Chicago Criminal Lawyer Michael Leonard on proposed Amendments to First-Time Weapon Offender Program. In 2018, the State of Illinois created the “First-Time Offender Program.” This was a five-year pilot program. The program allowed State Court Judges to assign an individual, who was in the 18 to 20 age range, to a “special probation.” However, the individual had to be one who did not have a prior conviction for a violent crime. In addition, to be eligible, the weapon charged against the individual could not be one that was used in the commission of a violent offense. Further, the eligibility criteria mandated that the individual could not have any Orders of Protection currently against him, and could not have already gone through this same program. In May 2023, the Illinois legislature recently passed a Bill that would remove the 18-20 age limit for an individual to be eligible to participate in the program. That Bill would also reduce the minimum term (length) of probation under the program. This legislation would be effective in January 2024. This is to be applauded as yet another important effort to embrace alternatives to incarceration.
Written by Michael Leonard
Leonard Trial Lawyers
June 2, 2023