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91_HB4593
LRB9113138RCpk
1 AN ACT in relation to evidence.
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 adding
5 Section 33-5 as follows:
6 (720 ILCS 5/33-5 new)
7 Sec. 33-5. Chain of custody.
8 (a) It is unlawful for a State's Attorney, an Assistant
9 State's Attorney, or other employee of the Office of the
10 State's Attorney or for a peace officer or other employee of
11 a law enforcement agency to knowingly fail to comply with the
12 provisions of subsection (a) of Section 116-4 of the Code of
13 Criminal Procedure of 1963.
14 (b) Sentence. A person who violates this Section is
15 guilty of a Class 4 felony.
16 (c) For purposes of this Section, "law enforcement
17 agency" has the meaning ascribed to it in clause (a)(4) of
18 Section 107-4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963.
19 Section 10. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is
20 amended by adding Section 116-4 as follows:
21 (725 ILCS 5/116-4 new)
22 Sec. 116-4. Chain of custody.
23 (a) In a prosecution for a violation of Section 12-13,
24 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961
25 or in a prosecution for an offense defined in Article 9 of
26 that Code, the law enforcement agency and the State's
27 Attorney's Office shall preserve, subject to a continuous
28 chain of custody, any physical evidence secured in relation
29 to a trial and sufficient official documentation to locate
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1 that evidence.
2 (b) After a trial resulting in a judgment of conviction
3 the evidence shall either be impounded with the Clerk of the
4 Circuit Court or shall be securely retained by a law
5 enforcement agency. Retention shall be:
6 (1) Permanent following any conviction for an
7 offense defined in Article 9 of the Criminal Code of
8 1961.
9 (2) For 25 years following any conviction for a
10 violation of Section 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or
11 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
12 (3) For 7 years following any conviction for any
13 other felony for which the defendant's genetic profile
14 may be taken by a law enforcement agency and submitted
15 for comparison in a forensic DNA database for unsolved
16 offenses.
17 (c) After a judgment of conviction is entered, the
18 State's Attorney or law enforcement agency having custody of
19 evidence described in subsection (a) may petition the court
20 with notice to the defendant for entry of an order allowing
21 it to dispose of evidence if, after a hearing, the court
22 determines by a preponderance of the evidence that:
23 (1) it has no significant value for forensic
24 science analysis and must be returned to its rightful
25 owner; or
26 (2) it has no significant value for forensic
27 science analysis and is of a size, bulk, or physical
28 character not usually retained by the law enforcement
29 agency and cannot practicably be retained by the law
30 enforcement agency.
31 (d) The court may order the disposition of the evidence
32 if the defendant is allowed the opportunity to take
33 reasonable measures to remove or preserve portions of the
34 evidence in question for future testing.
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1 (e) For purposes of this Section, "law enforcement
2 agency" has the meaning ascribed to it in clause (a)(4) of
3 Section 107-4 of this Code.