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91_HB2230
LRB9104929REpk
1 AN ACT concerning neglect of the elderly or disabled.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
5 changing Section 12-21 as follows:
6 (720 ILCS 5/12-21) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-21)
7 Sec. 12-21. Criminal neglect of an elderly or disabled
8 person.
9 (a) A person commits the offense of criminal neglect of
10 an elderly or disabled person when he is a caregiver and he
11 knowingly:
12 (1) performs acts which cause the elderly or
13 disabled person's life to be endangered, health to be
14 injured, or pre-existing physical or mental condition to
15 deteriorate; or
16 (2) fails to perform acts which he knows or
17 reasonably should know are necessary to maintain or
18 preserve the life or health of the elderly or disabled
19 person and such failure causes the elderly or disabled
20 person's life to be endangered, health to be injured or
21 pre-existing physical or mental condition to deteriorate;
22 or
23 (3) abandons the elderly or disabled person.
24 Criminal neglect of an elderly person is a Class 3
25 felony.
26 (b) For purposes of this Section:
27 (1) "Elderly person" means a person 60 years of age
28 or older who is suffering from a disease or infirmity
29 associated with advanced age and manifested by physical,
30 mental or emotional dysfunctioning to the extent that
31 such person is incapable of adequately providing for his
-2- LRB9104929REpk
1 own health and personal care.
2 (2) "Disabled person" means a person who suffers
3 from a permanent physical or mental impairment, resulting
4 from disease, injury, functional disorder or congenital
5 condition which renders such person incapable of
6 adequately providing for his own health and personal
7 care.
8 (3) "Caregiver" means a person who has a duty to
9 provide for an elderly or disabled person's health and
10 personal care, at such person's place of residence,
11 including but not limited to, food and nutrition,
12 shelter, hygiene, prescribed medication and medical care
13 and treatment.
14 "Caregiver" shall include:
15 (A) a parent, spouse, adult child or other
16 relative by blood or marriage who resides with or
17 resides in the same building with and regularly
18 visits the elderly or disabled person, knows or
19 reasonably should know of such person's physical or
20 mental impairment and knows or reasonably should
21 know that such person is unable to adequately
22 provide for his own health and personal care;
23 (B) a person who is employed by the elderly or
24 disabled person or by another to reside with or
25 regularly visit the elderly or disabled person and
26 provide for such person's health and personal care;
27 (C) a person who has agreed for consideration
28 to reside with or regularly visit the elderly or
29 disabled person and provide for such person's health
30 and personal care; and
31 (D) a person who has been appointed by a
32 private or public agency or by a court of competent
33 jurisdiction to provide for the elderly or disabled
34 person's health and personal care.
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1 "Caregiver" shall not include a long-term care
2 facility licensed or certified under the Nursing Home
3 Care Act or any administrative, medical or other
4 personnel of such a facility, or a health care provider
5 who is licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987
6 and renders care in the ordinary course of his
7 profession.
8 (4) "Abandon" means to desert or knowingly forsake
9 an elderly or disabled person under circumstances in
10 which a reasonable person would continue to provide care
11 and custody.
12 (c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit
13 the remedies available to the victim under the Illinois
14 Domestic Violence Act.
15 (d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to impose
16 criminal liability on a person who has made a good faith
17 effort to provide for the health and personal care of an
18 elderly or disabled person, but through no fault of his own
19 has been unable to provide such care.
20 (e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
21 prohibiting a person from providing treatment by spiritual
22 means through prayer alone and care consistent therewith in
23 lieu of medical care and treatment in accordance with the
24 tenets and practices of any church or religious denomination
25 of which the elderly or disabled person is a member.
26 (f) It shall not be a defense to criminal neglect of an
27 elderly or disabled person that the accused reasonably
28 believed that the victim was not an elderly or disabled
29 person.
30 (Source: P.A. 90-14, eff. 7-1-97.)