News from Representative Randy Ramey District 55 - Republican
	Contact	1883 N. Neltnor Blvd. (Rt. 59)	213-N Stratton Building
		West Chicago, IL 60185	Springfield, IL 62706
	Phone:	630-876-0703	Phone : 217-558-1037
	Fax:	630-231-3742	Fax:  217-558-1037
		STATEREPRAMEY55@aol.com
For Immediate Release
Date:  Feb. 22, 2006

Ramey Bill to Protect Citizens’ Identity from
State Employee Tampering Passes House

Springfield, IL…A bill sponsored by State Rep. Randy Ramey (R-Carol Stream) to restrict state employees from criminally tampering with citizens’ personal, private information has passed the House.

“I’m pleased my colleagues have agreed that state employees shouldn’t be treated differently when handling sensitive information,” Ramey said. “Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes and this bill outlines where we can make improvements on the state level.”

House Bill 4438 makes it an offense to allow State of Illinois employees to knowingly discard records and databases that have personal information without destroying the items. All records, whether written or computerized, must be unintelligible or destroyed or employees could face both misdemeanor and felony charges for allowing the information to be accessed.

“State employees have access to many vital records in the course of their duties,” Ramey said. “It is imperative that employees know they will be prosecuted if they take advantage of that access and use someone else’s information for their benefit.”

For more information, contact Ramey at his office at (630) 876-0703.

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