New State Law Based on Tragic Loss of Bolingbrook Family

A new law that will allow families of victims of fatal traffic accidents to address the court before sentencing is handed down to the offender is based off of one family's tragic loss in 2008.

, D-Lockport, sponsored the bill, which will become law effective Jan. 1. McAsey introduced the bill after hearing from Cheryl Miller, a Bolingbrook resident who lost her son, Adam, in a traffic accident on Plainfield-Naperville Road in 2008.

Miller and other families, according to a release from McAsey, wanted the chance to explain how the ordeal affected them and have it considered when the offender was sentenced.

Right now, victims can only offer an official statement during sentencing for certain crimes, the release said.

“A family’s victim impact statement provides a voice to those most directly affected by a loved one’s death.” McAsey said. “This perspective can help the court hand down a fair and accurate sentence, while helping to offer some sense of closure for the family.”   

Adam was 5 years old when he was killed. After his father, John, stopped to fix a tire on Plainfield-Naperville Road, a distracted driver, who was reaching for a cigar, slammed into the rear of Miller’s vehicle at 55 mph and Adam was killed.

Cheryl Miller said everyone on the road is someone’s child and that it’s imperative that people pay attention.

In July, friends, family and state officials the life of Adam Miller.

“The value of the lives of our citizens must be honored and a grieving family must be treated with respect by the system that is meant to provide justice,” Cheryl Miller said in the release.  “I appreciate Rep. McAsey’s efforts on behalf of my family and for making sure that those who suffer a similar loss in the future will have the ability to be heard.”