CHICAGO – Exonerated individuals and their advocates are pushing Illinois lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at increasing compensation for those who spent years, sometimes decades, wrongfully imprisoned.

Activists say the current compensation formula, which would pay just over $6,400 a year for wrongful imprisonment, falls far short of a fair amount.

The Illinois Innocence Project, a group focused on overturning wrongful convictions, is calling on lawmakers to act urgently during the current legislative veto session to pass the exonerees’ compensation bill.

Stephanie Kamel, a proponent of the bill, says the legislation, officially known as Senate Amendment 1 to HB 1015, has bipartisan support in both chambers of the Illinois legislature.

“This is not a partisan issue,” Kamel said.

Jimmy Soto, a man who served 42 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, also urged lawmakers to pass the bill.