Editorial Roundup: Illinois

Chicago Sun-Times. October 13, 2022.

Editorial: That check you mailed? Be alert - it could get 'œwashed'ť and cost you thousands.

Check fraud has soared in Illinois, and victims often end up waiting for weeks or months to have their stolen money reimbursed. There are steps you can take to protect yourself. The Postal Service can do more, too.

Even in this age of sophisticated online fraud, the old-fashioned kind, carried out on hard copy, is still alive and well.

Check-washing schemes are on the rise, officials say, and unsuspecting people are paying the price.

There's the woman from the Southwest Side, who, as she told Sun-Times reporter David Struett, mailed a $30 check as a school donation in September - only to find out three days later that someone had stolen it, 'œwashed'ť it by erasing the ink, then rewritten the payee and the amount and cashed it for $9,475.81.

An employee of their bank told them seven other customers had also been recent victims of the same fraud. And even more Chicagoans are now telling similar stories, especially in the wake of Struett's reporting on Tuesday.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself, such as using pens with indelible gel ink that cannot be erased or 'œwashed out'ť with chemicals. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, as well, must do everything possible to protect mail carriers from the uptick in armed robberies in which thieves steal master keys that allow them to rob mailboxes on the street and in building lobbies.

'œOrganized type of crime'ť

But meanwhile, potentially thousands of people have been victims of check-washing schemes. One Georgia State University expert, David Maimon, calls it 'œa very organized type of crime'ť in which stolen checks can be sold for hundreds of dollars on the dark corners of the internet.

Maimon's Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group found more than 1,000 checks stolen from Illinoisans on sale on the dark web between December 2021 and May 2022 - and thieves have hit other states even harder.

More than 17,000 cases of check fraud - which includes check washing - have been reported in Illinois so far this year, up from 13,000 cases in 2021 and more than triple the 5,360 cases in 2014, according to U.S. Treasury Department data.

The uptick in stolen checks - which are then 'œwashed'ť and cashed by thieves - was linked to a significant increase in robberies of USPS letter carriers for their master keys, according to a March memo from the Postal Inspection Service to the Justice Department. Master keys, which can be sold online for $800 to $2,500 depending on the wealth of the area in which the mailboxes are located.

In July, several Illinois lawmakers asked Postmaster General Louis DeJoy what steps the U.S. Postal Service is taking to combat the armed robberies. It's not encouraging that the response from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been 'œinsufficient,'ť as Sen. Dick Durbin told the Sun-Times on Wednesday.

It's understandable that USPIS would hesitate to reveal its anti-crime strategies publicly and put would-be thieves on alert. But lawmakers, we believe, should have the chance to weigh in on whether those strategies are adequate and determine other steps that might be needed.

As for the rest of us: Not everyone wants to use online bill payment or digital payment services such as Venmo or Zelle. And with the holiday season approaching - a time when mail volume surges and more of us often send checks as gifts to relatives, friends and charities - how can you protect yourself?

First, as we noted, be sure to use a pen with indelible gel ink. Banks, as well, should have them available for customers.

Some suggestions from USPIS: Deposit mail at a post office or just before the last pickup of the day in outdoor blue mailboxes; never leave mail in your mailbox overnight; and have your mail held at the post office, or picked up by a relative or friend, when on vacation.

If you do become a victim of check washing, report the crime to USPIS at (877) 876-2455.

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Champaign News-Gazette. October 16, 2022.

Editorial: SAFE-T law's problems require gubernatorial action

Gov. J.B. Pritzker's politically driven refusal to speak clearly on the impending elimination of the criminal-justice bond system is feeding the flames of public discontent.

Governors are supposed to lead, not follow. But one would never know that from Gov. J.B. Pritzker's refusal to speak in specifics about the problems he perceives with a new state law that abolishes the bond system for accused criminals.

Instead, he hems and haws. He bobs and weaves. No matter how many times Pritzker is asked, he refuses to say what changes he thinks are appropriate in the law scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

Crain's Chicago Business put it best when it suggested that Pritzker is not meeting the duties of his office.

'œPritzker is right that there's a lot of bad information being spun out there about what the SAFE-T Act does and doesn't do,'ť it wrote. 'œBut if the perception that crime is out of control is hurting business - helllooooo, Ken Griffin - Pritzker's job is to change the perception. And posturing about a tweak here or there while letting the General Assembly take the lead isn't going to change the perception. Only a governor can be bold, not a gaggle of legislators.'ť

It's certainly fair to acknowledge that, from Pritzker's point of view, this is a bad time to put himself squarely in the middle of the raging controversy over the law. He's running for a second term in office, and any specifics he provides are certain to alienate either the legislation's proponents or opponents.

But Pritzker wasn't forced to run for governor; he asked for the job and all that goes with it.

He's said the law has problems that need to be fixed. He's cited a proposed amendment to the law introduced by state Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, as a potential fix. Beyond that, he's been effectively mute.

The SAFE-T Act, a conglomeration of criminal law and social justice, abolishes the bond system as of Jan. 1. That is just one small part of the legislation that was written in secret and passed in haste during a January 2021 post-election veto session.

Critics have argued, credibly, that the legislation's authors, in their haste to empty the county jails of inmates held on bond, created a public-safety threat by allowing individuals charged with too many serious, violent crimes to qualify for automatic release.

Bennett's bill is aimed at addressing that problem. But what's to become of it?

Pritzker's response is that it will be addressed - in some fashion - after Nov. 8 in this year's post-election veto session. But will it, and in what way?

Pritzker critics suggest the call for post-election action is just another ruse to get past Election Day. They contend that if Pritzker is serious, he would call for a special legislative session before the election.

Frankly, that's not particularly realistic given the 24/7 focus legislators have on the current election campaign. But the governor could bolster public confidence by asserting his leadership and explaining what he wants done post-election and how it will be achieved.

The SAFE-T Act is a big issue that's been addressed exactly the wrong way - shoved down the public's throat with no warning and no discussion.

It's rightly raised public-safety concerns that must be addressed.

The legislation was sponsored by the Legislative Black Caucus, but the governor has proudly endorsed it. Pritzker, obviously, doesn't relish acknowledging that secrecy and haste in the legislative process produce the problems to which he now vaguely alludes.

But he's the governor. Election year or not, Pritzker must do his public duty.

END