McHenry Times

On Feb. 10, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law a new bill that could make it easier for felons to change their names.

Khadine Bennett, director of Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, believes the bill is a fair step.

“The bill moves Illinois closer to a fair, modern system regarding the ability of transgender and gender expansive individuals, as well as survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence to change their names,” Bennett said in a recent statement, quoted by the Chicago Tribune.

Opponents argued the measure would allow felons to escape scrutiny and potentially commit more crimes, but supporters maintained the legislation would protect transgender individuals who face discrimination, as well as victims of human trafficking who face danger from their abusers; the Tribune report said.

The law took effect on Jan. 1. It removed the lifetime ban on name changes for people who have been convicted of identity theft; as well as for those on state registries for convictions on offenses such as arson, murder and various sex crimes.

A caveat to the new bill is the potential for felons evading their former identity to commit additional crimes. But the name change is not completely in the hands of the felon. Judges will have the final word over approving name changes for people convicted of felonies that had been subject to the lifetime ban, and the measure would also allow county prosecutors to object to those name-change petitions.