CHICAGO - Illinois will soon have new statewide rules for how police handle missing persons cases, requiring immediate reports and expanded use of federal databases.

What we know:

The Missing Persons Identification Act (SB 24), signed into law Aug. 15 by Gov. JB Pritzker, was championed by Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart and sponsored by Sen. Michael Hastings and Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin.

The law requires officers to immediately take a missing person report and enter it into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS), ending the practice of waiting periods before accepting such reports.

Agencies will also be required to:

Collect fingerprint and dental records, photographs, and other biometrics of the missing person and upload the information to the National Missing and Uniden

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