Putting the Brakes on the Preventive State: Challenging Residency Restrictions on Child Sex Offenders in Illinois under the Ex Post Facto Clause

This Comment explores whether a viable challenge to residency restrictions on child sex offenders in Illinois exists under the Ex Post Facto Clauses of the federal and state constitutions. It also recounts the history of sex offender regulation in Illinois and explores the social and political environment that fostered the emergence of residency restrictions in the state. Part I provides a brief overview of the history and purpose of the Ex Post Facto Clause. It also highlights the recent resurgence of preventive lawmaking; that is, laws that work to prevent crime rather than detect and investigate it, and laws that impose direct restraints on the liberty of those considered particularly dangerous by the state. Part II briefly recounts the legislative history of sex offender regulation in Illinois, and provides an overview of the political and social realities that shaped the legislative debate. Part III uses recent state court decisions in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky to evaluate the constitutionality of residency restrictions on child sex offenders in Illinois, ultimately arguing that such restrictions violate the ex post facto clauses of the federal and state constitutions. Finally, this Comment concludes by considering the need for judicial intervention given the resurgence of the preventive state

Putting the Brakes on the Preventive State: Challenging Residency Restrictions on Child Sex Offenders in Illinois under the Ex Post Facto Clause

This Comment explores whether a viable challenge to residency restrictions on child sex offenders in Illinois exists under the Ex Post Facto Clauses of the federal and state constitutions. It also recounts the history of sex offender regulation in Illinois and explores the social and political environment that fostered the emergence of residency restrictions in the state. Part I provides a brief overview of the history and purpose of the Ex Post Facto Clause. It also highlights the recent resurgence of preventive lawmaking; that is, laws that work to prevent crime rather than detect and investigate it, and laws that impose direct restraints on the liberty of those considered particularly dangerous by the state. Part II briefly recounts the legislative history of sex offender regulation in Illinois, and provides an overview of the political and social realities that shaped the legislative debate. Part III uses recent state court decisions in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky to evaluate the constitutionality of residency restrictions on child sex offenders in Illinois, ultimately arguing that such restrictions violate the ex post facto clauses of the federal and state constitutions. Finally, this Comment concludes by considering the need for judicial intervention given the resurgence of the preventive state

Visual Feedback and Second Language Segmental Production: the Generalizability of Pronunciation Gains

While a number of researchers have noted the lack of research on pronunciation instruction, relative to other aspects of language (i.e. syntax), pronunciation has been shown to be crucial for facilitating intelligible and comprehensible second language (L2) productions. Addressing the need for empirically tested pedagogical methods, the current study considers the use of a classroom-based visual feedback paradigm for the instruction of a segmental feature, namely voice onset time, which has been shown to be a distinctive marker of accent for English-dominant L2 learners of Spanish. In addition, this study examines the potential generalizability of gains made through the visual feedback paradigm, assessing whether gains made in controlled reading tasks (i.e. carrier sentences) will extend to more continuous and spontaneous speech. The results demonstrate significant improvements in voice onset time produced by participants following the visual feedback paradigm, relative to a control group. Furthermore, while the visual feedback training was limited to short, controlled utterances (i.e. carrier sentences), benefits were observed for more continuous and spontaneous speech

Digit Span-Related Performance Validity Indicators in Patients with Cognitive Impairment

Neuropsychological evaluation is utilized to assess an individual’s pattern of performance and level of cognitive functioning compared to a predicted premorbid level of functioning. Evaluation is accomplished through administration of neuropsychological battery of tests, following a diagnostic interview and review of medical records. Assessment of performance validity (i.e., effort or motivation) must be considered throughout the evaluative process. Performance validity (i.e., effort) is the concept that the obtained performance reflected in a patient’s assessment profile is a true representation of that individual’s ability, thus impacting the neuropsychologist’s ability to interpret the obtained scores as being representative of their true cognitive functioning. While performance validity has been evaluated in many populations (Babikan, Boone, Lu & Arnold, 2006; Heinly, Greve, Bianchini, & Love, 2005; Greve et al., 2007), recent research has only briefly focused on the utility of effort indicators in the context of the performance of patients diagnosed with dementia (Kiewel, Wisdom, Bradshaw, Pastorek, & Strutt, 2012). The purpose of this retrospective review is to evaluate the efficacy of Digit Span-related performance as an indicator of poor effort in a clinical sample of patients diagnosed with either no, mild, or major neurocognitive impairment, ultimately identifying consistency between WAIS-IV Digit-Span related PVTs and if an individual’s characteristics are significant predictor variables when determining performance validity. A logistic regression was utilized to analyze data to determine if the WAIS-IV Digit Span related PVTs are consistently measuring performance or if the determination of valid vs invalid responding is influenced by factors other than performance

Metabolic Engineering of S. cerevisiae for Carotenoid Production Optimization

Isoprenoids are naturally produced compounds in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. They are involved in essential cellular functions of the cell and are also further synthesized into pharmaceuticals, carotenoids, and biofuel alternatives. S. cerevisiae is a key model eukaryotic organism because it is both tractable and a nonpathogenic GRAS organism (Generally Recognized As Safe). S. cerevisiae is used extensively in metabolic engineering due to its well-curated and annotated genome and the wide range of tools available for genetic modifications. Engineering S. cerevisiae for production of heterologous isoprenoid compounds is a sustainable and cost effective alternate to production via chemical synthesis. β-carotene, an abundant isoprenoid compound in nature, protects cells from oxidative stress and reactive oxidative species in the environment. Through a novel adaptive evolution experiment of S. cerevisiae with oxidative stress as the driving force, we obtained a carotenoid hyper-producer strain that is able to produce 18 ± 1 mg/g [dry cell weight] β-carotene in 3 ml cultures. To test the potential for scale-up β-carotene production in yeast, we fermented the cultures in a 7L bioreactor. Optimization of the bioreactor parameters revealed the influence of media composition, aeration, and pH on β-carotene production. We aimed to further optimize β-carotene production in S. cerevisiae with genetic and metabolic engineering. We reintroduced the cytosolic catalase T (CTT1) gene and overexpressed the known bottleneck of the isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway, HMG1. The reintroduction of CTT1 into SM14 (carotenoid hyper-producer) demonstrated improvement in carotenoid production, where production increased from 15 ± 3.3 mg/g [dry cell weight] to 22 ± 2.1 mg/g [dry cell weight]. The overexpression of truncated HMG1 in SM14, on the other hand, did not increase β-carotene production. The isoprenoid pathway is of a very complex phenotype and there are many direct and indirect variables involved in pathway performance. Even with these modifications to the hyper-producer strain, there seems to be limitations on β-carotene production. Further studies currently under investigation to increase β-carotene production include utilizing the fatty acid β-oxidation pathway for increasing the fatty acid content of the cell

Drivers of the Sentenced Population: Probation Analysis

The report examines trends in the number and characteristics of felony probation sentences and caseloads in Illinois, as well as short-term outcomes measures for those discharged from felony probation. The research was performed in collaboration with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts and the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council

Volume 18, Number 4, December 1998 OLAC Newsletter

Digitized December 1998 issue of the OLAC Newsletter

In Search of a Forever Home: Raising the Standards for Our Kids

There are currently 12,167 children in foster care in Minnesota and 32% experienced multiple placements in 2014. Many children are entering foster care due to concerns of child behavior, parental chemical use, or allegations of maltreatment. After an often unexpected separation from their family, children are then expected to adapt to a new foster family with a new set of family norms and rules. Many children are moved between multiple foster homes, or are returned to their caregivers only to be placed back in foster care at a later time. In the wake of media reports revealing stories of child mortality due to abuse and neglect, Governor Dayton issued an executive order for a Task Force to examine pre-court protections protocols, screening, family assessment, resources to provide adequate services, and supervisory oversight to the child protection system. What was left out of the executive order was what happens to children following pre-court protection and long-term impacts of children within Minnesota’s child welfare system

Electromyographic Analysis of Lower Extremity Muscle Activity during Plyo Press Jump and a Vertical Jump

Many training programs have been developed to aid in training the athlete with their goal of maximizing strength and performance. The Plyo Press machine was developed for training athletes enrolled in the Frappier Sports Acceleration Program. This machine was designed to couple strength training with plyometrics to enhance dynamic muscle activity and speed. There has been limited research on the Plyo Press machine to support these claims. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to compare muscle recruitment during a vertical floor jump versus a plyojump in the Ply Press leg machine. EMG analysis of selected lower extremity muscles was conducted to provide information of the muscle activity and recruitment pattern evoked during exercises on the Plyo Press. Eight healthy male subjects that were familiar with the Plyo Press machine were asked to participate in this study. Each subject performed a series of vertical jumps and then plyojumps on the Plyo Press. An analysis of the normalized EMG data was conducted using the Norquest software package. The results of this study revealed that there was significantly more muscle recruitment of the gluteus maximus, semitendinosus, and anterior tibialis during the vertical jump as compared to the Plyo Press. The Plyo Press does not appear to offer any advantage of increased muscle recruitment for athletic training