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Public Act 91-0521
SB315 Enrolled LRB9100843DHmg
AN ACT to amend the Counties Code by changing Section
3-3013.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing
Section 3-3013 as follows:
(55 ILCS 5/3-3013) (from Ch. 34, par. 3-3013)
Sec. 3-3013. Preliminary investigations; blood and urine
analysis; summoning jury. Every coroner, whenever, as soon as
he knows or is informed that the dead body of any person is
found, or lying within his county, whose death is suspected
of being:
(a) A sudden or violent death, whether apparently
suicidal, homicidal or accidental, including but not limited
to deaths apparently caused or contributed to by thermal,
traumatic, chemical, electrical or radiational injury, or a
complication of any of them, or by drowning or suffocation,
or as a result of domestic violence as defined in the
Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986;
(b) A maternal or fetal death due to abortion, or any
death due to a sex crime or a crime against nature;
(c) A death where the circumstances are suspicious,
obscure, mysterious or otherwise unexplained or where, in the
written opinion of the attending physician, the cause of
death is not determined;
(d) A death where addiction to alcohol or to any drug
may have been a contributory cause; or
(e) A death where the decedent was not attended by a
licensed physician;
shall go to the place where the dead body is, and take charge
of the same and shall make a preliminary investigation into
the circumstances of the death. In the case of death without
attendance by a licensed physician the body may be moved with
the coroner's consent from the place of death to a mortuary
in the same county. Coroners in their discretion shall
notify such physician as is designated in accordance with
Section 3-3014 to attempt to ascertain the cause of death,
either by autopsy or otherwise.
In cases of accidental death involving a motor vehicle in
which the decedent was (1) the operator or a suspected
operator of a motor vehicle, or (2) a pedestrian 16 years of
age or older, the coroner shall require that a blood specimen
of at least 30 cc., and if medically possible a urine
specimen of at least 30 cc. or as much as possible up to 30
cc., be withdrawn from the body of the decedent within 6
hours of the accident causing his death, by such physician as
has been designated in accordance with Section 3-3014, or by
the coroner or deputy coroner or a qualified person at the
direction of such physician. If the county does not maintain
laboratory facilities for making such analysis, the blood and
urine so drawn shall be sent to the Department of State
Police for analysis, when necessary, of the alcohol, carbon
monoxide, and dangerous or narcotic drug content of such
blood and urine specimens. Each specimen submitted shall be
accompanied by pertinent information concerning the decedent
upon a form prescribed by such Department. If the analysis
is performed in county laboratory facilities, the coroner
shall forward the results of each analysis and pertinent
information concerning the decedent to the Department of
Public Health upon a form prescribed by such Department. The
coroner causing the blood and urine to be withdrawn shall be
notified of the results of any analysis made by the
Department of State Police and the Department of Public
Health shall keep a record of the results of all such
examinations to be used for statistical purposes. The
cumulative results of the examinations, without identifying
the individuals involved, shall be disseminated and made
public by the Department of Public Health. Any person
drawing blood and urine and any person making any examination
of the blood and urine under the terms of this Division shall
be immune from all liability, civil or criminal, that might
otherwise be incurred or imposed. The coroner shall be paid
a fee of $10 by the Department of Public Health for each
acceptable set of blood and urine specimens sent to the
Department of State Police forensic science laboratory
accompanied by the required form or for each report of
analysis performed by a county laboratory furnished upon the
required form. Upon collection, the coroner shall pay the fee
over to the county treasurer for deposit in the general fund
of the county.
In all other cases coming within the jurisdiction of the
coroner and referred to in subparagraphs (a) through (e)
above, blood, and whenever possible, urine samples shall be
analyzed for the presence of alcohol and other drugs. When
the coroner suspects that drugs may have been involved in the
death, either directly or indirectly, a toxicological
examination shall be performed which may include analyses of
blood, urine, bile, gastric contents and other tissues. When
the coroner suspects a death is due to toxic substances,
other than drugs, the coroner shall consult with the
toxicologist prior to collection of samples. Information
submitted to the toxicologist shall include information as to
height, weight, age, sex and race of the decedent as well as
medical history, medications used by and the manner of death
of decedent.
Except in counties that have a jury commission, in cases
of apparent suicide, homicide, or accidental death or in
other cases, within the discretion of the coroner, the
coroner shall summon 8 persons of lawful age from those
persons drawn for petit jurors in the county. The summons
shall command these persons to present themselves personally
at such a place and time as the coroner shall determine, and
may be in any form which the coroner shall determine and may
incorporate any reasonable form of request for
acknowledgement which the coroner deems practical and
provides a reliable proof of service. The summons may be
served by first class mail. From the 8 persons so summoned,
the coroner shall select 6 to serve as the jury for the
inquest. Inquests may be continued from time to time, as the
coroner may deem necessary. The 6 jurors selected in a given
case may view the body of the deceased. If at any
continuation of an inquest one or more of the original jurors
shall be unable to continue to serve, the coroner shall fill
the vacancy or vacancies. A juror serving pursuant to this
paragraph shall receive compensation from the county at the
same rate as the rate of compensation that is paid to petit
or grand jurors in the county. The coroner shall furnish to
each juror without fee at the time of his discharge a
certificate of the number of days in attendance at an
inquest, and, upon being presented with such certificate, the
county treasurer shall pay to the juror the sum provided for
his services.
In counties which have a jury commission, in cases of
apparent suicide or homicide or of accidental death, the
coroner shall, and in other cases in his discretion may,
conduct an inquest. The jury commission shall provide at
least 8 jurors to the coroner, from whom the coroner shall
select any 6 to serve as the jury for the inquest. Inquests
may be continued from time to time as the coroner may deem
necessary. The 6 jurors originally chosen in a given case
may view the body of the deceased. If at any continuation of
an inquest one or more of the 6 jurors originally chosen
shall be unable to continue to serve, the coroner shall fill
the vacancy or vacancies. At the coroner's discretion,
additional jurors to fill such vacancies shall be supplied by
the jury commission. A juror serving pursuant to this
paragraph in such county shall receive compensation from the
county at the same rate as the rate of compensation that is
paid to petit or grand jurors in the county.
In addition, in every case in which domestic violence is
determined to be a contributing factor in a death, the
coroner shall report the death to the Department of State
Police.
All deaths in State institutions and all deaths of wards
of the State in private care facilities or in programs funded
by the Department of Human Services under its powers relating
to mental health and developmental disabilities or alcoholism
and substance abuse or funded by the Department of Children
and Family Services shall be reported to the coroner of the
county in which the facility is located. If the coroner has
reason to believe that an investigation is needed to
determine whether the death was caused by maltreatment or
negligent care of the ward of the State, the coroner may
conduct a preliminary investigation of the circumstances of
such death as in cases of death under circumstances set forth
in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
_________________________________
President of the Senate
_________________________________
Speaker, House of Representatives
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