(740 ILCS 45/2)

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Applicant" means any of the following claiming compensation under this Act: a victim, a person who was a dependent of a deceased victim of a crime of violence for the person's support at the time of the death of that victim, a person who legally assumes the obligation or who voluntarily pays the medical or the funeral or burial expenses incurred as a direct result of the crime, and any other person the Court of Claims or the Attorney General finds is entitled to compensation, including the guardian of a minor or of a person under legal disability.

The changes made to this subsection by Public Act 101-652 apply to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2022.

(b) "Court of Claims" means the Court of Claims created by the Court of Claims Act.

(c) "Crime of violence" means and includes any offense defined in Sections 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 10-1, 10-2, 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-11, 11-19.2, 11-20.1, 11-20.1B, 11-20.3, 11-23, 11-23.5, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-3.1, 12-3.2, 12-3.3, 12-3.4, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-5, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-20.5, 12-30, 20-1 or 20-1.1, or Section 12-3.05 except for subdivision (a)(4) or (g)(1), or subdivision (a)(4) of Section 11-14.4, of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, Sections 1(a) and 1(a-5) of the Cemetery Protection Act, Section 125 of the Stalking No Contact Order Act, Section 219 of the Civil No Contact Order Act, driving under the influence as defined in Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, a violation of Section 11-401 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, provided the victim was a pedestrian or was operating a vehicle moved solely by human power or a mobility device at the time of contact, and a violation of Section 11-204.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code; so long as the offense did not occur during a civil riot, insurrection or rebellion. "Crime of violence" does not include any other offense or crash involving a motor vehicle except those vehicle offenses specifically provided for in this paragraph. "Crime of violence" does include all of the offenses specifically provided for in this paragraph that occur within this State but are subject to federal jurisdiction and crimes involving terrorism as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2331.

(d) "Victim" means (1) a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence perpetrated or attempted against him or her, (2) the spouse, parent, or child of a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence perpetrated or attempted against the person, or anyone living in the household of a person killed or injured in a relationship that is substantially similar to that of a parent, spouse, or child, (3) a person killed or injured in this State while attempting to assist a person against whom a crime of violence is being perpetrated or attempted, if that attempt of assistance would be expected of a reasonable person under the circumstances, (4) a person killed or injured in this State while assisting a law enforcement official apprehend a person who has perpetrated a crime of violence or prevent the perpetration of any such crime if that assistance was in response to the express request of the law enforcement official, (5) a person who personally witnessed a violent crime, (5.05) a person who will be called as a witness by the prosecution to establish a necessary nexus between the offender and the violent crime, (5.1) solely for the purpose of compensating for pecuniary loss incurred for psychological treatment of a mental or emotional condition caused or aggravated by the crime, any other person under the age of 18 who is the brother, sister, half brother, or half sister of a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence, (6) an Illinois resident who is a victim of a "crime of violence" as defined in this Act except, if the crime occurred outside this State, the resident has the same rights under this Act as if the crime had occurred in this State upon a showing that the state, territory, country, or political subdivision of a country in which the crime occurred does not have a compensation of victims of crimes law for which that Illinois resident is eligible, (7) the parent, spouse, or child of a deceased person whose body is dismembered or whose remains are desecrated as the result of a crime of violence, or (8) (blank).

(e) "Dependent" means a relative of a deceased victim who was wholly or partially dependent upon the victim's income at the time of his or her death and shall include the child of a victim born after his or her death.

(f) "Relative" means a spouse, parent, grandparent, stepfather, stepmother, child, grandchild, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, half brother, half sister, spouse's parent, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, or anyone living in the household of a person killed or injured in a relationship that is substantially similar to that of a parent, spouse, or child.

(g) "Child" means a son or daughter and includes a stepchild, an adopted child or a child born out of wedlock.

(h) "Pecuniary loss" means:

(1) in the case of injury, appropriate medical expenses and hospital expenses including expenses of medical examinations, rehabilitation, medically required nursing care expenses, appropriate psychiatric care or psychiatric counseling expenses, appropriate expenses for care or counseling by a licensed clinical psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, or licensed clinical professional counselor and expenses for treatment by Christian Science practitioners and nursing care appropriate thereto;

(2) transportation expenses to and from medical and counseling treatment facilities;

(3) prosthetic appliances, eyeglasses, and hearing aids necessary or damaged as a result of the crime;

(4) expenses incurred for the towing and storage of a victim's vehicle in connection with a crime of violence, to a maximum of $1,000;

(5) costs associated with trafficking tattoo removal by a person authorized or licensed to perform the specific removal procedure;

(6) replacement costs for clothing and bedding used as evidence;

(7) costs associated with temporary lodging or relocation necessary as a result of the crime, including, but not limited to, the first 2 months' rent and security deposit of the dwelling that the claimant relocated to and other reasonable relocation expenses incurred as a result of the violent crime;

(8) locks or windows necessary or damaged as a result of the crime;

(9) the purchase, lease, or rental of equipment necessary to create usability of and accessibility to the victim's real and personal property, or the real and personal property which is used by the victim, necessary as a result of the crime; "real and personal property" includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, houses, apartments, townhouses, or condominiums;

(10) the costs of appropriate crime scene clean-up;

(11) replacement services loss, to a maximum of $1,250 per month, with this amount to be divided in proportion to the amount of the actual loss among those entitled to compensation;

(12) dependents replacement services loss, to a maximum of $1,250 per month, with this amount to be divided in proportion to the amount of the actual loss among those entitled to compensation;

(13) loss of tuition paid to attend grammar school or high school when the victim had been enrolled as a student prior to the injury, or college or graduate school when the victim had been enrolled as a day or night student prior to the injury when the victim becomes unable to continue attendance at school as a result of the crime of violence perpetrated against him or her;

(14) loss of earnings, loss of future earnings because of disability resulting from the injury. Loss of future earnings shall be reduced by any income from substitute work actually performed by the victim or by income the victim would have earned in available appropriate substitute work the victim was capable of performing but unreasonably failed to undertake; loss of earnings and loss of future earnings shall be determined on the basis of the victim's average net monthly earnings for the 6 months immediately preceding the date of the injury or on $2,400 per month, whichever is less, or, in cases where the absences commenced more than 3 years from the date of the crime, on the basis of the net monthly earnings for the 6 months immediately preceding the date of the first absence, not to exceed $2,400 per month;

(15) loss of support of the dependents of the victim. Loss of support shall be determined on the basis of the victim's average net monthly earnings for the 6 months immediately preceding the date of the injury or on $2,400 per month, whichever is less, or, in cases where the absences commenced more than 3 years from the date of the crime, on the basis of the net monthly earnings for the 6 months immediately preceding the date of the first absence, not to exceed $2,400 per month. If a divorced or legally separated applicant is claiming loss of support for a minor child of the deceased, the amount of support for each child shall be based either on the amount of support pursuant to the judgment prior to the date of the deceased victim's injury or death, or, if the subject of pending litigation filed by or on behalf of the divorced or legally separated applicant prior to the injury or death, on the result of that litigation. Loss of support for minors shall be divided in proportion to the amount of the actual loss among those entitled to such compensation;

(16) in the case of death, expenses for reasonable funeral, burial, and travel and transport for survivors of homicide victims to secure bodies of deceased victims and to transport bodies for burial all of which may be awarded up to a maximum of $10,000 for each victim. Other individuals that have paid or become obligated to pay funeral or burial expenses for the deceased shall share a maximum award of $10,000, with the award divided in proportion to the amount of the actual loss among those entitled to compensation; and

(17) in the case of dismemberment or desecration of a body, expenses for reasonable funeral and burial, all of which may be awarded up to a maximum of $10,000 for each victim. Other individuals that have paid or become obligated to pay funeral or burial expenses for the deceased shall share a maximum award of $10,000, with the award divided in proportion to the amount of the actual loss among those entitled to compensation.

"Pecuniary loss" does not include pain and suffering or property loss or damage.

The changes made to this subsection by Public Act 101-652 apply to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2022.

(i) "Replacement services loss" means expenses reasonably incurred in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those the injured person would have performed, not for income, but for the benefit of himself or herself or his or her family, if he or she had not been injured.

(j) "Dependents replacement services loss" means loss reasonably incurred by dependents or private legal guardians of minor dependents after a victim's death in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those the victim would have performed, not for income, but for their benefit, if he or she had not been fatally injured.

(k) "Survivor" means immediate family including a parent, stepfather, stepmother, child, brother, sister, or spouse.

(l) "Parent" means a natural parent, adopted parent, stepparent, or permanent legal guardian of another person.

(m) "Trafficking tattoo" is a tattoo which is applied to a victim in connection with the commission of a violation of Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

(Source: P.A. 102-27, eff. 6-25-21; 102-905, eff. 1-1-23; 102-982, eff. 7-1-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-564, eff. 11-17-23.)