RYAN KEITH

Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Fresh out of prison, Kerry Skora would much rather be known as a murderer than a sex offender. The law said otherwise.

Skora, who served 15 years in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit, found out that because the victim was 16, he would have to register as a sex offender - even though the crime didn't involve sex.

"I was shocked," Skora said. "It's just unbelievable, you know."

The Illinois General Assembly recently passed legislation that would create a unique registry for people who commit violent but non-sexual crimes against youth, allowing people like Skora to avoid the stigma of the sexual offender registry. Supporters see it as a matter of fairness for hundreds of people who were caught up in the rush to crack down on sex offenders.

"The reality is sex offenders are a great political target," said Rep. John Fritchey, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the measure after being contacted by Skora's mother. "But that doesn't mean any law under the sun is appropriate."

If signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, it would become the nation's only registry solely for violent offenders against youth, experts say.

Florida has a registry for career offenders, many of which are convicted of violent crimes, officials there say. Montana and Indiana also register violent criminals but they are included in the larger sex offender registry, said Blake Harrison of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Blagojevich is still reviewing the measure, spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said. He has until June 30 to sign or veto the bill or it automatically becomes law.

Laura Ahearn, executive director of the national advocacy group Parents for Megan's Law, said moving non-sex offenders off the sex offender registry should help strengthen its effectiveness as a public safety tool. She hopes other states follow.

"Somehow if it's not (only sex offenders), it takes away the impact and the ability for the community to really recognize the type of danger that they're dealing with," Ahearn said.

State lawmakers in the mid-1990s added a host of crimes against minors to the sex offender registry requirements, including first-degree murder, kidnapping and child abduction - regardless of whether the crime involved a sex offense.

People on the state's sex offender registry can't live within 500 feet of schools and other public places where children are found. The public can look up their names, pictures and addresses on the state's Web site, which makes no distinction between people who committed sex crimes and people who committed violent crimes involving minors.

Skora was released from prison earlier this month and, for now, is a registered sex offender. His version of the crime that put him on the registry is that he was out partying with friends when they had an altercation with another group. Skora, then 19, says he left as two friends were beating one teen. Police arrested him later, however, and all three were charged and convicted in the boy's murder.

Prosecutors said at his trial that Skora and the victim were rival gang members and Skora beat the teen and dropped a concrete block on his head.

Skora isn't thrilled at the idea of registering as a violent offender, but figures that's better than the alternative.

"A big weight was lifted off my back," he said.

Fritchey said details of the proposed registry are still being worked out but it should be similar to the sex offender registry, so the public can track offenders living in their neighborhoods. Violent offenders wouldn't face the same residency restrictions, however.

Law enforcement groups raised a few concerns about the measure but ultimately did not oppose it.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office feared creating the separate registry would prompt defendants to avoid the sex offender tag by pleading guilty only to violent crimes. Fritchey changed the measure to require a court determination that an offense is not sexually motivated to qualify for the violent offender list.

An Illinois State Police spokesman said the agency is reviewing all aspects of the legislation and would not answer further questions.

An analysis the state police provided to Fritchey indicates more than 800 offenders already on the sex offender registry could be placed on the new registry. The report also cautions that many of those people also committed sex offenses that could require them to register on both lists.

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Legislature: http://www.ilga.gov

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