Earlier this year, and without notice to the public, a radical policy change was made in the Illinois Department of Corrections that allows for the release of non-citizen, violent convicted felons into our communities. This is happening without notice to local law enforcement authorities or public officials.

When non-citizens complete their state prison terms, they are typically transferred to federal immigration authorities where their immigration status is reviewed and adjudicated by a federal judge. This is no longer happening, and IDOC is now releasing these dangerous felons into our communities despite requests from federal immigration authorities to hold them pending their removal proceedings.

To be clear, these individuals aren’t those who were convicted of minor traffic offenses. These individuals were convicted of violent, heinous crimes like murder, attempted murder, sex crimes against children, weapons offenses and more – and they do not belong in our communities.