Illinois is on the verge of sharply raising what it pays people who were wrongfully locked up, after the state Senate signed off on a measure led by Sen. Elgie R. Sims Jr. The proposal would award exonerees up to $50,000 a year for time spent behind bars and $25,000 a year for time wrongfully spent on probation, parole or the sex-offender registry, and it counts pretrial and juvenile detention toward those totals. The bill cleared the legislature this week, is now enrolled, and is headed to the governor for a final signature.
Sen. Sims called the proposal "one more step in our fight to reshape the system that has failed so many families," in a press release via the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus. The caucus cast the bill as a way to replace inconsistent, often tiny awards with a predictable formula that gives freed people a clearer shot at rebuilding their lives.
What the bill would change
The bill text at the Illinois General Assembly sets a flat $50,000 per year for wrongful imprisonment and $25,000 per year for time on parole or probation, with awards prorated for partial years. It explicitly includes time spent in pretrial detention and in juvenile facilities and authorizes payment of reasonable attorney fees and costs after a certificate of innocence is issued. The text also states that the changes apply to claims pending or filed on or after the law's effective date.
According to LegiScan, HB 3663 was enrolled on June 1, 2026, after passing both chambers and will be sent to the governor for consideration. Sponsors said the measure is intended to correct decades of uneven compensation for exonerees.
Why supporters say its needed
Backers note that under the old system awards varied widely and often failed to cover basic needs after release. As detailed in a press release via Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus, the average award was about $11,190 per year of wrongful imprisonment, and the caucus cited data attributed to the Illinois Innocence Project showing individual yearly awards as low as $5,985 and as high as $35,562 under the old system.
How big the problem is
Illinois has one of the nation's largest tallies of overturned convictions, a reality advocates say underscores the need for clearer restitution. According to the Innocence Project, the National Registry of Exonerations lists roughly 579 exonerations in Illinois since 1989.
Legal changes and who is covered
HB 3663 amends the Court of Claims Act and the Code of Civil Procedure to streamline eligibility and payment calculations, the Illinois General Assembly shows. It requires a certificate of innocence for payment, allows the court to award attorneys' fees after that certificate is granted, and makes clear that time spent awaiting trial or confined in juvenile facilities counts toward the award amount.
Advocates say the new formula would give freed people a more reliable financial foundation as they look for housing and jobs after years behind bars, while critics worry about the fiscal impact on the state budget. With the bill now on the governor's desk, the next move will determine whether higher, steadier payouts are deemed worth the price of addressing decades of wrongful convictions.
