Illinois State Police will receive additional money to speed up the processing of DNA evidence collected from rape victims.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich plans to use $2.6 million of the state budget to help process the backlog of evidence because of a shortage of scientists in the state police crime labs.

The plan is to bring in 14 new scientists by May.

There are 1,062 rape kits awaiting processing in the nine crime labs, said Lt. Lincoln Hampton, a public information officer for the state police.

Some have been backlogged up to 18 months, Hampton said.

Hospitals and police departments generally use rape kits to collect DNA evidence from rape victims following an attack.

Every month, about 180 rape kits are sent to state crime labs. Only one-third can be processed in that time, state police officials told the Chicago Tribune this month.

Collected DNA is compared to DNA evidence from convicted sex offenders across the state.

It helps in making arrests, Hampton said.

Local officials say the faster possessing of evidence is a good thing, but it won’t help DeKalb that much.

Sexual assaults where the victim doesn’t know the suspect don’t occur often in DeKalb, DeKalb Police Lt. Jim Kayes said. Kayes added that he could see how it is beneficial for other cities where sexual predators may be more prevalent.

Kayes also said it would be beneficial in getting potential rapists off the street faster.

Hampton agrees.

“It will help,” Hampton said. “Police are excited to bring in more scientists.”

Speeding up processing would reduce the time a victim has to wonder about the results. That could be a positive thing, said Joel S. Milner, an NIU psychology professor and director of the Center of the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault.

It is similar to the murder of a family member, Milner said. Whether the victim sees the test results as closure or as a constant burden on her mind, getting results faster would help out, Milner said.