named in the order. [90th GA, HB 3652, 5/7/98, 3R P; 56-0-1; P.A. 90-0668, 7/31/98]

Obama Voted In Favor Of The Death Penalty For People Who Murdered Disabled People Knowing That They Were Disabled And For Senior Citizens. Obama voted to provide that the death penalty for first degree murder may be imposed upon an offender when the murdered individual was 60 years or older and the death resulted from exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty or when the murdered individual was a disabled person and the defendant knew or should have known that the murdered individual was disabled. [90 GA HB 1315 3R P 57-0-0, 5/9/97; PA 90-0213, 7/25/97]

Obama Sponsored Bill To Extend Death Penalty For 1st Degree Murder Within 500FT Of A Place Of Worship. Obama was the chief co-sponsor of bill providing that a person who commits first degree murder using a firearm in or within 500 feet of a church, synagogue or other place of worship is eligible for the death penalty. The bill would provide enhanced penalties for commission of other enumerated offenses, including second degree murder and aggravated assault. [91st GA, SB 1615, 2/15/00]

Obama Voted To Increase Penalties In Child Abduction Cases. Obama voted to amend the Sex Offender Registration Act to include in the definition of a sex offense child abduction committed by intentionally luring or attempting to lure a child under 16 years of age into a vehicle or dwelling place without parental consent for an unlawful purpose. The bill provided that a second or subsequent violation of child abduction by luring a child into a vehicle or building for an unlawful purpose is a Class 3 felony and that committing child abduction in school, or in a playground, a school conveyance, or on a public way within 1,000 feet of a school or playground is an aggravating factor for sentencing. [90 GA HB 379 3R P 57-0-0, 5/16/97; Adopt CC Report, 57-0-0, 5/16/97; PA 90-0494, 8/18/97]

Obama Voted In Favor Of Stricter Penalties for Child Molesters. Senator Walsh introduced this bill. He said this bill, “changes the penalty for a conviction of a predatory criminal sexual act of a child if committed against two or more children under the age of thirteen regardless of whether the children were assaulted simultaneously or separate, is proposing natural life imprisonment.” [91 GA SB 1142 3R P 57-0-0, 3/23/99; PA 91-0238, 7/22/99; ILGA Transcripts, 3/23/99]

Obama Voted To Allow The Court To Impose An Extended Sentence Upon An Offender Convicted Of Predatory Sexual Assault Of A Child. Obama voted to amend the Unified Code of Corrections to provide that the court may impose an extended term sentence upon an offender convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in which the aggravating factors specified in the predatory criminal sexual assault of a child statute for the imposition of the 50 to 60 year sentence are not present. [91 GA SB 0504 3R P 56-0-0, 3/11/99; PA 91-0120, 7/15/99]

Obama Passed A Law To Increase Restrictions On Repeat DUI Offenders. Co-sponsor and voted for House bill providing that any person whose driving privileges are suspended or revoked 2 or more times for 2 or more convictions of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or a similar violation of a local ordinance, if issued a restricted drivers permit, is required to have his or her vehicle equipped with a breath alcohol ignition interlock device. [92nd GA; HB 2265; 5/18/01, 3R P; 58-0; Signed into law 8/17/01, PA 92-0418]

2007: Obama Supported $1.5 Billion Funding Increase For Community Oriented Policing Services Program. In 2007, Obama voted for the Biden, D-Del., amendment no. 529 that would adjust the resolution and allow for an increase in funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services program by $1.15 billion for fiscal 2008. It would be offset by an assumed reduction in domestic discretionary spending. [Vote 110 Adopted 65-33: R 16-32; D 47-1 (ND 43-0, SD 4-1); I 2-0, 3/23/07]

Obama Voted For Tougher Penalties For Gang Activity. Obama voted to include in the definition of “course or pattern of criminal activity,” acts of criminal defacement of property if the defacement includes a sign or other symbol intended to identify the streetgang. [93rd GA, HB 2529, 5/13/03, 3R P; 58-0-0; P.A. 93-0337, 7/24/03]

Obama Voted To Prohibit Released Gang Members From Associating With Old Gang. Obama voted to provide that if the State presents evidence, and the court substantiated that the offense committed by the defendant was related to or in furtherance of the criminal activities of an organized gang or was motivated by the defendant’s membership in or allegiance to an organized gang, the court shall prohibit the defendant from associating with other members of the organized gang as a condition of bail or release. [93rd GA, HB 506, 5/7/03, 3R P; 57-0-0; P.A. 93-0254, 7/22/03]

Obama Voted To Make Recruiting For A Gang At School A Crime. Obama voted to create the offense of criminal street gang recruitment on school grounds (including a school yard, school playing field, and school playground), which a person commits when on school grounds or public property adjacent to school grounds, he/she threatens the use of physical force to coerce, solicit, recruit, or induce another person to join or remain a member of a criminal street gang, or conspires to do so. The penalty for the offense (House Amendment No. 1) is a Class 1 felony. [93rd GA, HB 4788, 5/13/04, 3R P; 57-0-0; PA 93-0938, 8/13/04]

Obama Helped Pass The First Major Anti-Methamphetamine Legislation To Become Federal Law. In 2005, Obama cosponsored the Combat Meth Act, which passed Congress as part of the PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill in 2006. The Combat Meth Act provided grant money for state and local law enforcement efforts to fight methamphetamine, tightened controls on the sale of meth ingredients, and provided assistance to the children of meth abusers. The legislation also limited access to cold medicines containing pseudo-ephedrine, the primary ingredient used to make methamphetamine. [H.R. 3199, 109th Congress; Became Public Law No: 109-177]

• Obama Called Methamphetamine Abuse A “Creeping National Epidemic” That Has Taken Its Toll On Iowa. The Gazette reported that Obama “also spoke of a need to confront a ‘creeping national epidemic of methamphetamine abuse has taken an especially tragic toll on mothers and children here in Iowa.’” [Gazette Online, 10/16/07]

Obama Helped Pass A Law Making Drugging Without Consent For Non-Medical Reasons Aggravated Battery, Criminalizing The Action Of Administering A Date Rape Drug. Obama co-sponsored and passed a bill to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 to provide that administering a controlled substance to a person without his or her consent for nonmedical purposes constitutes aggravated battery. The bill provided that delivering a controlled substance to a victim without his or her consent as part of the same course of conduct as the commission of criminal sexual assault or criminal sexual abuse is an aggravating circumstance that enhances these offenses to aggravated criminal sexual assault or aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The Chicago Tribune reported, “State lawmakers believe the problem is alarming enough to merit tougher legislation. In May, the legislature passed a bill that would make it a Class X felony—punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison—to drug a person against his or her will and commit a sexual assault.” [90th GA, SB1224, 1997, PA 90-0735, 98-08-11; Chicago Tribune, 6/3/98]

• Bill Would Equate Date Rape Drugs With Guns And Knives. “Rapists who drug their victims could get the same prison penalties as those who use guns and knives in the commission of their crimes, under a measure quickly gaining approval in the state legislature this spring. Alarmed by anecdotal evidence that the use of date-rape drugs is on the rise, lawmakers are advancing a measure that would make it a Class X felony—punishable by up to 30 years in prison—to drug another person against that person’s will and sexually assault them. ‘A warning should go out to anyone who wants to slip a drug into someone’s drink,’ said State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), the sponsor of the bill in the upper chamber. ‘They’re going to do a lot of time in a penitentiary. This is not something to be joked around about.’” [Chicago Tribune, 5/12/98]

Obama Voted To Increase Penalties For Marijuana Possession. Obama voted to create three tiers for marijuana penalties, increasing the penalties from a Class 2 felony for possession of more than 500 grams to a penalty of a Class 2 felony and a fine not to exceed $100,000 for possession of 500 but not more than 2,000 grams of any substance containing cannabis; for more than 2,000 grams but not more than 5,000 grams of any substance containing cannabis is guilty of a Class 1 felony for which a fine not to exceed $150,000 may be imposed; more than 5,000 grams of any substance containing cannabis is guilty of a Class X felony for which a fine not to exceed $200,000 may be imposed. [90th GA, SB 14, 3R P 57-0-0, 5/20/97; PA 90-0397, 8/15/97]