The political targeting of University professor James Kilgore hasn’t stopped — in fact, it’s headed to the state legislature. 

In January, Representative Charles Meier (R-Okawville) introduced a bill to the Illinois General Assembly proposing that all people convicted of terrorism in the past are banned from teaching at public universities in the state of Illinois. 

It’s obvious that this bill is directed at the University’s hiring of James Kilgore, who was convicted of second-degree murder for his role in an armed robbery while he was a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, a terrorist organization.

The bill also targets retired UIC professor Bill Ayers, who founded the radical group Weather Underground, which many people consider a terrorist organization.

We’ve written about this topic before, but this bill brings up our point again. 

According to the American justice system, once a person is released from prison, that person is rehabilitated. While the decisions that get people into prison in the first place may certainly be bad and worthy of punishment, these people should be able to live a full life after they are released. They should have this opportunity because being rehabilitated indicates they have served time and met the standards to be released in the first place. 

They should not be denied entire career paths. 

Some people may argue that people convicted of terrorism are more dangerous than people convicted of other felonies, but it shouldn’t matter if their time was served and they have been rehabilitated.

We previously referenced a quote from campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler in a March 22 Chicago Sun-Times article where she said in reference to Kilgore, “He does a great job. He’s very well-respected among students… He is a good example of someone who has been rehabilitated, if you believe in second chances and redemption, and he’s someone who helps prove that’s the human thing to do.” 

Everyone deserves a second chance.

Meier admitted that the bill is targeted at the University’s hiring of Kilgore, and, in an interview with The Daily Illini, he said, “I just find that this idea that we would let convicted terrorists whose whole plan was to destroy America teach our youth (is absurd).”

The thing is, we are not letting terrorists teach our youth. We are allowing opportunities for people to have second chances at life after past decisions and instances that have been punished and learned from. There is a world of difference.

What’s the point of prison if you can’t live a full life after you’re out?