Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart advocated for a new state law that makes major changes in the way police in Illinois are required to address missing persons reports. He launched the Missing Persons Project in 2021, a unit of his office dedicated to locating people who’ve been missing for three years or longer.
Courtesy of Cook County Sheriff’s Office
You’ve probably seen it play out on a TV crime drama: A distraught person enters a police station to report a loved one missing, only to be told by the desk officer that there’s nothing they can do about it for at least 24 hours.
A new state law championed by a suburban legislator and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart will keep that scenario the stuff of fiction here in Illinois.
Senate Bill 24 — also known as the Missing Persons Identification Act — was signed into law late last month by Gov. JB Pritzker, paving the way for major changes in how police handle missing persons cases.
“This is a good news story for people who have lost a loved one,” said state Sen. Michael Hastings, a Tinley Park Democrat who sponsored the bill. “It will increase the likelihood of someone missing being found or identified.”
Among the key changes that go into effect Jan. 1 — no longer will there any kind of waiting period before police act on information that someone’s gone missing. Instead, police must immediately take a report and enter it into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System, a statewide law enforcement database.
The law also requires police to collect available fingerprint and dental records, photographs and other biometrics to publish the information in the federal National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, if the person remains missing for 60 days.
Fingerprint records must be searched against all available repositories at the local, state and national levels, instead of limiting a search to local criminal databases.
And lastly, missing persons cases must remain active until the person returns or is located.
Hastings told us the new law ends “outdated” practices and takes advantage of a growing array of databases and other resources available to police.
“Technology has outpaced some policies,” he said.
Illinois Sen. Michael Hastings
Gacy case played a part
For Dart, his advocacy for the new law stems from his office’s work to identify previously unknown victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Since reopening the Gacy case in 2011, the sheriff’s office has identified three of his eight previously unidentified victims and closed several other longstanding missing persons cases.
But the work also revealed flaws in how many cases had been handled in the past.
“When the Office reopened the John Wayne Gacy murder case to identify his unidentified victims, investigators combed through hundreds of missing persons reports,” Dart’s office wrote us in an email. “Many of these reports were either lacking information or were incomplete or families were told to wait before filing a report.”
He also cited the case of Reba C. Bailey, who was known only as Seven Doe when she died at a Chicago nursing home in 2015. Although authorities previously tried to identify her by running fingerprints through a local criminal database, she didn’t have a record, so no match was found.
It wasn’t until August 2023, when the sheriff’s office had her fingerprints run through additional databases, that the Women’s Army Corps veteran was identified through a 1961 military print card.
“She could have been identified while she was alive, if a more extensive fingerprint search by law enforcement had been required,” Dart’s office said.
Dart believes the expanded use of fingerprint records and other databases, as well as uniform requirements statewide, will lead to better results.
“When all agencies are following the same practices regarding missing persons cases, and are entering information in a timely manner, that can aid in finding someone quicker,” his office told us.
Silence on shooting
It has been almost three weeks since a man was killed in a standoff with Batavia police, and authorities still won’t identify the person or say where he was from.
Police and the Kane County Coroner’s Office are referring all questions to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether police officers involved acted within the law.
State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser has refused to release the man’s identity, saying she’ll withhold it until an investigation is complete.
The coroner also won’t release the cause and manner of the man’s death, and authorities won’t say whether it was a police officer’s bullet that killed him.
All we officially know is what police disclosed in an initial news release about the Aug. 16 shooting, which stated that the man fired at officers in the 1200 block of East Wilson Street, officers fired back, and the man was killed.
Zoom court survey
Ever participated in a court hearing via Zoom? If so, the Illinois Supreme Court wants to know how the experience can be improved.
The court’s Remote Appearance Committee is seeking suggestions through a link on its website, www.illinoiscourts.gov.
“The Illinois Supreme Court is committed to remote court proceedings as a way to increase access to justice statewide,” Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis said in the court’s monthly newsletter. “We encourage court users to share suggestions on how to improve this experience.”
Susan has one suggestion already: Have judges wear body mics, because some can’t be heard well when they turn their head away from their stationary microphones.
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Gerald Steele is the founder of Stonegate Health Rehab. He shares expert insights, recovery tips, and rehab resources to support individuals on their journey to wellness.