Rauner’s Anti-Hate Crime Bill Endorsed by Downers Grove Representative

State Rep. David S. Olsen (R-Downers Grove) has signed on as the lead Republican in support of Bruce Rauner's anti-hate crime bill recently filed in Springfield. The anti-hate crime bill, HB 2390, aims to change sentencing for those who commit hate crimes in Illinois.

Rauner announced his plans for the new hate crime legislation in early March in response to the anti-Semitic crimes that have increased both locally and nationally, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “We cannot stay silent on hate. We cannot stay silent when families in our community are in danger," he said in a March 8 press release. "The promise of ‘Never Again’ requires us to take action.”

Olsen recently echoed those words in a statement of his own, saying, “Those who would attack others, verbally or physically, based on their race, color, creed, religion or other perceived classification, need to know their behavior will not be tolerated and that the consequences for such actions will be severe.”

HB 2390’s main goals are to increase the penalties for people who commit hate crimes and to require these people to undergo education about the impact of their crimes. The bill will:

• Require that sentences for multiple hate crime convictions be served consecutively, not concurrently
• Require convicts to participate in anti-hate crime education during their sentences

Olsen said that the anti-hate crime bill will also “expand anti-hate crime education for Illinois K-12 students.”

>>Image via Pixabay.