Just 4 in 10 IIlinois Crime Victims Receive Compensation: Report

The nearly 50-year-old Illinois Crime Victim Compensation Program, which uses state and federal dollars to reimburse victims of violent crime and their families for injury-related expenses and help ease the blow of being a victim, is largely failing to do that, reports the Chicago Star-Tribune. Few people apply to the program. Even fewer end up getting financial relief. Those who do face long waits. Out of roughly 15,000 claims processed by the state’s victim’s compensation program between 2015 and 2020, fewer than four in 10 applicants got any reimbursement. And many people aren’t even aware the program exists, with just one application filed for every 50 violent crimes during the same period.

The majority of claims were denied or categorized as “award no pay” — a designation that means someone is eligible to get the money but, in most cases, that an analyst hasn’t been able to verify all of the necessary details of the application. The problems stem in large measure from three factors: the strict eligibility criteria, burdensome application requirements, and not nearly enough outreach from government agencies. Advocates and researchers worry that the application process can re-traumatize victims by making them prove that they have suffered. Earlier this year, the Illinois Legislature passed a bill that ultimately will make more people eligible for compensation and also raise the cap for reimbursement. Advocates warn the changes could still leave big gaps in the people the program reached.