Public Act 103-1046
 
SB3771 EnrolledLRB103 36354 RJT 66453 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is 
amended by changing Section 62 as follows:
  
    (110 ILCS 947/62)
    Sec. 62. Grants for exonerated persons and their 
dependents. 
    (a) In this Section:
    "Dependent" means any spouse, natural child, legally 
adopted child, or child in the legal custody of an individual. 
    "Exonerated person" means an individual who has received a 
pardon from the Governor of the State of Illinois stating that 
such a pardon is issued on the grounds of innocence of the 
crime for which he or she was imprisoned or an individual who 
has received a certificate of innocence from a circuit court 
pursuant to Section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
    "Satisfactory academic progress" means the qualified 
applicant's maintenance of minimum standards of academic 
performance, consistent with requirements for maintaining 
federal financial aid eligibility, as determined by the 
institution of higher learning.
    (b) Subject to a separate appropriation for this purpose, 
the Commission shall, each year, receive and consider 
applications for grant assistance under this Section. 
Recipients of grants issued by the Commission in accordance 
with this Section must be exonerated persons or, as provided 
in subsection (c-5) of this Section, their dependents. 
Provided that the recipient is maintaining satisfactory 
academic progress and subject to subsection (c-5) of this 
Section, the funds from the grant may be used to pay up to 8 
semesters or 12 quarters of full payment of tuition and 
mandatory fees at any public university or public community 
college located in this State for either full or part-time 
study. This benefit may be used for undergraduate or graduate 
study. Beginning with grants awarded for the 2025-2026 
academic year, a grant under this Section may also be used at 
any private, not-for-profit college or university in this 
State that is approved to participate in the Monetary Award 
Program under Section 35 of this Act. A recipient attending 
such a private, not-for-profit college or university shall 
receive payment of tuition and mandatory fees in an amount not 
to exceed the maximum grant payable to a student enrolled in 
the most expensive comparable program of study at a public 
college or university in this State. 
    In addition, an exonerated person or, as provided in 
subsection (c-5) of this Section, a dependent who has not yet 
received a high school diploma or a State of Illinois High 
School Diploma and completes a high school equivalency 
preparation course through an Illinois Community College 
Board-approved provider may use grant funds to pay costs 
associated with obtaining a State of Illinois High School 
Diploma, including payment of the cost of the high school 
equivalency test and up to one retest on each test module, and 
any additional fees that may be required in order to obtain a 
State of Illinois High School Diploma or an official 
transcript of test scores after successful completion of the 
high school equivalency test.
    (c) An applicant for a grant under this Section need not 
demonstrate financial need to qualify for the benefits and 
need not be a resident of this State at the time of enrollment.
    (c-5) Beginning no later than the 2025-2026 academic year, 
if an exonerated person has been found by the Commission to 
qualify for a grant under this Section and the exonerated 
person has not yet exhausted the benefit for which the 
exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b), the 
exonerated person may designate one or more dependents to use 
any unexpended portion of the benefit for which the exonerated 
person is eligible, up to the total benefit for which the 
exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b). The 
combined benefit used by the exonerated person and any 
designated dependents may not exceed the total benefit for 
which the exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b). 
If funding is insufficient to serve all applicants, the 
Commission may prioritize applicants who have been exonerated 
over applicants who are dependents of exonerated persons. 
    (d) The Commission may adopt any rules necessary to 
implement and administer this Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23.)
 
    Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by 
changing Section 2-702 as follows:
 
    (735 ILCS 5/2-702)
    Sec. 2-702. Petition for a certificate of innocence that 
the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she 
was incarcerated.
    (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that innocent 
persons who have been wrongly convicted of crimes in Illinois 
and subsequently imprisoned have been frustrated in seeking 
legal redress due to a variety of substantive and technical 
obstacles in the law and that such persons should have an 
available avenue to obtain a finding of innocence so that they 
may obtain relief through a petition in the Court of Claims. 
The General Assembly further finds misleading the current 
legal nomenclature which compels an innocent person to seek a 
pardon for being wrongfully incarcerated. It is the intent of 
the General Assembly that the court, in exercising its 
discretion as permitted by law regarding the weight and 
admissibility of evidence submitted pursuant to this Section, 
shall, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to 
difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death 
or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or 
other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on 
their behalf.
    (b) Any person convicted and subsequently imprisoned for 
one or more felonies by the State of Illinois which he or she 
did not commit may, under the conditions hereinafter provided, 
file a petition for certificate of innocence in the circuit 
court of the county in which the person was convicted. The 
petition shall request a certificate of innocence finding that 
the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she 
was incarcerated.
    (c) In order to present the claim for certificate of 
innocence of an unjust conviction and imprisonment, the 
petitioner must attach to his or her petition documentation 
demonstrating that:
        (1) he or she has been convicted of one or more 
    felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently 
    sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or 
    any part of the sentence; and
        (2) his or her judgment of conviction was reversed or 
    vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or, 
    if a new trial was ordered, either he or she was found not 
    guilty at the new trial or he or she was not retried and 
    the indictment or information dismissed; or the statute, 
    or application thereof, on which the indictment or 
    information was based violated the Constitution of the 
    United States or the State of Illinois; and
        (3) his or her claim is not time barred by the 
    provisions of subsection (i) of this Section.
    (d) The petition shall state facts in sufficient detail to 
permit the court to find that the petitioner is likely to 
succeed at trial in proving that the petitioner is innocent of 
the offenses charged in the indictment or information or his 
or her acts or omissions charged in the indictment or 
information did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor against 
the State of Illinois, and the petitioner did not by his or her 
own conduct voluntarily cause or bring about his or her 
conviction. The petition shall be verified by the petitioner.
    (e) A copy of the petition shall be served on the Attorney 
General and the State's Attorney of the county where the 
conviction was had. The Attorney General and the State's 
Attorney of the county where the conviction was had shall have 
the right to intervene as parties.
    (f) In any hearing seeking a certificate of innocence, the 
court may take judicial notice of prior sworn testimony or 
evidence admitted in the criminal proceedings related to the 
convictions which resulted in the alleged wrongful 
incarceration, if the petitioner was either represented by 
counsel at such prior proceedings or the right to counsel was 
knowingly waived.
    (g) In order to obtain a certificate of innocence the 
petitioner must prove by a preponderance of evidence that:
        (1) the petitioner was convicted of one or more 
    felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently 
    sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or 
    any part of the sentence;
        (2)(A) the judgment of conviction was reversed or 
    vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or, 
    if a new trial was ordered, either the petitioner was 
    found not guilty at the new trial or the petitioner was not 
    retried and the indictment or information dismissed; or 
    (B) the statute, or application thereof, on which the 
    indictment or information was based violated the 
    Constitution of the United States or the State of 
    Illinois;
        (3) the petitioner is innocent of the offenses charged 
    in the indictment or information or his or her acts or 
    omissions charged in the indictment or information did not 
    constitute a felony or misdemeanor against the State; and
        (4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct 
    voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction.
    (h) If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to a 
judgment, it shall enter a certificate of innocence finding 
that the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he 
or she was incarcerated. Upon entry of the certificate of 
innocence or pardon from the Governor stating that such pardon 
was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he 
or she was imprisoned, (1) the clerk of the court shall 
transmit a copy of the certificate of innocence to the clerk of 
the Court of Claims, together with the claimant's current 
address; and (2) the court shall enter an order expunging the 
record of arrest from the official records of the arresting 
authority and order that the records of the clerk of the 
circuit court and the Illinois State Police be sealed until 
further order of the court upon good cause shown or as 
otherwise provided herein, and the name of the defendant 
obliterated from the official index requested to be kept by 
the circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks of 
Courts Act in connection with the arrest and conviction for 
the offense but the order shall not affect any index issued by 
the circuit court clerk before the entry of the order. The 
court shall enter the expungement order regardless of whether 
the petitioner has prior criminal convictions. 
    All records sealed by the Illinois State Police may be 
disseminated by the Department only as required by law or to 
the arresting authority, the State's Attorney, the court upon 
a later arrest for the same or similar offense, or for the 
purpose of sentencing for any subsequent felony. Upon 
conviction for any subsequent offense, the Department of 
Corrections shall have access to all sealed records of the 
Department pertaining to that individual. 
    Upon entry of the order of expungement, the clerk of the 
circuit court shall promptly mail a copy of the order to the 
person whose records were expunged and sealed. The clerk shall 
post in the common areas of the courthouse a notice containing 
information about grants for exonerated persons and their 
dependents under Section 62 of the Higher Education Student 
Assistance Act, including the Internet address of the Illinois 
Student Assistance Commission. The Illinois Student Assistance 
Commission shall develop a uniform statewide notice and 
provide the format of the notice to each clerk. 
    (i) Any person seeking a certificate of innocence under 
this Section based on the dismissal of an indictment or 
information or acquittal that occurred before the effective 
date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall 
file his or her petition within 2 years after the effective 
date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. Any 
person seeking a certificate of innocence under this Section 
based on the dismissal of an indictment or information or 
acquittal that occurred on or after the effective date of this 
amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall file his or 
her petition within 2 years after the dismissal.
    (j) The decision to grant or deny a certificate of 
innocence shall be binding only with respect to claims filed 
in the Court of Claims and shall not have a res judicata effect 
on any other proceedings.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)