(330 ILCS 135/5)

Sec. 5. Purposes. The General Assembly recognizes that military members and military veterans may have certain service-related conditions that may apply in a court of law. There is a critical need for a military and veterans justice system that will take into account service-related mental health problems as well as circumstances surrounding deployment. It is the intent of the General Assembly to create a Military and Veterans Court Task Force to investigate and develop a statutory basis for a specialized military and veterans court system with the necessary flexibility to meet unique service-related problems in the State of Illinois. The General Assembly recognizes that the use and abuse of alcohol or drugs, mental health conditions, and problematic social interactions that affect and confront some veterans and members of the armed services on active duty have a dramatic effect on the justice system in the State of Illinois. There is a critical need for a military and veterans justice system program that will recognize and address the unique problems and circumstances faced by veterans and members of the armed forces on active duty and the legal issues that are impacted by those problems and circumstances so as to reduce the incidence of violence, drug use, drug addiction, alcohol use, alcohol addiction, mental health conditions, and crimes committed by some veterans and members of the armed services on active duty. It is the intent of the General Assembly to create the Military and Veterans Court Task Force to address these challenges facing the State of Illinois.

(Source: P.A. 96-93, eff. 7-27-09.)