New Measures Strengthen Crime Victims' Rights and Streamlines Victim Compensation

CHICAGO - July 16, 2012.  Governor Pat Quinn today was joined by legislators, community leaders and crime victims as he signed three new laws to increase assistance for crime victims and their families. The measures signed today will strengthen crime victims' rights, ensure that victims know their rights under Illinois law, and simplify the process for awarding victim compensation in Illinois. The governor signed the legislation to help crime victims as part of his commitment to increase public safety in Illinois.

"As we continue working to reduce crime in Illinois, we want to ensure that any victim of a crime has the support they need," Governor Quinn said. "These measures will help victims receive emotional and financial piece of mind while recovering from a crime."

House Bill 5187, sponsored by Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) and Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), increases the rights of crime victims by requiring law enforcement to provide a written copy of victim rights within 48 hours of their first contact. Law enforcement will also be required to explain the assistance that victims may be eligible for under the Crime Victims Compensation Act. In addition, the law directs these rights to be posted outside any criminal courtroom in Illinois. Among the rights included is guaranteed notification to victims when an offender is committed to a mental health facility or leaves state custody. The law is supported by the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, Illinois Coalitions Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, and the Offices of the Illinois Attorney General and the State's Attorney of Cook County.

Senate Bill 3693, sponsored by Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton) and Rep. Carol Sente (D-Vernon Hills) broadens compensation for victims and their families by providing for spousal counseling services, adding additional violent crimes that could be eligible for restitution and authorizing payments to non-family or non-immediate family members who make initial payments for medical care and other expenses. The law also streamlines payment procedures to address a time lapse between the crime, a trial and medical procedures, and provides a new maximum award of $1,250 for replacement services, $7,000 for funeral and burial expenses and $1,250 for loss of earnings. HB 5187 and SB 3693 take affect January 1.

Senate Bill 3602, sponsored by Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago), improves the way fines are calculated and contributed to the Violence Crime Victims Assistance Fund (VCVAF). The measure streamlines the procedure for determining fund contributions by changing it from a percentage of the fine to a simple, flat fee. The law will ensure that the VCVAF receives the consistent contributions it needs to support victims and their families across Illinois in the aftermath of a crime. SB 3602 takes effect immediately.

For more information about crime victim rights and the Crime Victim Compensation Program, call the Office of Illinois Attorney General at 1-800-228-3368 or visit online at http://www.ag.state.il.us/victims/cvc.html.

Join Quad Cities Interfaith on October 5th, 2012 for QCI's 25th Anniversary Celebration and Fundraiser at the St. Ambrose Rogalski Center from 6-10pm. We'll keep you updated as the details unfold.

QCI in Action

Quad Cities Interfaith, LULAC, NAACP, Churches United and the Davenport Civil Rights Commission have been meeting with Davenport Chief of Police Donchez and various City Officials for the past two years regarding our concerns about racial profiling by local law enforcement. The goal of this group is to eliminate incidnets of racial profiling or the perception that law enforcement is profing in our community.  A St. Ambrose Professor and his Grad students have completed a base line study on racial profiling and have requested from the City $15,000.00 a year for four years, for a more detailed annual study. During this current base line study, the report shows  the police department have thusfar been very cooperative with St. Ambrose. It is expected that the city will commit the money for a more detailed study.  The organizations are pleased with the current cooperation between the organizations and the Davenport Police Department and hope to model this project so partnerships can be formed in other Quad Cities.

Leadership Assembly

QCI meets every month on the second Tuesday of the month. Next meeting is Tuesday, August 14th, 2012 at 6:30 pm at St. Mary's Parish Center (525 Fillmore, Dav.). Come and grow with us.

What's New

Quad Cities Construction Employment Workshop is Saturday, July 21st, 2012 at Second Baptist Church (919 6th Ave, Rock Island, IL) 10 am to 2 pm. The Rock Island County NAACP, Quad Cities Interfaith, And IL/IA Center for Independent LIving would like to talk about the upcoming rail and transportation projects in the QCA, other upcoming construction projects in the QCA, building business relationships, job readiness skills, and  becoming a Certified Disadvantages Business Enterprise (DBE). Any Questions can be answered by Liz Sherwin at 309-793-0090/Liz@iicil.com or Leslie Kilgannon at 563-322-4910/qcikilgannon@gmail.com.

Herrington Park, 1100 Gaines St., 12:15-12:35 p.m.

Roosevelt Center, 1220 Minnie Ave., 11:35-11:55 a.m.

Sister Concetta Park, 6th and Warren streets, 11:40 a.m. to noon

Van Buren Park, Lincoln and Elmwood avenues, 11-11:20 a.m.

Whalen Park, 2800 W. 72nd St., 11:45 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.

Emeis Park, 2000 Emeis Drive, 12:15-12:35 p.m.

Indoor sites

Buchanan Elementary, 4515 N. Fairmount St., 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Garfield Elementary, 902 E. 29th St., breakfast from 7:40-8:05 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. extended dates June 4-July 27

Hayes Elementary, 622 S. Concord St., 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Madison Elementary, 116 E. Locust St., breakfast from 7:40-8:05 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

Monroe Elementary, 1926 W. 4th St., breakfast from 7:40-8:05 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Truman Elementary, 5506 N. Pine St., lunch from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Washington Elementary, 1608 E. Locust St., breakfast 8-8:30 a.m. June 11-June 28 only, lunch 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Davenport Parks and Recreation will offer free activities for children before and after lunch June 11 to July13. Parks staff and Youth Corps Volunteers will provide art, music, games, gardening, story time and more as an expansion of the mobile playground program. Before lunch activities will run from 10 am to 11:30 am at the Roosevelt Center, aTruman Elementary sites. After lunch activities will be held from 12:30-1 pm at the Hayes and Washington Elementary sites and 12-1:30 pm at Goose Creek/Americana Park. No registration is required.

Here is Rock Island and Moline meal/activity site info:

Broadway Presbyterian Church

June 11th - July 20th

12 - 12:30 Lunch

4 - 4:30 Dinner

15th Avenue Christian Church

June 4th - June 29th

12 - 12:30 Lunch

Church of Peace

June 4th - August 2nd

9 - 9:30 Breakfast

12 - 12:30 Lunch

Rausch Park

June 4th - August 2nd

11:30 - 12:00 Lunch

4 - 4:30 Dinner

Truth Temple

June 4th - August 2nd

4 - 4:30 Dinner

Rock Island Academy

June 11th - July 20th

10 - 10:30 Breakfast

12 - 12:30 Lunch

Academy for Math and Science

June 11th - July 20th

10 - 10:30 Breakfast

12 - 12:30 Lunch

Ridgewood Elementary School

June 11th - July 20th

10 - 10:30 Breakfast

12 - 12:30 Lunch

Frances Willard School

June 11th - July 20th

9 - 9:30 Breakfast

12 - 12:30 Lunch

Martin Luther King Center

June 11th - July 20th

9 - 9:30 Breakfast

12 - 12:30 Lunch

The Place 2B

June 4th - August 2nd

5 - 5:30 Dinner

Union Congregational Church

June 8th - July 27th

Fridays only

5 - 6 Dinner

Longfellow Elementary School

June 5th - July 20th

7:50 - 8:15 Breakfast

11:45 - 12:15 Lunch

Casa Guanajuato

June 4th - August 10th

8 - 9 Breakfast

11:30 - 12:00 Lunch

4 - 5:00 Dinner

Valley View Apartments

June 4th - August 10th

8:30 - 9:00 Breakfast

12:00 - 12:30 Lunch

Pheasant Ridge Apartments

June 4th - August 10th

9 - 9:30 Breakfast

12 - 12:30 Lunch

Immanuel Lutheran Church

June 11th - July 20th

8:30 - 9 Breakfast

12 - 12:30 Lunch

Most, but not all, sites have enrichment activities besides meals.  All is free.  For more information, call Nora at Church of Peace 788-6357.

QCI Monthly Committees

Fundraising meets August 14th, 2012

The Fundraising Committee is currently working on QCI's 25th Anniversary Fundraising Celebration to be held October 5th, 2012. We are very excited about this event and will give you more details as our event details unfold. Please save this date. We hope to have all of you there. We are currently working on a Taco Tuesday Fundraising event to be held  in July.  And will keep you posted as we work out the details. We are very excited about all the FUN we are having this year!

Transportation Equity and Jobs Coalition
The Transportation Equity Task Force is hosting a meeting with officials from the Iowa Department of Transportation on Wedensday, June 27th at 3rd Missionary Baptist Church in Davenport.The goal of this meeting is to build a relationship between our leaders and the Iowa DOT Officials and to see if there are ways to partner in our common interest of extending the rail line from the Illinois to the Iowa Quad Cities.  The next regular task force meeting is Wednesday July 18th at 10 am at Church of Peace, Rock Island to plan a local leadership training.

Immigration Task Force

The Immigration Task Force is focusing on voter registration, making sure eligible voters are registered. Friday April 20th, QCI leaders will join a national webinar training on GOTV, voter registration. Task force is also focusing on know your rights sessions for the immigrant communities in the Quad Cities. A broader concern is that each immigrant understands the rights and challenges pertinent to his or her immigration status. The task force is looking at ways to work with other entities in the community to make this information available. Training will  be provided to task force members so they will have a fuller understanding of immigration legal issues. Lastly, the task force has been discussing the problem of human trafficking along Interstate 80 in Iowa.  The task force will continue to explore this issue. Our next meeting is Tuesday, July 24th, 2012.

Health Equity Task Force

The Health Equity Task Force continues to learn about the issues involved in medical interpretation and translation and how they affect equitible access to medical services in the Quad Cities.  We are currently working primarily with Genesis Health System.  We have also been networking with Broadway Presbyterian Church in order to see how our work and theirs on this issue might be mutually supportive.  Our next Task Force meeting will be Monday, July 16, 2012.  We will be meeting with representatives of Genesis Health System to continue our dialogue.The Task Force is committed to finding solutions that will reduce certain disparities in health care, improve equity in health care services, and ultimately, we hope, improve the health of a significant number of members of our community.

Upcoming Events:

QCI monthly Leadership Assembly -- Tuesday, August 14th at St Mary's Church - 516 Fillmore, Davenport 
Gamaliel of Illinois National LeadershipTraining July 8th-July 14th,2012  Mundelein, IL
Gamaliel of Illinios Week Long Training August 5th-August 11th, 2012 Chicago, IL
International Leadership Training December 6th-8th, 2012 (site TBD)

Back by Popular Demand! QCI Taco Night Fundraisier is on July 17th, 2012! Join us at Azteca 1 (4811 N Brady St) Walnut Center from 5 pm to 8pm. Buffett dinner. Drinks not included. $10.00 per person. Call QCI for your Ticket reservations 563-322-4910.

Community Events

Broadway Church (710 23rd Street, Rock Island, IL) invites everyone to our FREE Annual Concerts on the Lawn this summer.  
All of our concerts are free, and we invite you to join us!

• Our first concert on June 17 featured Christopher Sheridan, a local solo artist, with a blend of acoustic rock and folk.

• July 15 brings the Just 4 Fun Band - five ladies from the Quad Cities performing old-time string music.

• For our final concert of the summer on August 19, we welcome Rose 'n' Thorns, with their mix of music from the '50's through the '90's.

All three concerts will be from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. on our lawn.  (In case of rain or other inclement weather, concerts will be held indoors as scheduled.)  
Refreshments will be available for a donation during each concert.  So bring lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy great FREE music and fellowship!

For more information, see the church website (www.BroadwayQC.org) as the dates approach or contact the church office (309-786-2631 orBroadway@BroadwayQC.org).

Crrection: In last month's newsletter we miss identified Illinios Supreme Cout Justice Tom Kilbride. We regret our error.

Welcome to Quad Cities Interfaith Newsletter

Hi, we are hoping you are enjoying our newsletter. Please take some time and check out our new website. It's the same web address, but a whole new look. Bare with us as we get all our information moved. We'd  love to hear any feedback from all of you about our newsletter and our website at www.qcinterfaith.org. Also, we would welcome information about faith-based activities to post on our newsletter. We reserve the right to edit for space and content.  Be patient with us as we grow in using the newsletter.  If you like this, please forward to your friends. Have a Blessed Day!

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Jeff Sessions, ranking member of the Budget Committee, have been scrutinizing the expense of the Ninth Judicial Circuit's upcoming conference in Hawaii.  The Ninth Circuit announced that it will cancel next year's conference.  Grassley and Sessions are seeking cost containment for the Hawaii conference this year, as well as for future conferences.  Grassley made the following comment.

"After weeks of scrutiny, it's good to see a response at last to criticism of expensive conferences.  However, while an encouraging sign, cancelling next year's conference does not necessarily signal lasting change.  This year's conference is likely to be expensive, and future events could be expensive, as well.  I'm looking for long-term spending reductions and restraint on conference expenditures."

The Ninth Circuit's 2013 conference cancellation announcement is available here.

Grassley and Sessions sent a second letter to the Ninth Circuit on Friday.  That letter is available here.

Branstad commutes 38 sentences to life with a mandatory 60 years before parole possible

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad today took action to prevent the release of dangerous murders in light of the recent Miller v. Alabama United States Supreme Court decision, where they ruled that states cannot mandate life sentences without the possibility of parole for murderers who committed their crimes before the age of eighteen.

The court's ruling means that up to 38 dangerous juvenile murderers in Iowa will seek resentencing and more lenient sentences.

"During this process, the victims are all too often forgotten by our justice system, and are forced to re-live the pain of the tragedies," said Branstad. "These victims have had their loved ones violently taken away from them. I take this action today to protect these victims, their loved ones' memories, and to protect the safety of all Iowans."

In compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Gov. Branstad will commute the life without parole sentences today to life with the possibility parole only after 60 years for the 38 people who were convicted of First Degree Murder while a juvenile.

This action means that they will not have the possibility of parole until they have served 60 years.

"Justice is a balance and these commutations ensure that justice is balanced with punishment for those vicious crimes and taking into account public safety," said Branstad. "First degree murder is an intentional and premeditated crime and those who are found guilty are dangerous and should be kept off the streets and out of our communities."

"Today Governor Branstad and I want to ensure that justice is served, Iowans are protected, and victims are heard," said Reynolds. "The governor's action today gives the opportunity for parole in compliance with the recent Supreme Court decision; however, the action also protects victims from having to be re-victimized each year by worrying about whether the Parole Board will release the murderer who killed their loved one."