Illinois Gets “D” Grade on Civil Forfeiture Laws

by Brian Costin Unlike criminal asset forfeiture, with civil forfeiture, a property owner need not be found guilty of a crime—or even charged—to permanently lose her cash, car, home or other property, a system which creates perverse incentives for law enforcement and jeopardizes a citizen’s property rights. The Institute for Justice recently released a 50-state report...

by Brian Costin

Unlike criminal asset forfeiture, with civil forfeiture, a property owner need not be found guilty of a crime—or even charged—to permanently lose her cash, car, home or other property, a system which creates perverse incentives for law enforcement and jeopardizes a citizen’s property rights.

The Institute for Justice recently released a 50-state report called “Policing for Profit” on civil forfeiture laws. Illinois received a “D” grade. 21 states received a passing grade and the State of Maine received the top score in the analysis.

The Institute for Justice had the following to say about civil forfeiture laws in Illinois.

“Illinois earned among the worst grades in the nation for its civil forfeiture laws and practices according to IJ’s rankings. Illinois has burdensome civil forfeiture laws for property owners, and these laws provide the bulk of forfeiture proceeds to law enforcement. The state need only show probable cause to forfeit your property. If you believe your property has been wrongly seized, you bear the burden of proving your innocence. Moreover, law enforcement keeps 90 percent the proceeds for any sales of seized property, which creates a strong incentive for law enforcement to police for profit. Despite these broad laws, there is no requirement in Illinois that law enforcement account for forfeited currency and property, so we know little about its use under state law. We do know law enforcement in Illinois takes great advantage of federal equitable sharing, receiving back nearly $88 million from 2000 to 2008.

For a full analysis of Illinois’ ranking, visit: http://www.ij.org/PolicingForProfit/IL.