(The Center Square) – A measure that has passed through the Illinois Senate would allow for individuals who have been convicted of a felony to be able to serve as executors for someone else’s estate.
House Bill 1268 as amended by the Senate would allow for people with previous felony convictions to act as executors as long as that estate acknowledges that they know the executor is a convicted felon.
State Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, said if someone serves their time, they should be eligible to help their families.
“If we believe in rehabilitation and that they are truly fully free, that we remove the invisible handcuffs and jail cells and allow them to take care of the matters of something as important as serving as executor of a loved one’s estate,” Johnson said.
The measure would exclude felons convicted of financial crimes and crimes related to the elderly.
“It prohibits a person previously convicted of financial exploitation of an elderly or disabled person, financial identity theft or a similar crime in another state or are in federal court, from becoming qualified as an executor of an estate in the state of Illinois,” Johnson explained.
State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said more restrictions need to be in place to ensure people are not being taken advantage of.
“I do still have concerns with the amount of eligible crimes that a person can still commit and be eligible to do this,” McClure said. “I am not convinced that the safety standards would be in place to ensure that the person is making a rational decision here.”
The measure is currently up for concurrence in the Illinois House. Spring session adjourns Friday.
