Most people expect Illinois law enforcement to defend the private property of Illinois residents. As long as you obey the law, your life, liberty and property should be secure from the law – or so common sense would suggest. Yet, every year, Illinois law enforcement agencies take tens of millions of dollars in cash, vehicles,...

When they let me out of prison, I held my head up high. Determined I would rise above the shame. But no matter where I’m living, the black mark follows me. I’m branded with a number on my name. —Merle Haggard

U.S. law enforcement took in more than $5 billion from the American public in 2014 through asset forfeiture, compared to the $3.5 billion lost nationally to burglary.

Under civil asset forfeiture laws in Illinois and across the country, law enforcement can seize property without proving it was involved in a crime. Illinois should follow Michigan’s lead and reform these unjust laws.