Public Act 096-1242
 
HB5666 EnrolledLRB096 18106 RLC 33481 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 Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is
amended by changing Section 115-16 as follows:
 
    (725 ILCS 5/115-16)
    Sec. 115-16. Witness disqualification. No person shall be
disqualified as a witness in a criminal case or proceeding by
reason of his or her interest in the event of the case or
proceeding, as a party or otherwise, or by reason of his or her
having been convicted of a crime; but the interest or
conviction may be shown for the purpose of affecting the
credibility of the witness. A defendant in a criminal case or
proceeding shall only at his or her own request be deemed a
competent witness, and the person's neglect to testify shall
not create a presumption against the person, nor shall the
court permit a reference or comment to be made to or upon that
neglect.
    In criminal cases, husband and wife may testify for or
against each other. Neither, however, may testify as to any
communication or admission made by either of them to the other
or as to any conversation between them during marriage, except
in cases in which either is charged with an offense against the
person or property of the other, in case of spouse abandonment,
when the interests of their child or children or of any child
or children in either spouse's care, custody, or control are
directly involved, when either is charged with or under
investigation for an offense under Section 12-13, 12-14,
12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 and the
victim is a minor under 18 years of age in either spouse's
care, custody, or control at the time of the offense, or as to
matters in which either has acted as agent of the other.
(Source: P.A. 89-234, eff. 1-1-96; 89-428, eff. 12-13-95;
89-462, eff. 5-29-96.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.