The movement to reform the controversial practice of employing and using jailhouse informants as witnesses in criminal trials is gaining traction after a major victory this week.
Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner's July veto of a measure tightening restrictions on the use of jailhouse informants, effectively passing the bill into law.
The Illinois legislation joins other bills seeking to monitor, limit or change the way state prosecutors use jailhouse informants that have been adopted in Texas, California and Florida, according to Alexandra Natapoff, a legal scholar who has written a book on criminal informants. Others have been introduced in states like Washington, New York and Pennsylvania.
The Illinois law, however, is widely thought to be the strongest in the nation.
