Legislative Task Force on Employment Barriers


The Illinois Legislative Taskforce on Employment Barriers for People with Past Criminal Convictions is poised to begin its work. Mandated by resolutions passed in 2006 and 2007 by the Illinois House and Senate, the task force is charged to conduct “a thorough examination of the barriers to employment for people with criminal conviction records and a thorough study of ways in which such barriers could be lowered or eliminated without exposing employers, individuals, the general public, or property to unreasonable risk.” 

By late 2007 the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the House had appointed members to serve on the task force. The legislative members:

  • Appointed by Senate Pres. Emil Jones: Sen. Kimberly Lightford (Maywood), Sen. Iris Martinez (Chicago),  and Sen. Donne Trotter (Chicago).
  • Appointed by Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson: Sen. Randall Hultgren (Winfield), Sen. John Millner (St. Charles), and Sen. Dan Rutherford (Chenoa).
  • Appointed by House Speaker Michael Madigan: Rep. Connie Howard (Chicago), Rep. Elaine Nekritz (Northbrook), and Rep. Eddie Washington (Waukegan).
  • Appointed by House Minority Leader Tom Cross: Rep. Patricia Lindner (Aurora), Rep. Dennis Reboletti (Elmhurst), and Rep. Chapin Rose (Mahomet).

The task force was created under House Joint Resolution 107 of the 94th General Assembly and Senate Joint Resolution 6 and House Joint Resolution 8 of the 95th General Assembly; the chief sponsors were Senator Trotter and Representative Howard. The resolutions passed both houses unanimously—evidencing the importance of the issue to General Assembly members.

As directed by those resolutions, the task force will conduct public hearings, examine the barriers faced by persons with past criminal convictions with respect to obtaining employment, evaluate the recommendations of the Governor’s Statewide Community Safety and Reentry Working Group, and report its findings and recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly by December 31, 2008.

According to the resolutions, the task force’s report shall include the following: an assessment of those collateral consequences of a criminal conviction which impedes employment or persons with past criminal convictions and the experiences of other states in dealing with this problem; an assessment of the preparation for gainful employment provided to those incarcerated in Illinois correctional facilities and the experiences of other states in resolving this problem; an identification of the barriers which impede those with criminal records from obtaining state employment; and recommendations for legislative changes necessary to facilitate the employment of persons with past criminal convictions (facilitating such employment should not expose the employer, an individual, the general public, or property to unreasonable risk).

Advocates for removing the unnecessary barriers to rejoining civil society that hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents with conviction records face pushed for the creation of the task force. In a letter to Senator Trotter and Representative Howard last fall, those advocates stated, “We believe that the time has come for a rational examination of the laws and practices that govern employment of persons with conviction records, and for a major overhaul of those laws and practices with the purpose of allowing many more individuals with records to obtain jobs and put their criminal pasts behind them.” That letter made numerous suggestions to Senator Trotter and Representative Howard about how, in the advocates’ opinion, the task force could best conduct its work, including holding public hearings around the state, making information about the task force available on the General Assembly website, and hearing from the public at large as well as from experts and those involved both directly (employers) and indirectly (licensers, accreditors, insurers, regulators) in hiring decisions. For a full text of those suggestions, see the Taskforce Memo.

For more information, contact Margaret Stapleton (mstapleton@povertylaw.org) or Marie Claire Tran (marieclairetran@povertylaw.org) at the Shriver Center.