Illinois budget includes $20 million to repair cuts to sexual assault crisis services – NBC Chicago

When state lawmakers in Springfield approved a spending plan in the early morning hours this week, it included a $20 million cash infusion intended to shore up federal budget cuts that led to layoffs and forced the closure of rape crisis centers across Illinois.

Advocates say lack of counselors, lawyers and rape crisis centers caused by federal funding cuts last fiscal year led to services being provided to 1,400 assault victims less sexual.

News of the state funding approval comes less than a week after NBC 5 Investigates’ recent series “Dismissed” revealed that reported sexual assaults in Chicago rarely lead to an arrest and conviction.

Of the more than 21,000 sex crimes reported to Chicago police between 2018 and 2023, an NBC 5 Investigates analysis found that authorities made fewer than 1,600 arrests. Court records show hundreds of cases died on the vine while in court. In total, our investigation found that only 1.5% of all reported sex crimes resulted in sex crime convictions punishable by prison time.

In more than 200 other convictions filed in Cook County Criminal Court, we found that those indicted and indicted on sex charges pleaded guilty to lesser charges – non-sex charges like aggravated battery or kidnapping – which in some cases meant they faced little or no punishment. a prison sentence or was not required to register as a sex offender.

The net result of this situation is what one expert called “case attrition,” which can leave survivors feeling like their stories of sexual assault have been undermined or ignored.

Over the past year, cuts in federal funding have led to the closure of five satellite rape crisis centers across Illinois, and 14 hospitals no longer have 24/7 emergency response /7 from sexual assault advocates to support sexual assault survivors when they need it, according to the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

At the YWCA in south suburban Chicago Heights, Debra Perry, director of advocacy and crisis prevention services, told NBC 5 Investigates, “There are a lot of survivors who aren’t getting services, so they don’t know what are their options. “

Due to federal spending cuts in the Victims of Crime Act, on which funding for rape crisis centers depends, Perry said the YWCA was forced to lay off seven staff members and suspend its partnerships with hospitals in the region.

Waiting lists for advice, which already lasted several months, have become even longer.

“What we know is that probably more than two-thirds of rape crisis centers have had to lay off at least one staff member because of our funding cuts,” said Carrie Ward of the Coalition of Illinois against sexual assault.

Ward estimates that because of budget cuts, some 1,400 victims of sexual assault have not received services in their time of need.

NBC 5 Investigates spoke with several sexual assault survivors as part of our reporting for this series. Among them was Shelavontay Tucker, who agreed to be interviewed about her 2019 sexual assault that resulted in two sexual assault charges being dropped against her ex-boyfriend, who later pleaded guilty of a single charge of kidnapping.

“I had to seek counseling. I ended up taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. I wanted to kill myself and I didn’t know how to tell my husband or anyone about it,” Tucker said .

Tucker said his advice helped provide her with guidance at a time when all seemed lost.

Advocates like Perry and ICASA members received some good news this week, when Illinois state lawmakers approved the state’s spending plan, which included ICASA’s request for $20 million for support services for victims of sexual assault.

“That means that for services where we’ve had to let staff go, we’re going to get those staff back. So that means that for (the) counseling program, we’ll now have more counselors to support clients who are currently on our waiting list. Which is good news.

Advocates don’t view the $20 million as “new money.”

Instead, Perry said it will simply be about shoring up what was lost last year. ICASA will oversee the money and advocacy agencies like the YWCA to apply for the funding.

Carrie Ward of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault said of the state budget increase, “We are incredibly grateful that the General Assembly has responded to our call to invest more funds sexual assault services throughout the state of Illinois. Once the Budget Bill is signed and we have access to funding, ICASA will use our application and allocation policies and procedures to distribute funds across the 31 ICASA Centres.

As for how the money will be distributed, Ward said this will be determined in accordance with ICASA’s application review process.

“However, our intention is to use the funds as requested, to mitigate the impact of cuts in federal VOCA funding…by restoring or strengthening services that were eliminated or diminished due to the cuts, increasing salaries of sexual assault program staff to combat the impact of inflation, staff turnover/burnout and salaries that have not kept pace with the market,” she said. declared.

Ward also told NBC 5 Investigates that the allocated money could help avoid the impact of another loss of federal funding when American Rescue Plan Act dollars expire.