730 ILCS 220/ Faith Behind Bars Act.

(730 ILCS 220/1)

Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Faith Behind Bars Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-331, eff. 1-1-24.)

(730 ILCS 220/5)

Sec. 5. Findings and declaration of policy.

(a) The General Assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares the following that:

(1) Chaplains play a key role in helping persons committed to correctional institutions and facilities transform their understanding of responsibility, choices, and possibilities and that behavior only changes when hearts change.

(2) Without a spiritual-based transformation there is little hope for sincere, lasting change in any of us. Without a faith-based after-care living situation an ex-offender has little chance of succeeding on the street.

(3) That the chaplain's personal contact is crucial. A chaplain ministers through relationship. Being accepting, nonjudgmental, and working toward self-esteem issues is important.

(4) According to a Pew Research Center 2012 Study, Religion in Prisons, 50 state survey of Prison Chaplains, about 71% of chaplains identify as Protestants, 13% as Catholics, 7% as Muslims, and the remainder identify with other religions, including Judaism and Native American spirituality. A plurality of the chaplains 44% consider their faith to be part of the evangelical Protestant tradition while 15% come from a mainline Protestant tradition and 7% are from a historically black Protestant tradition.

(5) A Pew Forum survey ranked the top 3 activities of chaplains that are most important, personally leading worship services, religious instruction sessions, or spiritual counseling sessions. About 75% of the chaplains surveyed consider this to be among their most important functions, including 57% who ranked it as their number one priority.

(6) The Pew Forum survey found that most prison chaplains say there are too few religious volunteers to meet the needs of all inmates. About 69% of prison chaplains surveyed say there are some religious groups for which there are too few volunteers in the prisons where they work.

(7) A 2020 Audit of federal prisons found that the Federal Bureau of Prisons chaplaincy services departments are not staffed according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons guidelines at many institutions. The Federal Bureau of Prisons current policy states that, at a minimum, each chaplaincy services department should be staffed with at least one chaplain and one religious services assistant. This standard translates to a minimum need for 122 chaplains and 122 religious services assistants throughout the Federal Bureau of Prisons. However, as of March 2020, nearly half of the Federal Bureau of Prisons institutions had no religious services assistant, 3 institutions had no chaplain at all, 21 institutions employed a single chaplain, and 2 institutions had only recently filled their only chaplain position after long vacancies. In addition to the minimum staffing level, Federal Bureau of Prisons guidelines also suggest that institutions supplement the minimum requirement with additional chaplains based on inmate population (one chaplain per 500 inmates) and specific characteristics of the institution, such as being a major medical center, having 2 or more satellite facilities, or the inclusion of a special unit, each of which should have one additional chaplain. Therefore, the Federal Bureau of Prisons' chaplaincy services staffing and supplemental guidelines suggest that a fully staffed chaplaincy would include 357 chaplains and 122 religious services assistants. As of March 2020, the Federal Bureau of Prisons' chaplaincy staff included only 236 chaplains and 64 religious services assistants, which is approximately 30% below what the Federal Bureau of Prisons' guidelines consider to be a fully staffed chaplaincy for the inmate population. The 2020 audit of federal prisons reports that some Federal Bureau of Prisons institutions were without any chaplaincy staff. During the audit, there was a peak of at least 3 institutions that were without a chaplain. The audit found that critical tasks may not be accomplished, including purchasing and reviewing library materials and conducting certain faith-based programming.

(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to rectify in this State the deficiencies that occur in prison ministries of other states and the federal prison system by enacting the Faith Behind Bars Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-331, eff. 1-1-24.)

(730 ILCS 220/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions.

(a) In this Act:

"Chaplain" means a cleric, such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam, or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a correctional institution or facility.

"Chaplaincy" means the general activity performed by a chaplain, which may include crisis ministry, counseling, sacraments, worship, education, help in ethical decision-making, staff support, clergy contact, and community or church coordination.

"Chaplaincy services" means services offered by a chaplain or lay person.

"Committed person" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 1-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections.

"Correctional institution or facility" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 1-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections.

"Undue burden" means significant difficulty, expense, or detriment to the safety and security of the facility.

(Source: P.A. 103-331, eff. 1-1-24.)

(730 ILCS 220/15)

Sec. 15. Right to practice faith in a correctional institution or facility.

(a) A committed person has a right to practice his or her faith in a correctional institution or facility absent harm or without undue burden to the State's correctional system.

(b) A committed person belonging to a faith group in a correctional institution or facility shall have access to pastoral and spiritual care absent harm or without undue burden to the State's correctional system.

(c) Absent harm or undue burden, a correctional institution or facility shall provide reading materials for diverse faith groups, including, but not limited to, spiritual, religious texts, prayer manuals, prayer mats, and other requested material from committed persons.

(d) All correctional institutions and facilities in this State shall provide committed persons the ability to pray by facilitating time and clean location, fast by allowing a committed person to abstain from food when appropriate, and respect for dietary restrictions absent harm or without undue burden to the State's correctional system.

(e) All correctional institutions and facilities in this State shall hold a training seminar administered by chaplains of the leading faith groups representing the State's correctional institutions and facilities population every 5 years for wardens and chief administrative officers of correctional institutions and facilities to familiarize themselves with the foundations of each faith group.

(f) All correctional institutions and facilities in this State shall maintain a chaplain database of chaplains representing the percentage of the correctional institutions and facilities populations' various faith groups.

(g) All correctional institutions and facilities in this State shall provide access to chaplains in the State's correctional system as requested by a committed person belonging to a specific faith group cross-referenced by the correctional institutions and facilities chaplain database.

(h) All correctional institutions and facilities in this State shall not bar chaplains from access to committed persons absent evidence of potential harm or threat to the security of the State's correctional system.

(i) All correctional institutions and facilities in this State shall grant requests of religious observance gatherings, including, but not limited to, mass, weekly congregations, sermons, and pastoral meetings absent harm or undue burden to the State's correctional system.

(j) In determining whether an action would result in an undue burden under this Section, factors to be considered by the warden or chief administrative officer of the correctional institution or facility include:

(1) the nature and cost of the action needed under this Section;

(2) the overall financial resources of the correctional institution or facility involved in the action;

(3) the number of persons employed at the correctional institution or facility;

(4) the effect on expenses and resources of the correctional institution or facility; and

(5) legitimate safety and security requirements that are necessary for safe operation of the correctional institution or facility, including crime prevention measures.

(Source: P.A. 103-331, eff. 1-1-24.)

(730 ILCS 220/90)

Sec. 90. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).

(Source: P.A. 103-331, eff. 1-1-24; text omitted.)

(730 ILCS 220/95)

Sec. 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other Public Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-331, eff. 1-1-24.)