House Republicans Sponsor Internet Safety Measures

Springfield, IL….The members of the House Republican Internet Safety Task Force today said testimony from hearings conducted statewide confirm the serious dangers internet chat sites pose for our children and the need for additional safe guards to be put in place.

 “Teen and pre-teens are flocking to use social networking websites like MySpace where they can create their own web pages and chat with one another.  Unfortunately, not everyone chatting on the site is who they claim to be. Pedophiles, gang members and other criminals are using these sites to gain access to our children,” said Cross.  “Over the summer the House Republican Internet Safety Task Force held hearings in communities across the state and the stories that we heard were as similar as they were troubling.   It is clear we need to enact tougher protections to keep our children safe online.”

The task force co-chaired by State Representative Sandra Pihos (R-Glen Ellyn), State Representative Bob Biggins (R-Elmhurst) and State Representative Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) held 6 hearings over the summer.  Local parents, law enforcement officials, school and community leaders shared their experiences and concerns, and offered their feedback on internet safety protections proposed by House Republicans. 

“Predators are keeping up with the latest technology and are finding new ways to use it to their advantage.  We learned that Illinois lags behind other states when it comes to protecting children online.  To stop online predators, parents and teens must be educated, and law enforcement must be provided the resources they need,” said Biggins. 

“Our task force had two main goals: the first, to invite local law enforcement officials and educators to share with us their experiences with social networking websites and to give their input on legislation to make these websites a safe place for children and teens to communicate and express themselves,” said Pihos.  “One of the things we heard over and over again was the concern that there is currently no law to prohibit predators from having sexually explicit conversations with children.  A cornerstone of our plan will close that loophole.”

The House Republican Internet Safety Package Introduced by the Task Force Includes:

·        House Bill 37 makes it a Class 4 felony to engage in sexually explicit conversations with a minor via the computer.  This will help prevent discussions from progressing to the point where the predator arranges to meet the child. 

·        House Bill 39 allows law enforcement, with court approval, to intercept child pornography as it is being transmitted over the Internet.

·        House Bill 40 adds the distribution of harmful materials to minors to the list offenses that require an offender to register as a sex offender.

·        House Bill 41 increases the penalty for making death threats over the Internet to a Class 3 felony (2-5 years in prison).

·        House Bill 38 allows school officials to discipline students for making threats towards a teacher, classmate or other school personnel and officials on social networking websites.

“At a school in my district, a student posted a death threat against a teacher on the Internet.  We need to take threats against anyone in our schools seriously,” said Cross.  “Our package takes a two-pronged approach: strengthening penalties the courts can impose in the most serious cases, but also allowing schools themselves to discipline students who post physical threats against teachers or other school officials.”

Passage of the Internet Safety Package will be a top priority for House Republicans this spring.