The Daily Northwestern Thursday, October 6, 2016
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Madigan advocates change to abuse law AG: End statutes of limitation for child sex abuse, assault By ERICA SNOW
daily senior staffer @ericasnoww
The attorney general of Illinois advocated Tuesday for legislators to eliminate statutes of limitations for sexual abuse and assault crimes against children. Attorney General Lisa Madigan said current statutes of limitations, which require a survivor to report sexual crimes within 20 years of realizing they were abused starting at age 18, are restrictive because it can take many years to recover from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. Madigan said because sexual crimes against children are often committed by acquaintances or trusted adults, children can take years to process what happened, and many don’t report the abuse. “Our laws should not let perpetrators benefit from the suffering they inflict on children,” Madigan said at her state Senate testimony. “Originally, statutes of limitations were intended to create a fair criminal justice system. But for some crimes, we as a society have recognized statutes of limitations are not fair to victims.” Madigan said many child abusers are repeat offenders, so removing the statutes of limitations and letting
survivors report “at their own pace” would make Illinois safer. Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was called a “serial child molester” by a federal judge when he was sentenced to 15 months in prison in April for bank fraud. He could not be prosecuted for allegedly mistreating high school boys when he was a wrestling coach because too much time had passed since the abuse. Scott Cross is a survivor of childhood sexual assault and said Hastert traumatized him, but testifying against him was a way to clear his conscience. “Hastert inflicted unbelievable pain on the lives of the youth he was entrusted to care for, yet he got a slap on the wrist,” Cross said during his Senate testimony. “As hard as it is to continue to live through the events of the past, the laws in Illinois and across the country have to change.” Statutes of limitations do not exist in Illinois for crimes like murder, involuntary manslaughter and the production of child pornography. Across the country, 36 states have lifted their statutes of limitations for all or some sexual crimes against children. Fear and misunderstanding of the legal system may keep survivors from reporting sexual assault or violence, state Sen. Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) said in a press release. “Victims of sexual abuse, especially minors, may have » See MADIGAN, page 2
Lauren Duquette/Daily Senior Staffer
Chemistry Prof. Sir Fraser Stoddart speaks at Hardin Hall on Wednesday. The University held a reception for Stoddart after he and two other scientists received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Chemistry prof wins Nobel Prize
Fraser Stoddart awarded honor for his work with molecular machines By PETER KOTECKI
daily senior staffer @peterkotecki
Chemistry Prof. Sir Fraser Stoddart was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Wednesday. Stoddart shares the award with Bernard Feringa from the University of Groningen
in the Netherlands and Jean-Pierre Sauvage from the University of Strasbourg in France. According to the academy, the team received the prize “for the design and synthesis of molecular machines.” “The development of computing demonstrates how the miniaturization of technology can lead to a revolution,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in its
announcement. “The 2016 Nobel Laureates in Chemistr y have miniaturized machines and taken chemistry to a new dimension.” The prize is the second Nobel Prize awarded to a member of Northwestern’s chemistry department, after the late John Pople received the prize in Chemistry in 1998, according to a news release. Zhichang Liu, a
postdoctoral fellow in Stoddart’s laboratory, said he was excited about the Nobel Prize announcement. Liu said his mentor is an energetic and passionate scientist — the first one to reach the lab in the morning and the last to leave. The University held a ceremony in Hardin Hall on Wednesday morning to » See CHEMISTRY, page 6
Anti-abortion groups sue Rauner Faculty Senate
calls for bike safety
By SAM KREVLIN
daily senior staffer @samkrevlin
Anti-abortion pregnancy centers in Illinois have filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Bruce Rauner over a bill requiring doctors to give patients information about abortion services and other alternatives to carrying out pregnancies. Senate Bill 1564, an amendment to the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act, has been a point of contention for both antiabortion and pro-abortion groups in Illinois. Anti-abortion groups say Rauner has failed to meet his campaign promise to stay away from social issues. The groups allege the bill, which Rauner signed into law in late July, violates fundamental rights including freedom of speech and religion. Eric J. Scheidler, executive
Resolution passes to form joint task force with ASG By YVONNE KIM
daily senior staffer @yvonneekimm
Source: Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune/MCT
Gov. Bruce Rauner declares victory on election night at the Hilton Chicago in 2014. Rauner is being sued by anti-abortion pregnancy centers for a bill that requires doctors to give patients information about abortion services.
director of the Pro-Life Action League, said the bill infringes on both First Amendment rights and the right of conscience, which
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
allows health-care providers to refuse to participate in giving care that would violate their moral or religious beliefs.
He said anti-abortion supporters were particularly disappointed in Rauner, who » See ABORTION, page 6
Faculty Senate passed a resolution supporting the creation of a task force on bike and pedestrian safety Wednesday, nearly two weeks after Weinberg freshman Chuyuan Qiu was killed by a cement truck while biking. The resolution, authored by Associated Student Government President Christina Cilento, said the task force — a collaboration between Faculty Senate and ASG — would “look at ways to improve the safety and experience of pedestrians and cyclists on campus.”
The resolution calls for the annual distribution of subsidized bike lights and helmets to all students on campus, and for the speed limit on Sheridan be lowered to 25 mph between Davis and Central streets. About 70 faculty members gathered in Abbott Auditorium to “introduce the Senate to one another and to the other leaders of the university, so that our shared governance initiatives would be based on strong relationships and trust,” religious studies Prof. Laurie Zoloth, the senate’s president, told The Daily in an email. After Zoloth’s opening remarks, Cilento and ASG’s Executive Vice President Macs Vinson briefly spoke about the importance of identity and inclusion on campus. “We’re really happy to have » See SENATE, page 2
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