The Daily Herald reports this week that some local counties may be seeking an extension in implementing a new stalker law scheduled to go into effect throughout Illinois Jan. 1, 2009.

The law was inspired by the slaying March of this year of Cindy Bischof who was gunned-down by a stalker against whom she had an order of protection. We reported on the proposal for this law in April.

Among the reasons for possible delay is funding for the equipment needed to electronically track individuals who have orders of protection entered against them, to restrict their ability to violate the orders.  As noted on The Law Blog in March, the order in place to protect Bischof was violated at least two times by the offender, Michael Giroux, but she did not report these violations considering them "harmless" according to her mother, reported the Chicago Tribune in March.

According to this week's Daily Herald  article experts cite several issues with the law:

• There doesn't seem to be a device that marries GPS tracking and a communication device into one package which means there is no way to call the potential victim about the stalker approaching, or to communicate with the person wearing the GPS to ask why they have entered a so-called "red zone."
• The law is ambiguous regarding who is responsible for responding to a possible violation — local police or court services.
• The implementation will be expensive, both in hardware costs and personnel needed to monitor and respond to the system.

It has been suggested that perhaps counties should combine their efforts to disperse the costs. 

If you have questions about orders of protection, commonly called restraining orders — whether you are seeking protection from such an order or feel you have been unjustly restricted by one, contact our office to protect your safety and rights.