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| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
91_SB0753eng SB753 Engrossed SRS91S0013JJch 1 AN ACT concerning crime victims and witnesses. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act 5 is amended by changing Sections 4.5 and 9 and by adding 6 Section 8.5 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 SB753 Engrossed -2- SRS91S0013JJch 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 SB753 Engrossed -3- SRS91S0013JJch 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; SB753 Engrossed -4- SRS91S0013JJch 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) The Prisoner Review Board shall inform a victim 19 or any other concerned citizen, upon written request, of 20 the prisoner's release on parole, mandatory supervised 21 release, electronic detention, work release or by the 22 custodian of the discharge of any individual who was 23 adjudicated a delinquent for a violent crime from State 24 custody and by the sheriff of the appropriate county of 25 any such person's final discharge from county custody. 26 The Prisoner Review Board, upon written request, shall 27 provide to a victim or any other concerned citizen a 28 recent photograph of any person convicted of a felony, 29 upon his or her release from custody. The Prisoner Review 30 Board, upon written request, shall inform a victim or any 31 other concerned citizen when feasible at least 7 days 32 prior to the prisoner's release on furlough of the times 33 and dates of such furlough. Upon written request by the 34 victim or any other concerned citizen, the State's SB753 Engrossed -5- SRS91S0013JJch 1 Attorney shall notify the person once of the times and 2 dates of release of a prisoner sentenced to periodic 3 imprisonment. Notification shall be based on the most 4 recent information as to victim's or other concerned 5 citizen's residence or other location available to the 6 notifying authority. For purposes of this paragraph (1) 7 of subsection (d), "concerned citizen" includes relatives 8 of the victim, friends of the victim, witnesses to the 9 crime, or any other person associated with the victim or 10 prisoner. 11 (2) When the defendant has been committed to the 12 Department of Human Services pursuant to Section 5-2-4 or 13 any other provision of the Unified Code of Corrections, 14 the victim may request to be notified by the releasing 15 authority of the defendant's discharge from State 16 custody. 17 (3) In the event of an escape from State custody, 18 the Department of Corrections immediately shall notify 19 the Prisoner Review Board of the escape and the Prisoner 20 Review Board shall notify the victim. The notification 21 shall be based upon the most recent information as to the 22 victim's residence or other location available to the 23 Board. When no such information is available, the Board 24 shall make all reasonable efforts to obtain the 25 information and make the notification. When the escapee 26 is apprehended, the Department of Corrections immediately 27 shall notify the Prisoner Review Board and the Board 28 shall notify the victim. 29 (4) The victim of the crime for which the prisoner 30 has been sentenced shall receive reasonable written 31 notice not less than 15 days prior to the parole hearing 32 and may submit, in writing, on film, videotape or other 33 electronic means or in the form of a recording or in 34 person at the parole hearing, information for SB753 Engrossed -6- SRS91S0013JJch 1 consideration by the Prisoner Review Board. The victim 2 shall be notified within 7 days after the prisoner has 3 been granted parole and shall be informed of the right to 4 inspect the registry of parole decisions, established 5 under subsection (g) of Section 3-3-5 of the Unified Code 6 of Corrections. The provisions of this paragraph (4) are 7 subject to the Open Parole Hearings Act. 8 (5) If a statement is presented under Section 6, 9 the Prisoner Review Board shall inform the victim of any 10 order of discharge entered by the Board pursuant to 11 Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections. 12 (6) At the written request of the victim of the 13 crime for which the prisoner was sentenced, the Prisoner 14 Review Board shall notify the victim of the death of the 15 prisoner if the prisoner died while on parole or 16 mandatory supervised release. 17 (7) When a defendant who has been committed to the 18 Department of Corrections or the Department of Human 19 Services is released or discharged and subsequently 20 committed to the Department of Human Services as a 21 sexually violent person and the victim had requested to 22 be notified by the releasing authority of the defendant's 23 discharge from State custody, the releasing authority 24 shall provide to the Department of Human Services such 25 information that would allow the Department of Human 26 Services to contact the victim. 27 (e) The officials named in this Section may satisfy some 28 or all of their obligations to provide notices and other 29 information through participation in a statewide victim and 30 witness notification system established by the Attorney 31 General under Section 8.5 of this Act. 32 (Source: P.A. 89-8, eff. 3-21-95; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95; 33 89-481, eff. 1-1-97; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 90-14, eff. 7-1-97; 34 90-793, eff. 8-14-98.) SB753 Engrossed -7- SRS91S0013JJch 1 (725 ILCS 120/8.5 new) 2 Sec. 8.5. Statewide victim and witness notification 3 system. 4 (a) The Attorney General may establish a crime victim 5 and witness notification system to assist public officials in 6 carrying out their duties to notify and inform crime victims 7 and witnesses under Section 4.5 of this Act as the Attorney 8 General specifies by rule. The system shall download 9 necessary information from participating officials into its 10 computers, where it shall be maintained, updated, and 11 automatically transmitted to victims and witnesses by 12 telephone, computer, or written notice. 13 (b) The Illinois Department of Corrections, the 14 Department of Human Services, and the Prisoner Review Board 15 shall cooperate with the Attorney General in the 16 implementation of this Section and shall provide information 17 as necessary to the effective operation of the system. 18 (c) State's attorneys and local law enforcement and 19 correctional authorities may enter into agreements with the 20 Attorney General for participation in the system. The 21 Attorney General may provide those who elect to participate 22 with the equipment, software, or training necessary to bring 23 their offices into the system. 24 (d) The provision of information to crime victims and 25 witnesses through the Attorney General's notification system 26 satisfies a given State or local official's corresponding 27 obligation under Section 4.5 to provide the information. 28 (e) The Attorney General may provide for telephonic, 29 electronic, or other public access to the database 30 established under this Section. 31 (f) The Attorney General shall adopt rules as necessary 32 to implement this Section. The rules shall include, but not 33 be limited to, provisions for the scope and operation of any 34 system the Attorney General may establish and procedures, SB753 Engrossed -8- SRS91S0013JJch 1 requirements, and standards for entering into agreements to 2 participate in the system and to receive equipment, software, 3 or training. 4 (g) There is established in the Office of the Attorney 5 General a Crime Victim and Witness Notification Advisory 6 Committee consisting of those victims advocates, sheriffs, 7 State's Attorneys, Illinois Department of Corrections, and 8 Prisoner Review Board employees that the Attorney General 9 chooses to appoint. The Attorney General shall designate one 10 member to chair the Committee. 11 (1) The Committee shall consult with and advise the 12 Attorney General as to the exercise of the Attorney 13 General's authority under this Section, including, but 14 not limited to: 15 (i) the design, scope, and operation of the 16 notification system; 17 (ii) the content of any rules adopted to 18 implement this Section; 19 (iii) the procurement of hardware, software, 20 and support for the system, including choice of 21 supplier or operator; and 22 (iv) the acceptance of agreements with and the 23 award of equipment, software, or training to 24 officials that seek to participate in the system. 25 (2) The Committee shall review the status and 26 operation of the system and report any findings and 27 recommendations for changes to the Attorney General and 28 the General Assembly by November 1 of each year. 29 (3) The members of the Committee shall receive no 30 compensation for their services as members of the 31 Committee, but may be reimbursed for their actual 32 expenses incurred in serving on the Committee. 33 (725 ILCS 120/9) (from Ch. 38, par. 1408) SB753 Engrossed -9- SRS91S0013JJch 1 Sec. 9. This Act does not limit any rights or 2 responsibilities otherwise enjoyed by or imposed upon victims 3 or witnesses of violent crime, nor does it grant any person a 4 cause of action for damages or attorneys fees. Any act of 5 omission or commission by any law enforcement officer or 6 State's Attorney, by the Attorney General, Prisoner Review 7 Board, Department of Corrections, Department of Human 8 Services, or other State agency, or private entity under 9 contract pursuant to Section 8, or by any employee of any 10 State agency or private entity under contract pursuant to 11 Section 8 acting in good faith in rendering crime victim's 12 assistance or otherwise enforcing this Act shall not impose 13 civil liability upon the individual or entity or his or her 14 supervisor or employer. Nothing in this Act shall create a 15 basis for vacating a conviction or a ground for appellate 16 relief in any criminal case. Failure of the crime victim to 17 receive notice as required, however, shall not deprive the 18 court of the power to act regarding the proceeding before it; 19 nor shall any such failure grant the defendant the right to 20 seek a continuance. 21 (Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 90-744, eff. 1-1-99.)