For the first time, a convicted felon is set to occupy the White House.
President-elect Donald Trump in May was convicted on 34 felony charges for falsifying business records in an effort to prevent hush money payments to a porn actor from surfacing during his first successful presidential campaign in 2016.
There’s no constitutional prohibition against someone with a felony record running for or serving as president of the United States.
But in Illinois, anyone with a felony conviction is barred from holding local elected office.
“It’s time that we protect democracy by expanding it,” said Avalon Betts-Gaston, founder and director of the Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice, a coalition of currently and formerly incarcerated people. “We are your neighbors. We are your Little League coaches, friends, as well as successful electeds in other, less progressive states.”
State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) is pressing for Illinois to lift the restriction, so Betts-Gaston and others with felony convictions can run to serve in an elected municipal role.
Ford said it’s a matter of consistency.
He also said it’s about allowing people who’ve been incarcerated to utilize their life experiences to serve their communities.
“In Illinois, there are many people out there — citizens who may have paid their debt decades ago for something unrelated to the position they seek,” Ford said at a Wednesday news conference. “While they may be incredibly qualified and possess a valuable perspective for local government, we’re still permanently banning them based on the office they seek, instead of the crime they committed.”
Debra Vines, CEO of The Answer, Inc., an autism support organization, said after she was released from the penal system 18 years ago, she wanted to be a community servant.
She got the required signatures and ran, only to find that even if she hadn’t lost by what she said was a single vote, that she wouldn’t have been permitted to be seated because of her criminal past.
“I’ve worked very hard in the autism community and special needs community for the last 17 years,” Vines said. “And I would love to be able to be a legislator, and just put my past behind me, but every time we try to take a step forward, we have to end up taking a step back, and (are) reminded that we are ex-offenders.”
Betts-Gaston said she’s “serious about public safety” but that prohibiting ex-felons from running for office doesn’t protect the public’s safety, nor is it a crime deterrent.
Individuals who have had their convictions overturned or received a pardon or otherwise had their rights restored are eligible to run for local office in Illinois under current law.
Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa said he’s able to hold that position because he had his rights restored by former Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican.
Agpawa said that in the late ‘90s, when he was working as a deputy fire chief for Markham, he was convicted of federal mail fraud.
“It was a dark moment in my life,” Agpawa said. “But I’m grateful today to be able to return back and look to so many others who have had issues similar to myself, to go back and try to help.”
“We should say that after you’ve served your time, that is it,” Agpawa said.
Legislators are expected to take on a limited agenda when they return to Springfield next week to begin a two-week veto session.
But Ford said he’s hopeful lawmakers will take up his proposal then.
Ford is pressing for Illinois to lift the restriction (via House Bill 5904) so Betts-Gaston and others with felony convictions have the opportunity to run to serve in an elected municipal role.
Ford said his effort is not meant to undo a 2023 law (HB351 / Public Act 10 3-0562) that deems individuals ineligible to hold state office if they commit a felony or “infamous crime” like bribery while serving as a public official.
Contact Amanda Vinicky: @AmandaVinicky | [email protected]