Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

39° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Governor signs hate crime bill

Propelled by events from last year on Northwestern’s Evanston Campus, a bill stiffening the punishment for hate crimes committed in school dormitories or administrative buildings was signed Monday into Illinois law.

Illinois House Bill 4506 increases the legal severity of hate crimes that take place on property used for education from a Class 5 to Class 3 felony, punishable by two to five years in prison. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill almost six months after it first entered Illinois legislation. The bill was passed by the state Senate on May 5, after it already had been approved by the Illinois House of Representatives.

According to its author, State Rep. Lou Lang (D-16th District), the campus hate crime bill was ignited by the wave of images that surfaced in NU dorms and buildings in the past two years. Racist language and images were found in Ayers College of Commerce and Industry, and Bobb-McCulloch hall during the spring of 2003, followed by a swastika drawn onto a side of Norris University Center in the fall. Accusations last November by Jamie (Xander) Saide of hate-related incidents, which he later confessed were false, brought the issue to national attention.

“It just seemed to me as these events were happening, with the prosecutors not knowing whether to charge the acts as hate crimes, that we needed to clarify the rules,” Lang said. “We are trying to make it clear that these kinds of acts will not be tolerated in Illinois.”

From its introduction before the State House of Representatives to its destination under the governor’s pen, the bill garnered heavy support from legislators.

“We had absolutely no difficulty passing this in the legislature,” Lang said. “It was clear to everyone that it’s an important public statement to oppose this activity.”

The bill moved educational buildings into a list of protected areas, a group that also incudes places of worship.

In addition to addressing hate crimes on campus, the governor also signed a law making cross burning with the intent to intimidate others a criminal offense. The bill is inspired by a 1999 incident in Wonder Lake, where four teenagers burned a cross on the lawn of an interracial couple.

While Illinois has some of the nation’s more thorough hate crime policies, incidents still occur. In 2002, 19 hate crimes were reported on college campuses throughout the state.

“Illinois has the best, or near the best, hate crime laws in the country … and I’m proud of that,” Lang said. “But we have to continue to be vigilant. We can’t assume that because it’s the 21st century these things will go away.”

Thus despite strengthening the laws that address hate crimes, Lang remained wary on whether this would deter people from actually committing them.

“I’m not sure that anybody who’s filled with hate, who doesn’t like a particular group, (will) sit down and say, ‘Well, I better not put that swastika on that wall because it’s a hate crime,'” he said. “But we’re sending a general message that it’s not an activity we tolerate. We want to fill all the gaps and loopholes that allow people to get away with this. This is just one more step.”

Campus Reporter Jean Luo is a Medill junior. She can be reached at [email protected].

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Governor signs hate crime bill