SPRINGFIELD, IL – Late Thursday night, House Republican Floor Leader State Representative Patrick Windhorst rose in opposition to a controversial piece of legislation that would grant convicted murderers and rapists under the age of 21 the possibility of parole and resentencing. Windhorst is the Republican spokesman on the House Judiciary Criminal Law Committee and the House Restorative Justice Committee. Windhorst also served as Massac County State’s Attorney for 14 years before becoming State Representative.
“Since 2019, we’ve had a youthful offender parole program that was forward-looking. This program will be retroactive. Based on these guidelines, the large majority of individuals who are going to be eligible for this program are people in prison for murder or serious sexual assault offenses,” Windhorst argued. “With respect to victims, we need to give them finality in the criminal justice system. They should not have to come back to court to relive the loss that they suffered. We should not be reducing sentences for murderers or those guilty of criminal sexual assault.”
Windhorst then asked for a verification of the final vote, which failed, with several Democrats voting no.