* Illinois Public Radio…

Grieving family members say they’ve waited and waited to hear from police about the crime lab analysis of their relatives’ murders.

At a state Senate hearing, they focused their frustration on detectives who did not keep them informed about the progress of their case, and the long delays in getting DNA evidence tested.

Latonya Moore’s daughter, 26-year-old Shantieya Smith, went missing last May in Chicago. She was was found dead in June.

“I haven’t even found out how my daughter was murdered,” Moore told senators. She says she’s called police to ask about the status of her daughter’s case, and been frustrated when return calls are promised but never happen.

“West side and south side — when it come to us, we get swept under the rug. But when it come up north side or somebody else happen, it’s like a racist thing,” Moore said. “Everybody should be treated equal.”

* WEEK…

The Senate Public Health and Criminal Law committees held a joint hearing in Chicago Monday on the state’s nearly 700 murder cases still awaiting evidence testing.

“The backlog in murder DNA processing at the state crime lab is unacceptable,” state Sen. Patricia Van Pelt (D-Chicago) said. “Technology exists to test DNA in under two hours, yet DNA from nearly 700 murder cases from the past few years is still backlogged. Law enforcement needs to be taking advantage of this technology. There are 700 families waiting for answers. They deserve closure.”

Thousands of other cases are also awaiting testing in the state backlog. The committee heard testimony from the families of murder victims, the Illinois State Police, representatives from ANDE, a Colorado DNA testing firm, and the Murder Accountability Project, which tracks unsolved homicide cases.

“During my time as a prosecutor assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit for the Madison County State’s Attorney’s office, I saw firsthand the consequences of this state’s mismanagement of DNA evidence,” said state Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon). “Violent crime cases are extremely time sensitive and most of the time rely solely on DNA evidence. To ensure justice for these victims and their families, we must make the timeliness of these test results a priority. I support the plan to invest in more technicians to combat the thousands of unfinished DNA tests dating back several years.”

* In a move that was likely not a coincidence, the Illinois State Police issued a statement on Sunday evening outlining its plans ahead of Monday’s hearing…

Illinois State Police officials said Monday it will take up to two years to make significant progress in clearing a backlog of more than 5,000 cases — including 658 unsolved homicides — awaiting DNA testing at state crime labs.

Delays in DNA testing at the state police forensics labs have been a periodic problem in Illinois for more than a decade, but the current backlog is a result of understaffing caused by the protracted budget standoff between previous Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the legislature, Robin Woolery, assistant deputy director of forensic services for the state police, testified to a Senate committee.

“Our staffing dropped significantly, and we’re doing everything we can now to rectify that situation,” Woolery said.

The ISP hired eight new trainees in December for the section that handles DNA testing, and the agency plans to hire 10 more by the end of this year.

* Sunday press release…

Illinois State Police (ISP) Acting Director Brendan Kelly vows to work towards fulfilling the recommendations set forth by the Sexual Assault Tracking Submissions Commission. “Survivors of sexual assault or violent crime shouldn’t be left in the dark while their kit makes its way through a system that can seem cold and indifferent,” said Kelly. “They should know that hospitals, police, forensic scientists, and prosecutors care about their case and transparency is the best way to make sure that happens.”

The Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services (DFS) has been directed to implement an online sexual assault tracking system by the end of the year. Kelly has directed the current laboratory IT vendor to begin development of the online system immediately using a special exemption under the state’s procurement code.

Once implemented, the sexual assault tracking system will allow survivors of sexual assault to monitor their evidence online throughout the entire process, from collection at the hospital, through law enforcement pick-up and submission to the forensic lab, and lastly to the State’s Attorney’s office where final results are received. The tracking of sexual assault kits allow survivors to check on the status of their evidence without compromising their privacy. To ensure privacy, the system will use unique case numbers and passwords to limit access to survivors and law enforcement. However, the ISP can only do so much to afford the maximum amount of privacy for the victims. That is why a statutory exemption to 5 ILCS 140/7.5 that all information contained and tracked in any uniform statewide sexual assault evidence tracking system be exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and (b) referred to the FOIA exemption in any statute authorizing or governing the tracking system.