Chicago, IL - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has been honored with an outstanding achievement award by the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) for her commitment and work in the field of online safety.  She accepted the “FamilyOnline Safety Institute Award for Outstanding Achievement,” during the organization’s 4^thAnnual Conference in Washington, D.C. Tuesday evening.

 The Wireless Foundation, a non-profit organization formed by member companies of CTIA-The Wireless Association, nominated Attorney General Madigan for the award. The Foundation oversees programs that use wireless technology to help make American communities safer. It cited Attorney General Madigan’s ongoing work and commitment to ensuring that children use the Internet in a safe and responsible manner as the basis for their nomination.

“Our children are exceptionally skilled at using technology, but do not always understand the risks and dangers lurking online,” said Attorney General Madigan. “We need to be as engaged as they are with technology so that we can protect them from danger and teach them to protect themselves.”

Through her High Tech Crimes Bureau, the Attorney General oversees the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Illinois ICAC task force investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement.  Since 2006, Madigan’s office has been involved in more than 300 arrests of sexual predators and provided Internet safety training and education to more than 128,000 parents, teachers, and students, and more than 10,000 law enforcement professionals. 

Madigan recently partnered with the Illinois State Board of Education to create Internet Safety Training Modules to assist educators in fulfilling the requirements under the Illinois School Code to offer annual, age-appropriate Internet safety instruction to students in grades 3-12. Each of these age-appropriate training modules covers topics facing youth today, including online exploitation, sexting, cyber bullying and piracy.

In 2009, Madigan hosted Illinois’ first Cyber Safety Summit, bringing educators, law enforcement and technology industry professionals together to discuss issues such as sexting and cyberbullying and to create partnerships to help protect children from online aggression.

 In November 2009, she launched a new website developed to help children, teens, parents and educators learn about the dangers of cyberbullying.  The “Stop Cyberbullying” website (www.ebully411.com) includes the latest news and statistics, frequently asked questions and a quiz to test online users’ knowledge about cyberbullying. It also features an E-Info Hotline, which is a phone- and Web-based resource staffed by Attorney General Madigan’s Internet safety specialists, who can help victims and teach bullies to understand the impact of their actions. More information is available by calling the Hotline at 1-888-414-7678 or by e-mailing e-info@atg.state.il.us.
 

According to its website, the Family Online Safety Institute (www.fosi.org) works to make the online world safer for kids and their families by identifying and promoting best practices, tools and methods in the field of online safety that also respect free expression. The Institute’s annual conference brings together an international audience of policymakers, Internet industry leaders, educators, legislators, law enforcement, Internet safety advocates and teachers to discuss innovative ways to keep kids safe online.