Public Act 096-1217
 
SB3800 EnrolledLRB096 20633 RLC 36345 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 Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by changing
Section 32-8 as follows:
 
    (720 ILCS 5/32-8)  (from Ch. 38, par. 32-8)
    Sec. 32-8. Tampering with public records.
    (a) A person who knowingly and without lawful authority
alters, destroys, defaces, removes or conceals any public
record commits a Class 4 felony.
    (b) "Public record" expressly includes, but is not limited
to, court records pertaining to any civil or criminal
proceeding in any court.
    (c) Any judge, circuit clerk or clerk of court, public
official or employee, court reporter, or other person who
knowingly and without lawful authority alters, destroys,
defaces, removes, or conceals any public record received or
held by any judge or by a clerk of any court commits a Class 3
felony.
    (d) Any person convicted under subsection (c):
        (1) shall forfeit his or her public office or public
    employment, if any, and shall thereafter be ineligible for
    both State and local public office and public employment in
    this State for a period of 5 years after completion of any
    term of probation, conditional discharge, or mandatory
    supervised release;
        (2) shall forfeit all retirement, pension, and other
    benefits arising out of public office or public employment
    in accordance with the applicable provisions of the
    Illinois Pension Code;
        (3) shall be subject to termination of any professional
    licensure or registration in this State in accordance with
    the provisions of the applicable professional licensing or
    registration laws;
        (4) may be ordered by the court, after a hearing in
    accordance with applicable law and in addition to any other
    penalty or fine imposed by the court, to forfeit to the
    State an amount equal to any financial gain or the value of
    any advantage realized by the person as a result of the
    offense; and
        (5) may be ordered by the court, after a hearing in
    accordance with applicable law and in addition to any other
    penalty or fine imposed by the court, to pay restitution to
    the victim in an amount equal to any financial loss or the
    value of any advantage lost by the victim as a result of
    the offense.
    For the purposes of this subsection (d), an offense under
subsection (c) committed by a person holding public office or
public employment shall be rebuttably presumed to relate to or
arise out of or in connection with that public office or public
employment.
    (e) Any party having an interest in the protection and
integrity of any court record, whether such party be a public
official or a private individual, shall have the right to
request and, if necessary, to demand that an investigation be
opened into the alteration, destruction, defacement, removal,
or concealment of any public record. Such request may be made
to any law enforcement agency, including, but not limited to,
local law enforcement and the State Police.
    (f) When the local law enforcement agency having
jurisdiction declines to investigate, or inadequately
investigates, a violation of subsection (c), the State Police
shall have the authority to investigate, and shall investigate,
the same, without regard to whether such local law enforcement
agency has requested the State Police to do so.
    (g) When the State's Attorney having jurisdiction declines
to prosecute a violation of subsection (c), the Attorney
General shall have the authority to prosecute the same, without
regard to whether such State's Attorney has requested the
Attorney General to do so.
    (h) Prosecution of a violation of subsection (c) shall be
commenced within 3 years after the act constituting the
violation is discovered or reasonably should have been
discovered.
(Source: P.A. 77-2638.)