Springfield, Ill. (AP) A bill sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker would lift restrictions on Illinois residents who can't change their names because of past crimes. Supporters say the legislation would especially help people who are transgender or have been victims of human trafficking. "We were really focused on the folks who, it's a need, it's like a life-or-death need, because of fears of abusive partners or their trafficker finding them again," Khadine Bennett of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois told the Chicago Tribune. Under current law, there's a lifetime ban on name changes for people who have been convicted of identity theft or who are on state registries for certain crimes. Others convicted of crimes can face a 10-year waiting period to change a name. A judge would make the final decision on a name change with input from a local prosecutor under a bill that has cleared the General Assembly. A transgender woman, Reyna Ortiz, said she has be
Currently, there is a lifetime ban on name changes for people who have been convicted of certain crimes in Illinois. Gov. Pritzker received a bill that would lift this restriction.
Illinois legislators passed a bill that would remove a lifetime ban on name changes for people who had been convicted of felony theft, along with lifting other restrictions on the procedure.