Early this month, Illinois became the first state to require the testing of all DNA evidence gathered from reported sex crimes. Starting Oct. 1, police departments will be required to submit all rape kits to the Illinois State Police crime lab within 10 days of collection. The lab will have six months to analyze the evidence.

By Oct. 15, law enforcement agencies must provide the crime lab with an inventory of all untested rape kits in their storage facilities, estimates put this number at over 4,000 statewide. Within four months, the lab must have a timeline and budget for analyzing all untested kits that were part of criminal cases whose statute of limitations has not yet passed.

Crime lab officials worry how the unfunded mandate may impact other cases. The Governor has suggested he will provide extra funds to deal with the influx of rape kits but no amount has been specified.

Source: Chicago Tribune