Sadly, the saga of Maurice Clemmons, who was released on parole from prison in Arkansas, released on bail in Washington, and is now accused of killing four Seattle-area police officers, is not an uncommon one. But with any luck, this time policymakers will react differently.

A mentor once told me "If you have 10 projects up and running and 5 are successful, you're doing a fantastic job." After thinking for a long time that our project in Illinois would be one of the "unsuccessful" ones, we were pleasantly surprised when things took a turn for the best this past spring and legislative reform came in a package of bills, including one creating a sentencing advisory council and another ushering in a series of crime reduction measures.