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| Public Act 099-0666 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||
Criminal Diversion Racial Impact Data Collection Act. | ||||
Section 5. Legislative intent. Racial and ethnic disparity | ||||
in the criminal justice system, or the over-representation of | ||||
certain minority groups compared to their representation in the | ||||
general population, has been well documented, along with the | ||||
harmful effects of such disproportionality. There is no single | ||||
cause of the racial and ethnic disparity evident at every stage | ||||
of the criminal justice system; suggested causes have included | ||||
differing patterns of criminal activity, law enforcement | ||||
activity, and discretionary decisions of criminal justice | ||||
practitioners, along with effects of legislative policies. In | ||||
order to make progress in reducing this harmful phenomenon, | ||||
information on the racial composition of offenders at each | ||||
stage of the criminal justice system must be systematically | ||||
gathered and analyzed to lay the foundation for determining the | ||||
impact of proposed remedies. Gaps of information at any stage | ||||
will hamper valid analysis at subsequent stages. At the | ||||
earliest stages of the criminal justice system, systematic | ||||
statewide information on arrested persons, including race and | ||||
ethnicity, is collected in the State Police Criminal History | ||
Record Information System. However, under the Criminal | ||
Identification Act, systematic statewide information on the | ||
racial and ethnic composition of adults diverted from arrest by | ||
law enforcement and diverted from prosecution by each county's | ||
State's Attorney's office is not available. Therefore, it is | ||
the intent of this legislation to provide a mechanism by which | ||
statewide data on the race and ethnicity of offenders diverted | ||
from the criminal justice system before the filing of a court | ||
case can be provided by the criminal justice entity involved | ||
for future racial disparity impact analyses of the criminal | ||
justice system. | ||
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||
"Arrested but released without being charged" means the | ||
taking into custody of a person by a law enforcement agency and | ||
his or her subsequent release without a formal charge filed. | ||
"Authority" means the Illinois Criminal Justice | ||
Information Authority. | ||
"Diversion from prosecution" means the placement of the | ||
defendant into any specialized program by the State's | ||
Attorney's office, after which formal charges are dismissed, | ||
subject to successful completion of the program. | ||
"Law enforcement agency" means any agency of this State or | ||
a political subdivision of this State that is vested by law | ||
with the duty to maintain public order and to enforce criminal | ||
laws. | ||
"Racial and ethnic information" means categories of | ||
socially significant groupings by which individuals identify | ||
themselves, based on physical characteristics and cultural | ||
heritage, as categorized under subsection (b) of Section 4.5 of | ||
the Criminal Identification Act. | ||
Section 15. Reporting; publication. | ||
(a) Under the reporting guidelines for law enforcement | ||
agencies in Sections 2.1, 4.5, and 5 of the Criminal | ||
Identification Act, the Authority shall determine and report | ||
the number of persons arrested and released without being | ||
charged, and report the racial and ethnic composition of those | ||
persons.
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(b) Under the reporting guidelines for State's Attorneys in | ||
Sections 2.1, 4.5, and 5 of the Criminal Identification Act, | ||
the Authority shall determine and report the number of persons | ||
for which formal charges were dismissed, and the race and | ||
ethnicity of those persons.
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(c) Under the reporting guidelines for circuit court clerks | ||
in Sections 2.1, 4.5, and 5 of the Criminal Identification Act, | ||
the Authority shall determine and report the number of persons | ||
admitted to a diversion from prosecution program, and the | ||
racial and ethnic composition of those persons, separated by | ||
each type of diversion program. | ||
(d) The Authority shall publish the information received | ||
and an assessment of the quality of the information received, | ||
aggregated to the county level in the case of law enforcement | ||
reports, on its publicly available website for the previous | ||
calendar year, as affirmed by each reporting agency at the time | ||
of its report submission.
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(e) The Authority, Department of State Police, | ||
Administrative Office of Illinois Courts, and Illinois State's | ||
Attorneys Association may collaborate on any necessary | ||
training concerning the provisions of this Act. | ||
Section 20. Repeal. This Act is repealed on December 31, | ||
2020.
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | ||
1, 2017.
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