Public Act 096-0597
 		





HB4078 Enrolled
LRB096 08471 RLC 18590 b






    AN ACT concerning criminal law.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:

 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
Elected Officials Misconduct Forfeiture Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, 
"elected official" means any former elected official whose term 
of office is terminated by operation of law for conviction of 
an offense, who is removed from office on conviction of 
impeachment for misconduct in office, or who resigned from 
office prior, upon,  or after conviction; and "proceeds" means 
any interest in property of any kind acquired through or caused 
by an act or omission, or derived from the act or omission, 
directly or indirectly, and any fruits of this interest, in 
whatever form.
 
    Section 10. Purposes. The General Assembly finds that it 
has compelling governmental interests in: (1)  preventing 
criminals from profiting from their crimes, and (2) ensuring 
that the victims of crime are compensated by those who harm 
them.  Further, the General Assembly finds that the unlawful or 
deceitful actions of elected officials can erode the public's 
confidence in its government and debase the public's belief in 
a fair democratic process.  
 
    Section 15. Forfeiture action. The Attorney General  may 
file an action in circuit court on behalf of the people of 
Illinois against an elected official who has, by his or her 
violation of Article 33 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or 
violation of a similar federal offense, injured the people of 
Illinois.  The purpose of such suit is to recover all proceeds 
traceable to the elected official's offense and by so doing, 
prevent, restrain or remedy violations of Article 33 of the 
Criminal Code of 1961 or similar federal offenses.


 
    Section 20. Procedure. 
    (a) The circuit court has jurisdiction to prevent, 
restrain, and remedy violations of Article 33 of the Criminal 
Code of 1961 or violations of a similar federal offense after a 
hearing or trial, as appropriate, by issuing appropriate 
orders.

Prior to a determination of liability such orders may 
include, but are not limited to, issuing seizure warrants, 
entering findings of probable cause for in personam or in rem 
forfeiture, or taking such other actions, in connection with 
any property or other interest subject to forfeiture or other 
remedies or restraints pursuant to this Section as the court 
deems proper.
    (b) If the Attorney General prevails in his or her action, 
the court shall order the forfeiture of all proceeds traceable 
to the elected official's violations of Article 33 of the 
Criminal Code of 1961 or similar federal offenses.  Proceeds 
seized and forfeited as a result of the Attorney General's 
action will be deposited into the General Revenue Fund or the 
corporate county fund, as appropriate.

 
    Section 25. Term of forfeiture. The maximum term of a civil 
forfeiture under this Act shall be equal to the term of 
imprisonment, probation and mandatory supervised release or 
parole received by the elected official as a result of his or 
her conviction for violating Article 33 of the Criminal Code of 
1961 or similar federal offenses.


 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.