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91_HB3878
LRB9111928RCpk
1 AN ACT to amend the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses
2 Act by changing Section 4.5.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act
6 is amended by changing Section 4.5 as follows:
7 (725 ILCS 120/4.5)
8 Sec. 4.5. Procedures to implement the rights of crime
9 victims. To afford crime victims their rights, law
10 enforcement, prosecutors, judges and corrections will provide
11 information, as appropriate of the following procedures:
12 (a) At the request of the crime victim, law enforcement
13 authorities investigating the case shall provide notice of
14 the status of the investigation, except where the State's
15 Attorney determines that disclosure of such information would
16 unreasonably interfere with the investigation, until such
17 time as the alleged assailant is apprehended or the
18 investigation is closed.
19 (b) The office of the State's Attorney:
20 (1) shall provide notice of the filing of
21 information, the return of an indictment by which a
22 prosecution for any violent crime is commenced, or the
23 filing of a petition to adjudicate a minor as a
24 delinquent for a violent crime;
25 (2) shall provide notice of the date, time, and
26 place of trial;
27 (3) or victim advocate personnel shall provide
28 information of social services and financial assistance
29 available for victims of crime, including information of
30 how to apply for these services and assistance;
31 (4) shall assist in having any stolen or other
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1 personal property held by law enforcement authorities for
2 evidentiary or other purposes returned as expeditiously
3 as possible, pursuant to the procedures set out in
4 Section 115-9 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963;
5 (5) or victim advocate personnel shall provide
6 appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that
7 employers of victims will cooperate with the criminal
8 justice system in order to minimize an employee's loss of
9 pay and other benefits resulting from court appearances;
10 (6) shall provide information whenever possible, of
11 a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does
12 not require victims to be in close proximity to defendant
13 or juveniles accused of a violent crime, and their
14 families and friends;
15 (7) shall provide notice to the crime victim of the
16 right to have a translator present at all court
17 proceedings;
18 (8) in the case of the death of a person, which
19 death occurred in the same transaction or occurrence in
20 which acts occurred for which a defendant is charged with
21 an offense, shall notify the spouse, parent, child or
22 sibling of the decedent of the date of the trial of the
23 person or persons allegedly responsible for the death;
24 (9) shall inform the victim of the right to have
25 present at all court proceedings, subject to the rules of
26 evidence, an advocate or other support person of the
27 victim's choice, and the right to retain an attorney, at
28 the victim's own expense, who, upon written notice filed
29 with the clerk of the court and State's Attorney, is to
30 receive copies of all notices, motions and court orders
31 filed thereafter in the case, in the same manner as if
32 the victim were a named party in the case; and
33 (10) at the sentencing hearing shall make a good
34 faith attempt to explain the minimum amount of time
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1 during which the defendant may actually be physically
2 imprisoned. The Office of the State's Attorney shall
3 further notify the crime victim of the right to request
4 from the Prisoner Review Board information concerning the
5 release of the defendant under subparagraph (d)(1) of
6 this Section; and
7 (11) shall request restitution at sentencing and
8 shall consider restitution in any plea negotiation, as
9 provided by law.
10 (c) At the written request of the crime victim, the
11 office of the State's Attorney shall:
12 (1) provide notice a reasonable time in advance of
13 the following court proceedings: preliminary hearing, any
14 hearing the effect of which may be the release of
15 defendant from custody, or to alter the conditions of
16 bond and the sentencing hearing. The crime victim shall
17 also be notified of the cancellation of the court
18 proceeding in sufficient time, wherever possible, to
19 prevent an unnecessary appearance in court;
20 (2) provide notice within a reasonable time after
21 receipt of notice from the custodian, of the release of
22 the defendant on bail or personal recognizance or the
23 release from detention of a minor who has been detained
24 for a violent crime;
25 (3) explain in nontechnical language the details of
26 any plea or verdict of a defendant, or any adjudication
27 of a juvenile as a delinquent for a violent crime;
28 (4) where practical, consult with the crime victim
29 before the Office of the State's Attorney makes an offer
30 of a plea bargain to the defendant or enters into
31 negotiations with the defendant concerning a possible
32 plea agreement, and shall consider the written victim
33 impact statement, if prepared prior to entering into a
34 plea agreement;
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1 (5) provide notice of the ultimate disposition of
2 the cases arising from an indictment or an information,
3 or a petition to have a juvenile adjudicated as a
4 delinquent for a violent crime;
5 (6) provide notice of any appeal taken by the
6 defendant and information on how to contact the
7 appropriate agency handling the appeal;
8 (7) provide notice of any request for
9 post-conviction review filed by the defendant under
10 Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963,
11 and of the date, time and place of any hearing concerning
12 the petition. Whenever possible, notice of the hearing
13 shall be given in advance;
14 (8) forward a copy of any statement presented under
15 Section 6 to the Prisoner Review Board to be considered
16 by the Board in making its determination under subsection
17 (b) of Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
18 (d) (1) If a victim or any other concerned citizen signs
19 a written request for the notifications provided for in
20 this subsection (d) and submits the request to the
21 State's Attorney of the County where the prisoner was
22 prosecuted, the State's Attorney shall submit the written
23 request to the Prisoner Review Board. The Prisoner
24 Review Board, without any further request for
25 notification from the victim or other concerned citizen,
26 shall: (i) inform a victim or any other concerned
27 citizen, upon written request, of the prisoner's release
28 on parole, mandatory supervised release, electronic
29 detention, work release or by the custodian of the
30 discharge of any individual who was adjudicated a
31 delinquent for a violent crime from State custody and by
32 the sheriff of the appropriate county of any such
33 person's final discharge from county custody; (ii). The
34 Prisoner Review Board, upon written request, shall
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1 provide to a victim or any other concerned citizen a
2 recent photograph of any person convicted of a felony,
3 upon his or her release from custody; (iii). The Prisoner
4 Review Board, upon written request, shall inform a victim
5 or any other concerned citizen when feasible at least 7
6 days prior to the prisoner's release on furlough of the
7 times and dates of such furlough; and (iv). Upon written
8 request by the victim or any other concerned citizen, the
9 State's Attorney shall notify the person once of the
10 times and dates of release of a prisoner sentenced to
11 periodic imprisonment. Notification shall be based on
12 the most recent information as to victim's or other
13 concerned citizen's residence or other location available
14 to the notifying authority. For purposes of this
15 paragraph (1) of subsection (d), "concerned citizen"
16 includes relatives of the victim, friends of the victim,
17 witnesses to the crime, or any other person associated
18 with the victim or prisoner.
19 (2) When the defendant has been committed to the
20 Department of Human Services pursuant to Section 5-2-4 or
21 any other provision of the Unified Code of Corrections,
22 the victim shall may request to be notified by the
23 releasing authority of the defendant's discharge from
24 State custody if the victim has signed the written
25 request as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection
26 (d).
27 (2.5) Only one written request must be signed and
28 submitted by the victim or other concerned citizen in
29 order to receive every one of the notifications provided
30 in this subsection (d). The State's Attorney must submit
31 the appropriate written request form to the Prisoner
32 Review Board or the Department of Human Services, as the
33 case may be.
34 (3) In the event of an escape from State custody,
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1 the Department of Corrections immediately shall notify
2 the Prisoner Review Board of the escape and the Prisoner
3 Review Board shall notify the victim. The notification
4 shall be based upon the most recent information as to the
5 victim's residence or other location available to the
6 Board. When no such information is available, the Board
7 shall make all reasonable efforts to obtain the
8 information and make the notification. When the escapee
9 is apprehended, the Department of Corrections immediately
10 shall notify the Prisoner Review Board and the Board
11 shall notify the victim.
12 (4) The victim of the crime for which the prisoner
13 has been sentenced shall receive reasonable written
14 notice not less than 15 days prior to the parole hearing
15 and may submit, in writing, on film, videotape or other
16 electronic means or in the form of a recording or in
17 person at the parole hearing, information for
18 consideration by the Prisoner Review Board. The victim
19 shall be notified within 7 days after the prisoner has
20 been granted parole and shall be informed of the right to
21 inspect the registry of parole decisions, established
22 under subsection (g) of Section 3-3-5 of the Unified Code
23 of Corrections. The provisions of this paragraph (4) are
24 subject to the Open Parole Hearings Act.
25 (5) If a statement is presented under Section 6,
26 the Prisoner Review Board shall inform the victim of any
27 order of discharge entered by the Board pursuant to
28 Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
29 (6) At the written request of the victim of the
30 crime for which the prisoner was sentenced, the Prisoner
31 Review Board shall notify the victim of the death of the
32 prisoner if the prisoner died while on parole or
33 mandatory supervised release.
34 (7) When a defendant who has been committed to the
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1 Department of Corrections or the Department of Human
2 Services is released or discharged and subsequently
3 committed to the Department of Human Services as a
4 sexually violent person and the victim had requested to
5 be notified by the releasing authority of the defendant's
6 discharge from State custody, the releasing authority
7 shall provide to the Department of Human Services such
8 information that would allow the Department of Human
9 Services to contact the victim.
10 (e) The officials named in this Section may satisfy some
11 or all of their obligations to provide notices and other
12 information through participation in a statewide victim and
13 witness notification system established by the Attorney
14 General under Section 8.5 of this Act.
15 (Source: P.A. 90-14, eff. 7-1-97; 90-793, eff. 8-14-98;
16 91-237, 1-1-00.)
17 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18 becoming law.