SB2737ham002 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Constance A. Howard

Filed: 11/27/2006

09400SB2737ham002 LRB094 18851 RLC 60614 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2737

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2737 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2006.

Section 5. Compelled confession; civil action.

(a) Independent of any criminal prosecution or the result thereof, any person suffering injury to his or her person or damage to his or her property as a result of having been compelled to confess or provide information by force or threat of imminent physical harm may bring a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, or other appropriate relief. Upon a finding of liability, the court shall award actual damages, including damages for emotional distress, punitive damages, when appropriate, and any suitable equitable relief. A judgment in favor of the prevailing plaintiff shall include an award for reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

(b) Independent of any criminal prosecution or the result thereof, any person suffering damages as a result of retaliatory action may bring a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, or other appropriate relief. A judgment in favor of the prevailing plaintiff shall include an award for reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

(c) For purposes of this Section, "retaliatory action" means: (1) tortious conduct directed against an individual, or (2) the reprimand, discharge, suspension, demotion, or denial of promotion or change in the terms and conditions of employment, that is taken in retaliation because he or she has opposed or reported that which he or she reasonably and in good faith believed to be the use of force or threat to compel a confession or information regarding an offense, or because he or she has made a charge, filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing involving the use of force or threat to compel a confession or information regarding an offense.

Section 105. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by changing Sections 3-7 and 12-7 as follows:

(720 ILCS 5/3-7) (from Ch. 38, par. 3-7)

Sec. 3-7. Periods excluded from limitation.

The period within which a prosecution must be commenced does not include any period in which:

(a) The defendant is not usually and publicly resident within this State; or

(b) The defendant is a public officer and the offense charged is theft of public funds while in public office; or

(c) A prosecution is pending against the defendant for the same conduct, even if the indictment or information which commences the prosecution is quashed or the proceedings thereon are set aside, or are reversed on appeal; or

(d) A proceeding or an appeal from a proceeding relating to the quashing or enforcement of a Grand Jury subpoena issued in connection with an investigation of a violation of a criminal law of this State is pending. However, the period within which a prosecution must be commenced includes any period in which the State brings a proceeding or an appeal from a proceeding specified in this subsection (d); or

(e) A material witness is placed on active military duty or leave. In this subsection (e), "material witness" includes, but is not limited to, the arresting officer, occurrence witness, or the alleged victim of the offense.

(f) The victim of unlawful force or threats to obtain information or a confession is incarcerated, and the victim of such force or threat is incarcerated as a consequence of this unlawful conduct (whether the incarceration is directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, the result of the unlawful force or threats).

(Source: P.A. 93-417, eff. 8-5-03.)

(720 ILCS 5/12-7) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-7)

Sec. 12-7. Compelling confession or information by force or threat.

(a) A person who, with intent to obtain a confession, statement or information regarding any offense, inflicts or threatens to inflict imminent physical harm upon the person threatened or upon any other person commits the offense of compelling a confession or information by force or threat.

(b) Sentence.

Compelling a confession or information is a: (1) Class 4 felony if the defendant uses threats to inflict imminent physical harm to obtain a confession, statement, or information but does not inflict physical harm on the victim, (2) Class 1 felony if the defendant inflicts physical harm on the victim to obtain a confession, statement, or information, but does not torture the victim, and (3) Class X felony if the defendant tortures the victim to obtain a confession, statement, or information.

(c) For purposes of this Section, "torture" means an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe and prolonged physical pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his or her custody or physical control.

(Source: P.A. 77-2638.)

Section 110. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by changing Section 13-202 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/13-202) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-202)

Sec. 13-202. Personal injury - Penalty. Actions for damages for an injury to the person, or for false imprisonment, or malicious prosecution, or for a statutory penalty, or for abduction, or for seduction, or for criminal conversation, except damages resulting from first degree murder or the commission of a Class X felony and the perpetrator thereof is convicted of such crime, shall be commenced within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued but such an action against a defendant arising from a crime committed by the defendant in whose name an escrow account was established under the "Criminal Victims' Escrow Account Act" shall be commenced within 2 years after the establishment of such account. If the compelling of a confession or information by force or threat results in whole or in part in a criminal prosecution of the plaintiff, the 2-year period set out in this Section shall be tolled during the time in which the plaintiff is incarcerated, or until criminal prosecution has been finally resolved in favor of the above referred plaintiff. However, this provision shall not apply to units of local government governed by the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act.

(Source: P.A. 84-1450.)".