A new law extending the statute of limitations on rape kit testing helps the backlog of kits, but it doesn’t solve all the issues surrounding sexual assaults.

The 10-year statute of limitations on rape and sexual assault will now begin when the rape kit is tested, instead of when the crime is reported.

A long backlog of untested rape kits in Illinois and other states meant that many perpetrators of sexual assaults went unpunished. Even now, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says kits may take up to a year to be tested. Another concern that hasn’t been fully addressed, according to Madigan, is eradicating the bias of some police officers against the women reporting they’ve been raped.

Police departments do have some discretion as to whether to submit rape evidence to crime labs for analysis, but Madigan says her office is at looking at ways to ensure the discretion isn’t used as “an excuse to ignore legitimate assault.”

In other state news, potentially life-saving drugs which are still in the testing phase will now be made available to certain patients in Illinois.

Under newly signed legislation, patients who have been given two years or less to live can get medicine which has been only been through one round of federal testing. Once a drug has been determined to be safe, State Sen. Michael Connelly (R-Lisle), sponsor of the legislation, doesn’t see why patients should have to wait years they may not have for further testing to be completed.

Connelly says once the drugs have been shown to be safe, the potential benefits outweigh the risks for terminally ill patients.
Illinois is the 23rd state to enact “right to try” legislation.