Section 1275.30  Procedures

 

a)         Illinois State Police shall:

 

1)         Receive, review and process requests for reimbursement of victim/witness temporary living costs, moving expenses, rent, security deposits and other appropriate expenses of relocation or transition received from State's Attorneys or the Attorney General;

 

2)         Evaluate requests for reimbursement for completeness and accuracy and ensure that verification is submitted for all expenditures claimed;

 

3)         Arrange for the disbursement of monies from the Gang Crime Witness Protection Fund as authorized by the Administrator; and

 

4)         Receive reimbursement from the Gang Crime Witness Protection Fund for expenses related to the implementation of the Act.

 

b)         Submission of requests for reimbursement

 

1)         Only the Illinois Attorney General and the State's Attorney of any Illinois county may request reimbursement under the Act.

 

2)         All requests for reimbursement must be submitted in writing to the Witness Protection Coordinator on a form provided by the Department.  The form shall include information identifying the requesting authority, a description of the related gang crime, identification of the recipient of the reimbursement, justification for the protected status, estimate of future expenditures, identification of matching expenditures and certification of compliance with the Act and this Part.

 

3)         Requests for reimbursement must include receipts or equivalent documentation verifying expenditures.

 

4)         Requests for reimbursement must include documentation verifying expenditure of matching funds by the affected county.

 

5)         Requests shall be made individually for each victim/witness.  For cases involving more than one victim/witness, a separate form will be used for each.

 

6)         Supplemental requests can be made for continuing expenses during the same State fiscal year.  A new form shall be used for each supplemental request.

 

c)         Security

Information concerning the identity or whereabouts of a victim/witness will not be provided to the Department as part of the request process.  Association of reimbursement payments to a given witness/victim will be accomplished through issuance of a unique Audit Control Number assigned by the requesting prosecutorial authority.  Only one Audit Control Number will be assigned an individual, even if claims for continuing witness protection expenses are filed in subsequent fiscal years.  The referenced Audit Control Number shall be composed of the following: \

 

1)         The last two digits of the State fiscal year in which the first request is made;

 

2)         The letters "WP";

 

3)         The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) ORI (identification code) assigned to the Office of the Attorney General or to the applicable State's Attorney; and

 

4)         An ascending, sequential, 4-digit suffix, corresponding to the total number of victims/witnesses for which the entity has initiated a request for reimbursement of protection expenses in a given fiscal year (e.g., the first victim/witness would be identified with the suffix "0001", the second with "0002", etc.).

 

d)         Matching funds

The county initiating a request must fund at least 25 percent of any expenditure for which reimbursement is requested.  This matching contribution may be waived by the administrator upon showing of good cause.  The following factors will be considered in making this determination:

 

1)         The amount of matching funds relative to the overall budget of the requesting county;

 

2)         Particular administrative obstacles limiting the requestor's ability to obtain access to matching funds;

 

3)         The negative consequences which could occur if the matching funds are not waived; and

 

4)         The severity of the related gang crime and the likelihood of harm to the victim/witness.

 

e)         Processing of Applications for Reimbursement

 

1)         Applications for reimbursement will not be approved:

 

A)        If an active, enforceable felony warrant is on file for the victim/witness;

 

B)        If relocation of the victim/witness will violate the provisions of the subject's probation, parole, supervision or other form of conditional release;

 

C)        If the victim/witness is required to register or is registered in accordance with the provisions of the Sex Offender Registration Act;

 

D)        If the most recent related gang crime took place prior to July 1, 1996;

 

E)        If the victim/witness has not delivered sworn testimony at trial before a grand jury or during other official proceedings or otherwise delivered substantial assistance in furtherance of prosecution;

 

F)         If documentation for expenditures claimed is not appended to the application form;

 

G)        If the requesting agency is unwilling to cooperate in completing auditing requirements stipulated in the Act;

 

H)        If required matching funds have not been contributed by the requesting agency, unless a waiver of this provision is granted by the Director;

 

I)         If more than 50 percent of funding available in any given fiscal year has previously been obligated to the county that initiated the request; and

 

J)         If the Department application form does not bear the original written signature of the requesting State's Attorney or the Attorney General and the date on which the referenced form was signed.

 

2)         Incoming applications will be reviewed for completeness and for the presence of any disqualifying conditions.

 

A)        Minor defects/omissions may be corrected verbally by telephone.

 

B)        Applications which contain any of the disqualifying conditions cited in subsection (e)(1) of this Section will be returned to the submitting agency with an accompanying letter of explanation.

 

C)        Corrected applications may be re-submitted at any time.

 

3)         The final approval of the Director will be sought for all applications which comply with submission requirements; and upon his authorization, notification shall be provided to the requesting prosecutorial authority and a request for disbursement of funds will be initiated by the Department. Reimbursement will be awarded and estimated expenditures obligated in the order received.  In the event requests exceed available funds, the Director may award reimbursement out of chronological order to address life-threatening or other extraordinary circumstances.

 

f)         Technical Assistance

 

1)         State's Attorneys and the Attorney General may request the Department to provide guidance in protecting and relocating a victim/witness.

 

2)         If protection and relocation of the victim/witness would qualify for reimbursement as described in Section 1275.30 of this Part, the Department will provide guidance when requested and to the extent the Director determines Department resources are available.

 

3)         Guidance may include information regarding appropriate relocation destinations, how to structure travel and moving arrangements and methods of providing personal protection for the victim/witness.

 

4)         When providing guidance, the Department shall have exclusive authority to determine the manner and extent to which Department resources and personnel are utilized.

 

5)         The cost of any guidance provided by the Department will be reimbursed from the Gang Crime Witness Protection Fund.

 

6)         All requests for guidance shall be made to the Witness Protection Coordinator.

 

7)         The Attorney General or the State's Attorney who requests guidance shall make available to the Department upon request all records relating to the victim/witness, the related gang crime and the need for protection.