Ill. promises to collect DNA from felons

CHICAGO, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Illinois says it's going to collect DNA samples from more than 50,000 felons who were allowed to pass through jail without donating samples.

An informal audit by the Illinois attorney general's office has found nearly 10,000 state prison inmates and 32,600 felons at the Cook County Jail passed through the system without giving DNA samples as required by a 2002 state law, robbing Illinois of opportunities to solve crimes, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

"We're going after that DNA," Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff to Attorney General Lisa Madigan, told the newspaper Monday. "We feel it's important to start a proactive collection process as soon as possible."

Joseph Birkett, a state's attorney in DuPage County, told the Tribune the samples should be obtained in any way possible.

"The faster we capture the DNA samples, the more cases we're going to solve," he said.

The vows came after revelations that had a suspected Wisconsin serial killer, Walter Ellis, donated DNA while in prison as was required, he could have been linked to the attacks sooner, the newspaper said.