Eye On Illinois: Increased penalties don’t always dissuade criminal conduct

Can you threaten your way out of a problem?

The answer might depend on perspective. As a baseball umpire, the rulebook plus some arbiter discretion tends to keep a lot of things in line. As a parent, threats occasionally yield juvenile compliance, though hard-earned experience teaches it’s only prudent to introduce a punishment with full intent to deliver … also there’s a chance you’re not changing hearts but merely changing the incentives for not getting caught.

But this column is about state government, so the question applies to our elected officials. If something is already illegal, does threatening heightened penalties affect behavior?

The surface answer is “yes, obviously, because otherwise, we wouldn’t have so many politicians promising to stop untoward conduct with plans consisting entirely of sending the people who do it to prison for longer.” But it’s fair to hold a light to that theory, while also reminding that policies don’t inherently prevent problems, they primarily provide recourse.

Consider a recent headline from Shaw Media’s Camden Lazenby: “Violent threats plague Illinois schools weeks into term; authorities want change.”

Northern Illinois law enforcement agencies have been busy. On Sept. 13, according to police, a Chicago man looking to keep authorities busy called 911 and reported seeing someone in a high school bathroom with a gun. On Sept. 16, police in at least five cities increased their in-school presence due to social media threats. On Sept. 18, Sycamore police removed a middle school student from class leading to charges of making terrorist threats.

The latter incident could lead to a Class X felony conviction, the longest possible jail time outside of murder. This includes crimes like armed robbery or hijacking a car. No sane adult who engages in such conduct thinks they’re operating on the level. If the potential of 30 years in prison isn’t a sufficient deterrent, would 45 make a difference?

Threats have very real consequences. They waste public resources and stoke anxiety and fear, perhaps inciting downstream concerns. However if someone is found incapable of physical harm, is the isolation of prison going to cure them or ultimately better society?

But what’s the alternative? Elected officials who want to be seen as able to solve problems have to propose something. Police shouldn’t stop investigating school threats. Awareness campaigns (“If you see something, say something”) seem useful tools for promoting safety. Still, they don’t actively discourage making threats, especially those of the idle variety, or ones intended to serve another goal, like tying up first responders or buying an extra day to finish a class project.

Conceding shouldn’t be on the table, but we apparently can’t penalize – or threaten to punish – our way out of this frustrating modern reality.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. Follow him on X @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.