More than 400 sex offenders live and work in seven counties covered by Illinois State Police District 13 in Du Quoin. Sixteen of them are considered non-compliant or missing.

"This is almost like America's Most Wanted," said Master Sgt. Stan Diggs. "They are out there living amongst people and those people don't realize these sex offenders are wanted. If they are non-compliant, they usually live under assumed names, but they can't get rid of their faces."

Diggs said he is greatly in favor of a bill being pushed by Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, which would implement a database for missing sex offenders, offering the public an online resource to match a name with a face.

"Local law enforcement officials work tirelessly to monitor every sex offender in our communities, but sometimes they slip through the cracks and fail to register with proper authorities," Bradley said in a recent release announcing the bill was on its way to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's desk. "This database will help locate missing sex offenders who are not complying with the law and help protect the public from these dangerous predators."

Statewide, there are 19,847 sex offenders registered and 18,359 compliant. There are 53 sex offenders in Randolph County; 23 in Washington County; 86 in Jefferson County; 35 in Perry County; 68 in Franklin County; 74 in Jackson County; and 96 in Williamson County.

"Don't you want to know that these people are accounted for?" Diggs said. "If one of these sex offenders, these dangerous people, are unaccounted for, then that is one too many. We are still missing people and those people are very important to us."

Of those registered sex offenders, two are considered missing in Randolph County, two in Franklin County, three in Williamson County, four in Jackson County, and five in Jefferson County.

While these offenders are considered missing, Diggs said some are simply incarcerated in a county jail or homeless.

"If they are in the county jail, the state doesn't count them as compliant," he said. "They also do not count the homeless as compliant. I have one homeless guy in Marion who is considered non-compliant."

Diggs said homeless offenders are required to stop in at their local police department and report their whereabouts every five days. They are considered non-compliant because they are without a permanent address to register.

"Right now, there are 11 that are non-compliant because they have not come in and properly registered," Diggs said.

However, there are 16 sex offenders that are technically marked as being non-compliant, including those incarcerated and homeless.

"This database would be a very good tool," he said. "We are really hoping it will get passed. These are dangerous people. Now, the public can help us find them."

The missing sex offender database bill was unanimously passed in the House in April 2007 and unanimously passed the Senate in May. The legislation has now moved to the governor's desk.

tara.fasol@thesouthern.com / 351-5824