Public Act 93-0258
HB0567 Enrolled LRB093 05571 MBS 05663 b
AN ACT concerning criminal law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act
is amended by changing Sections 8.5 and 9 as follows:
(725 ILCS 120/8.5)
Sec. 8.5. Statewide victim and witness notification
system.
(a) The Attorney General may establish a crime victim
and witness notification system to assist public officials in
carrying out their duties to notify and inform crime victims
and witnesses under Section 4.5 of this Act as the Attorney
General specifies by rule. The system shall download
necessary information from participating officials into its
computers, where it shall be maintained, updated, and
automatically transmitted to victims and witnesses by
telephone, computer, or written notice.
(b) The Illinois Department of Corrections, the
Department of Human Services, and the Prisoner Review Board
shall cooperate with the Attorney General in the
implementation of this Section and shall provide information
as necessary to the effective operation of the system.
(c) State's attorneys, circuit court clerks, and local
law enforcement and correctional authorities may enter into
agreements with the Attorney General for participation in the
system. The Attorney General may provide those who elect to
participate with the equipment, software, or training
necessary to bring their offices into the system.
(d) The provision of information to crime victims and
witnesses through the Attorney General's notification system
satisfies a given State or local official's corresponding
obligation under Section 4.5 to provide the information.
(e) The Attorney General may provide for telephonic,
electronic, or other public access to the database
established under this Section.
(f) The Attorney General shall adopt rules as necessary
to implement this Section. The rules shall include, but not
be limited to, provisions for the scope and operation of any
system the Attorney General may establish and procedures,
requirements, and standards for entering into agreements to
participate in the system and to receive equipment, software,
or training.
(g) There is established in the Office of the Attorney
General a Crime Victim and Witness Notification Advisory
Committee consisting of those victims advocates, sheriffs,
State's Attorneys, circuit court clerks, Illinois Department
of Corrections, and Prisoner Review Board employees that the
Attorney General chooses to appoint. The Attorney General
shall designate one member to chair the Committee.
(1) The Committee shall consult with and advise the
Attorney General as to the exercise of the Attorney
General's authority under this Section, including, but
not limited to:
(i) the design, scope, and operation of the
notification system;
(ii) the content of any rules adopted to
implement this Section;
(iii) the procurement of hardware, software,
and support for the system, including choice of
supplier or operator; and
(iv) the acceptance of agreements with and the
award of equipment, software, or training to
officials that seek to participate in the system.
(2) The Committee shall review the status and
operation of the system and report any findings and
recommendations for changes to the Attorney General and
the General Assembly by November 1 of each year.
(3) The members of the Committee shall receive no
compensation for their services as members of the
Committee, but may be reimbursed for their actual
expenses incurred in serving on the Committee.
(Source: P.A. 91-237, eff. 1-1-00.)
(725 ILCS 120/9) (from Ch. 38, par. 1408)
Sec. 9. This Act does not limit any rights or
responsibilities otherwise enjoyed by or imposed upon victims
or witnesses of violent crime, nor does it grant any person a
cause of action for damages or attorneys fees. Any act of
omission or commission by any law enforcement officer,
circuit court clerk, or State's Attorney, by the Attorney
General, Prisoner Review Board, Department of Corrections,
Department of Human Services, or other State agency, or
private entity under contract pursuant to Section 8, or by
any employee of any State agency or private entity under
contract pursuant to Section 8 acting in good faith in
rendering crime victim's assistance or otherwise enforcing
this Act shall not impose civil liability upon the individual
or entity or his or her supervisor or employer. Nothing in
this Act shall create a basis for vacating a conviction or a
ground for appellate relief in any criminal case. Failure of
the crime victim to receive notice as required, however,
shall not deprive the court of the power to act regarding the
proceeding before it; nor shall any such failure grant the
defendant the right to seek a continuance.
(Source: P.A. 90-744, eff. 1-1-99; 91-237, eff. 1-1-00.)