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Last Updated on Monday, 14 April 2008 09:50 Written by rslcpol Monday, 14 April 2008 09:50
It is, sadly, one of the growth areas in Illinois government.Since 2003, the number of cases in the state where Illinois has paid out compensation to the victims of violent crime has more than tripled.
Corey-Ann Gulkewicz, bureau chief for the Crime Victims Compensation program in Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, says the state paid out more than 7,000 claims last year, up from 2,000 in 2003.
The office, which operates with about 50 people working on claims, has an annual budget of $24 million, she says. Most of that, 60 percent, comes from fees and fines paid by federal prisoners. The rest is an appropriation from the legislature.