Last week the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation giving judges the power to order GPS tracking for violators of protection orders. Under this bill, victims of domestic violence and stalking could be warned as soon as the perpetrator gets too close to or enters a restricted zone near the victim’s home or place of work, according to the Sun-Times News Group. The measure will now move to the Illinois Senate.
The bill is modeled after a similar program in Massachusetts, where none of those outfitted with the GPS tracker have violated their protection orders, reports the Chicago Tribune. The bill was introduced following the March murder of Cindy Bischof, a Chicago woman who was shot to death by a former boyfriend who was stalking her in violation of a restraining order, according to the Lee News Service.
“It’s a wonderful idea, and this technology will provide another level of supervision and hopefully give survivors some peace of mind, give law enforcement more tools to track abusers who have demonstrated that they will not comply with the law,” said Illinois Attorny General Lisa Madigan spokeswoman Cara Smith, according to the Chicago Tribune.
