By Illinois Public Radio
Springfield, Ill – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says sex offenders need to be rehabilitated, no matter what the cost.
She's calling on the General Assembly to override an amendatory veto to a bill requiring the evaluation and treatment of all sex offenders.
"By putting people back into communities without an evaluation so we don't know what their risk is, without mandatory treatment, we are essentially abdicating our public safety responsibility to the women and children living in Illinois," Madigan said.
Governor Rod Blagojevich vetoed the bill saying there wasn't enough money in the state's budget to fund it.
But Madigan argues offenders would be required to pay for the cost of treatment.
Those who can't pay would have it subsidized by an increase to the annual sex offender registration and monthly probation fees.
Madigan says studies show nearly 50 percent of all sex criminals are repeat offenders, but counseling has cut that number in half.