Rockford Sun

Prompted by the senseless death of a toddler, Illinois has created a domestic violence task force that will conduct a "comprehensive review" of the process, operation and enforcement of current domestic violence laws across the state.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law Aug. 20, establishing an anti-domestic violence policy group also known as Colton's Task Force. 

At a bill-signing ceremony, Pritzker said the task force will "play a vital role" as Illinois better addresses the "scourge of domestic violence."

"Colton's Task Force will work to identify gaps in the state's domestic violence laws and develop recommendations to better protect victims and survivors of domestic violence in Illinois," state Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore), a co-sponsor of the legislation, said in a Facebook post. "Together we can reduce the frequency and tragedy of domestic violence that harms far too many women and children in our state."

The task force is named after Colton Miller, an 18-month-old boy shot and killed by his father in a 2019 murder-suicide, according to CBS Chicago.

The task force comprises of judges, law-enforcement officials, state lawmakers and survivors of domestic violence, and the group will review the current domestic violence laws across Illinois and develop recommendations to address any gaps in the process, according to the newly enacted state law formerly known as House Bill No. 3317.  

State Rep. David Welter (R-Morris), prime sponsor of the Domestic Violence Task Force Act, said the task force is expected to present an extensive report with its findings to the state General Assembly sometime in 2022, according to CBS Chicago, which reported this wasn’t the first time lawmakers tried to pass this bill into law.