It has now been 10 years since the good citizens of Illinois overwhelmingly voted, by one of the highest margins in state history, to approve expanded and enforceable rights for crime victims. The constitutional amendment known as Marsy’s Law was adopted on Nov. 4, 2014, and has, in the words of one Illinois state’s attorney, been “transformative for crime victims.” Prior to the passage of the new language, crime victims’ rights had been few and were symbolic, lacking any legal means of enforcement.  I never thought these kinds of rights would be important to me as I grew up in Winnetka. That changed on April 7, 1990, when my sister, Nancy, her husband, Richard, and their unborn child were murdered by a teenage neighbor with aspirations of becoming a serial killer. This was a watershed moment for our family — nothing was the same after this unspeakable tragedy. During the long wait for the trial, we had no victim advocate guiding us through the process. We trusted the professionals to prosecute the case, which they did successfully. But the trial did not offer one single moment of reflection on who Nancy and Richard were or what the impact of the crime had been. We had waited patiently for the process and had prepared victim impact statements, which we had assumed were a part of the sentencing process. The day before we were to go to court for the sentencing, we received a call directing us not to come. We were told the court was extremely busy, the murderer’s sentences were mandatory and no victim impact statements would be heard. We had waited for almost two years to put into the record the real stories of these beautiful lives so horrifically taken but were silenced by a system too busy to hear from the victims.  My family’s experience with my sister’s murder caused me to become an activist for victims’ rights, which ultimately led me to help lead the effort to bring Marsy’s Law to our state. Marsy’s Law is named after Marsy Nicholas of California, who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. California was first in passing its version of Marsy’s Law in 2008. Illinois was second, and as of today, a dozen states have adopted some version of Marsy’s Law in their state constitutions.    Here in Illinois, the effort to enact our version of a victims’ bill of rights was led by then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan working in partnership with the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence and victim advocates like me. While we knew we were doing important work at the time, the past 10 years have shown we couldn’t have imagined the impact these new rights would have.  Put simply, Marsy’s Law has changed the game for all of us who work with and advocate for crime victims. Thanks to Marsy’s Law, victims are now brought to the forefront of the legal process. They are no longer blindsided by hearing dates or unexpected rulings.  Some tangible examples of Marsy’s Law’s impact in Illinois include the hiring of the first chief of victim services in Lake County to train all office personnel and to ensure strict compliance with Marsy’s Law, police departments keeping residents informed of their Marsy’s Law rights and training for those working in the criminal justice system, including information on how to comply with the law’s requirements. Most importantly, Marsy’s Law has changed the culture of our courthouses for the better; it provides victims with a stronger voice to make sure they are no longer treated as silent and unaffected bystanders in the courtroom.  As the family member of a murder victim who never talked to a victim advocate in my case until after the passage of Marsy’s Law, it has been more helpful than I can say. A murder is a life sentence for the victim’s family too — we are still monitoring appeals and changes in sentencing law. Decades later, I am still going to court, but now I have a wonderful victim advocate in Cook County named Jill who works proactively to keep me informed and who is always there for me during those emotional court days. Ten years later, Marsy’s Law is doing exactly what we hoped for — and more.  Jennifer Bishop Jenkins is state director for the political organization Marsy’s Law for Illinois. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].