Convicted Murderer Registry To Go Live On New Year's Day

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- A new law inspired by the murder of a Batavia teenager will set up a registry of convicted murderers starting New Year's Day.

As WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports, under the legislation, dubbed "Andrea's Law," people convicted of first-degree murder will be added to a new Murderer's Registry List. Killers will remain on the list for 10 years after getting out of prison.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports

The list will include names, addresses, places of employment, schools attended and photos for offenders. It will apply to those who were convicted of first-degree murder in Illinois before June 1998.

The bill was prompted by the release last year of Justin Boulay, 33, who had served half of a 24-year sentence for the February 1998 murder of his ex-girlfriend, 18-year-old Andrea Will.

The reason he was released early was a provision in Illinois law before 1998, in which prisoners got one day off their sentence for every day they served in prison, CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller explained at the time.

Upon his release, Boulay went off to Hawaii to live with his wife, an assistant university professor whom he married behind bars.

Will's mother, Patricia Rosenberg, said earlier this year the proposed registry law would finally serve justice for her daughter.

"The fact that they will be accountable for their crimes 10 years beyond their release date from prison, to me, will help ensure that they've truly acclimated themselves into society," she said in March.

State Rep. Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst) sponsored the bill.

Andrea's Law is one of more than 200 new laws that will take effect on New Year's Day.

In:
• Dave Berner
• Andrea Will
• Murder
• Justin Boulay