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91_HB2748sam001
LRB9100042RCksam
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2748
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 2748 by replacing
3 the title with the following:
4 "AN ACT concerning crime victims and witnesses."; and
5 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
6 following:
7 "Section 5. The Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses
8 Act is amended by changing Sections 4.5 and 9 and by adding
9 Section 8.5 as follows:
10 (725 ILCS 120/4.5)
11 Sec. 4.5. Procedures to implement the rights of crime
12 victims. To afford crime victims their rights, law
13 enforcement, prosecutors, judges and corrections will provide
14 information, as appropriate of the following procedures:
15 (a) At the request of the crime victim, law enforcement
16 authorities investigating the case shall provide notice of
17 the status of the investigation, except where the State's
18 Attorney determines that disclosure of such information would
19 unreasonably interfere with the investigation, until such
20 time as the alleged assailant is apprehended or the
21 investigation is closed.
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1 (b) The office of the State's Attorney:
2 (1) shall provide notice of the filing of
3 information, the return of an indictment by which a
4 prosecution for any violent crime is commenced, or the
5 filing of a petition to adjudicate a minor as a
6 delinquent for a violent crime;
7 (2) shall provide notice of the date, time, and
8 place of trial;
9 (3) or victim advocate personnel shall provide
10 information of social services and financial assistance
11 available for victims of crime, including information of
12 how to apply for these services and assistance;
13 (4) shall assist in having any stolen or other
14 personal property held by law enforcement authorities for
15 evidentiary or other purposes returned as expeditiously
16 as possible, pursuant to the procedures set out in
17 Section 115-9 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963;
18 (5) or victim advocate personnel shall provide
19 appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that
20 employers of victims will cooperate with the criminal
21 justice system in order to minimize an employee's loss of
22 pay and other benefits resulting from court appearances;
23 (6) shall provide information whenever possible, of
24 a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does
25 not require victims to be in close proximity to defendant
26 or juveniles accused of a violent crime, and their
27 families and friends;
28 (7) shall provide notice to the crime victim of the
29 right to have a translator present at all court
30 proceedings;
31 (8) in the case of the death of a person, which
32 death occurred in the same transaction or occurrence in
33 which acts occurred for which a defendant is charged with
34 an offense, shall notify the spouse, parent, child or
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1 sibling of the decedent of the date of the trial of the
2 person or persons allegedly responsible for the death;
3 (9) shall inform the victim of the right to have
4 present at all court proceedings, subject to the rules of
5 evidence, an advocate or other support person of the
6 victim's choice, and the right to retain an attorney, at
7 the victim's own expense, who, upon written notice filed
8 with the clerk of the court and State's Attorney, is to
9 receive copies of all notices, motions and court orders
10 filed thereafter in the case, in the same manner as if
11 the victim were a named party in the case; and
12 (10) at the sentencing hearing shall make a good
13 faith attempt to explain the minimum amount of time
14 during which the defendant may actually be physically
15 imprisoned. The Office of the State's Attorney shall
16 further notify the crime victim of the right to request
17 from the Prisoner Review Board information concerning the
18 release of the defendant under subparagraph (d)(1) of
19 this Section; and
20 (11) shall request restitution at sentencing and
21 shall consider restitution in any plea negotiation, as
22 provided by law.
23 (c) At the written request of the crime victim, the
24 office of the State's Attorney shall:
25 (1) provide notice a reasonable time in advance of
26 the following court proceedings: preliminary hearing, any
27 hearing the effect of which may be the release of
28 defendant from custody, or to alter the conditions of
29 bond and the sentencing hearing. The crime victim shall
30 also be notified of the cancellation of the court
31 proceeding in sufficient time, wherever possible, to
32 prevent an unnecessary appearance in court;
33 (2) provide notice within a reasonable time after
34 receipt of notice from the custodian, of the release of
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1 the defendant on bail or personal recognizance or the
2 release from detention of a minor who has been detained
3 for a violent crime;
4 (3) explain in nontechnical language the details of
5 any plea or verdict of a defendant, or any adjudication
6 of a juvenile as a delinquent for a violent crime;
7 (4) where practical, consult with the crime victim
8 before the Office of the State's Attorney makes an offer
9 of a plea bargain to the defendant or enters into
10 negotiations with the defendant concerning a possible
11 plea agreement, and shall consider the written victim
12 impact statement, if prepared prior to entering into a
13 plea agreement;
14 (5) provide notice of the ultimate disposition of
15 the cases arising from an indictment or an information,
16 or a petition to have a juvenile adjudicated as a
17 delinquent for a violent crime;
18 (6) provide notice of any appeal taken by the
19 defendant and information on how to contact the
20 appropriate agency handling the appeal;
21 (7) provide notice of any request for
22 post-conviction review filed by the defendant under
23 Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963,
24 and of the date, time and place of any hearing concerning
25 the petition. Whenever possible, notice of the hearing
26 shall be given in advance;
27 (8) forward a copy of any statement presented under
28 Section 6 to the Prisoner Review Board to be considered
29 by the Board in making its determination under subsection
30 (b) of Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
31 (d) (1) The Prisoner Review Board shall inform a victim
32 or any other concerned citizen, upon written request, of
33 the prisoner's release on parole, mandatory supervised
34 release, electronic detention, work release or by the
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1 custodian of the discharge of any individual who was
2 adjudicated a delinquent for a violent crime from State
3 custody and by the sheriff of the appropriate county of
4 any such person's final discharge from county custody.
5 The Prisoner Review Board, upon written request, shall
6 provide to a victim or any other concerned citizen a
7 recent photograph of any person convicted of a felony,
8 upon his or her release from custody. The Prisoner Review
9 Board, upon written request, shall inform a victim or any
10 other concerned citizen when feasible at least 7 days
11 prior to the prisoner's release on furlough of the times
12 and dates of such furlough. Upon written request by the
13 victim or any other concerned citizen, the State's
14 Attorney shall notify the person once of the times and
15 dates of release of a prisoner sentenced to periodic
16 imprisonment. Notification shall be based on the most
17 recent information as to victim's or other concerned
18 citizen's residence or other location available to the
19 notifying authority. For purposes of this paragraph (1)
20 of subsection (d), "concerned citizen" includes relatives
21 of the victim, friends of the victim, witnesses to the
22 crime, or any other person associated with the victim or
23 prisoner.
24 (2) When the defendant has been committed to the
25 Department of Human Services pursuant to Section 5-2-4 or
26 any other provision of the Unified Code of Corrections,
27 the victim may request to be notified by the releasing
28 authority of the defendant's discharge from State
29 custody.
30 (3) In the event of an escape from State custody,
31 the Department of Corrections immediately shall notify
32 the Prisoner Review Board of the escape and the Prisoner
33 Review Board shall notify the victim. The notification
34 shall be based upon the most recent information as to the
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1 victim's residence or other location available to the
2 Board. When no such information is available, the Board
3 shall make all reasonable efforts to obtain the
4 information and make the notification. When the escapee
5 is apprehended, the Department of Corrections immediately
6 shall notify the Prisoner Review Board and the Board
7 shall notify the victim.
8 (4) The victim of the crime for which the prisoner
9 has been sentenced shall receive reasonable written
10 notice not less than 15 days prior to the parole hearing
11 and may submit, in writing, on film, videotape or other
12 electronic means or in the form of a recording or in
13 person at the parole hearing, information for
14 consideration by the Prisoner Review Board. The victim
15 shall be notified within 7 days after the prisoner has
16 been granted parole and shall be informed of the right to
17 inspect the registry of parole decisions, established
18 under subsection (g) of Section 3-3-5 of the Unified Code
19 of Corrections. The provisions of this paragraph (4) are
20 subject to the Open Parole Hearings Act.
21 (5) If a statement is presented under Section 6,
22 the Prisoner Review Board shall inform the victim of any
23 order of discharge entered by the Board pursuant to
24 Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
25 (6) At the written request of the victim of the
26 crime for which the prisoner was sentenced, the Prisoner
27 Review Board shall notify the victim of the death of the
28 prisoner if the prisoner died while on parole or
29 mandatory supervised release.
30 (7) When a defendant who has been committed to the
31 Department of Corrections or the Department of Human
32 Services is released or discharged and subsequently
33 committed to the Department of Human Services as a
34 sexually violent person and the victim had requested to
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1 be notified by the releasing authority of the defendant's
2 discharge from State custody, the releasing authority
3 shall provide to the Department of Human Services such
4 information that would allow the Department of Human
5 Services to contact the victim.
6 (e) The officials named in this Section may satisfy some
7 or all of their obligations to provide notices and other
8 information through participation in a statewide victim and
9 witness notification system established by the Attorney
10 General under Section 8.5 of this Act.
11 (Source: P.A. 89-8, eff. 3-21-95; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95;
12 89-481, eff. 1-1-97; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 90-14, eff. 7-1-97;
13 90-793, eff. 8-14-98.)
14 (725 ILCS 120/8.5 new)
15 Sec. 8.5. Statewide victim and witness notification
16 system.
17 (a) The Attorney General may establish a crime victim
18 and witness notification system to assist public officials in
19 carrying out their duties to notify and inform crime victims
20 and witnesses under Section 4.5 of this Act as the Attorney
21 General specifies by rule. The system shall download
22 necessary information from participating officials into its
23 computers, where it shall be maintained, updated, and
24 automatically transmitted to victims and witnesses by
25 telephone, computer, or written notice.
26 (b) The Illinois Department of Corrections, the
27 Department of Human Services, and the Prisoner Review Board
28 shall cooperate with the Attorney General in the
29 implementation of this Section and shall provide information
30 as necessary to the effective operation of the system.
31 (c) State's Attorneys and local law enforcement and
32 correctional authorities may enter into agreements with the
33 Attorney General for participation in the system. The
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1 Attorney General may provide those who elect to participate
2 with the equipment, software, or training necessary to bring
3 their offices into the system.
4 (d) The provision of information to crime victims and
5 witnesses through the Attorney General's notification system
6 satisfies a given State or local official's corresponding
7 obligation under Section 4.5 to provide the information.
8 (e) The Attorney General may provide for telephonic,
9 electronic, or other public access to the database
10 established under this Section.
11 (f) The Attorney General shall adopt rules as necessary
12 to implement this Section. The rules shall include, but not
13 be limited to, provisions for the scope and operation of any
14 system the Attorney General may establish and procedures,
15 requirements, and standards for entering into agreements to
16 participate in the system and to receive equipment, software,
17 or training.
18 (g) There is established in the Office of the Attorney
19 General a Crime Victim and Witness Notification Advisory
20 Committee consisting of those victims advocates, sheriffs,
21 State's Attorneys, Illinois Department of Corrections and
22 Prisoner Review Board employees that the Attorney General
23 chooses to appoint. The Attorney General shall designate one
24 member to chair the Committee.
25 (1) The Committee shall consult with and advise the
26 Attorney General as to the exercise of the Attorney
27 General's authority under this Section, including, but
28 not limited to:
29 (i) the design, scope, and operation of the
30 notification system;
31 (ii) the content of any rules adopted to
32 implement this Section;
33 (iii) the procurement of hardware, software,
34 and support for the system, including choice of
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1 supplier or operator; and
2 (iv) the acceptance of agreements with and the
3 award of equipment, software, or training to
4 officials that seek to participate in the system.
5 (2) The Committee shall review the status and
6 operation of the system and report any findings and
7 recommendations for changes to the Attorney General and
8 the General Assembly by November 1 of each year.
9 (3) The members of the Committee shall receive no
10 compensation for their services as members of the
11 Committee, but may be reimbursed for their actual
12 expenses incurred in serving on the Committee.
13 (725 ILCS 120/9) (from Ch. 38, par. 1408)
14 Sec. 9. This Act does not limit any rights or
15 responsibilities otherwise enjoyed by or imposed upon victims
16 or witnesses of violent crime, nor does it grant any person a
17 cause of action for damages or attorneys fees. Any act of
18 omission or commission by any law enforcement officer or
19 State's Attorney, by the Attorney General, Prisoner Review
20 Board, Department of Corrections, Department of Human
21 Services, or other State agency, or private entity under
22 contract pursuant to Section 8, or by any employee of any
23 State agency or private entity under contract pursuant to
24 Section 8 acting in good faith in rendering crime victim's
25 assistance or otherwise enforcing this Act shall not impose
26 civil liability upon the individual or entity or his or her
27 supervisor or employer. Nothing in this Act shall create a
28 basis for vacating a conviction or a ground for appellate
29 relief in any criminal case. Failure of the crime victim to
30 receive notice as required, however, shall not deprive the
31 court of the power to act regarding the proceeding before it;
32 nor shall any such failure grant the defendant the right to
33 seek a continuance.
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1 (Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 90-744, eff. 1-1-99.)".
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