SB2092 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 15363 KMF 20724 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2092

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Christopher Belt

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

730 ILCS 167/1
730 ILCS 167/5
730 ILCS 167/10
730 ILCS 167/15
730 ILCS 167/20
730 ILCS 167/25
730 ILCS 167/30
730 ILCS 167/35

Amends the Veterans and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act. Changes the title of the Act to the Veterans, Servicemembers, and Families Court Treatment Act. Provides that the Act also applies to defendants who are family members of veterans and servicemembers. Provides that a defendant shall be evaluated for eligibility to be admitted into a Veterans, Servicemembers, and Families Court Treatment program by a Court Assessment Service if the defendant is a family member of a veteran or servicemember. Defines terms.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

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

Section 5. The Veterans and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act is amended by changing Sections 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 as follows:

(730 ILCS 167/1)

Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court Treatment Act.

(Source: P.A. 96-924, eff. 6-14-10.)

(730 ILCS 167/5)

Sec. 5. Purposes. The General Assembly recognizes that veterans and active, Reserve and National Guard servicemembers have provided or are currently providing an invaluable service to our country. In so doing, some may suffer the effects of, including but not limited to, post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression and may also suffer drug and alcohol dependency or addiction and co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse problems. As a result of this, some veterans or active duty servicemembers and their families come into contact with the criminal justice system and are charged with felony or misdemeanor offenses. There is a critical need for the criminal justice system to recognize these veterans and their families, provide accountability for their wrongdoing, provide for the safety of the public and provide for the treatment of our veterans and their families. It is the intent of the General Assembly to create specialized veteran and servicemember and their families courts or programs with the necessary flexibility to meet the specialized problems faced by these veteran and servicemember defendants and their families.

(Source: P.A. 96-924, eff. 6-14-10.)

(730 ILCS 167/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Combination Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program" means a court program that includes a pre-adjudicatory and a post-adjudicatory Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families court program.

"Court" means Veterans , and Servicemembers, and Families Court.

"Family member" means any spouse, former spouse, widow or widower, child (naturally born, adopted, step child or ward) of a servicemember or veteran.

"IDVA" means the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.

"Peer recovery coach" means a volunteer veteran mentor assigned to a veteran or servicemember during participation in a veteran treatment court program who has been trained and certified by the court to guide and mentor the participant to successfully complete the assigned requirements.

"Post-adjudicatory Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court Program" means a program in which the defendant has admitted guilt or has been found guilty and agrees, along with the prosecution, to enter a Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program as part of the defendant's sentence.

"Pre-adjudicatory Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court Program" means a program that allows the defendant with the consent of the prosecution, to expedite the defendant's criminal case before conviction or before filing of a criminal case and requires successful completion of the Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court programs as part of the agreement.

"Servicemember" means a person who is currently serving in the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard on active duty, reserve status or in the National Guard.

"VA" means the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs.

"VAC" means a veterans assistance commission.

"Veteran" means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.

"Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court professional" means a member of the Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court team, including but not limited to a judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, probation officer, coordinator, treatment provider, or peer recovery coach.

"Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court" means a court or program with an immediate and highly structured judicial intervention process for substance abuse treatment, mental health, or other assessed treatment needs of eligible veteran and servicemember and family member defendants that brings together substance abuse professionals, mental health professionals, VA professionals, local social programs and intensive judicial monitoring in accordance with the nationally recommended 10 key components of drug courts.

"Ward" means a ward as defined by the Probate Act of 1975.

(Source: P.A. 99-314, eff. 8-7-15; 99-819, eff. 8-15-16.)

(730 ILCS 167/15)

Sec. 15. Authorization. The Chief Judge of each judicial circuit shall establish a Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program including a format under which it operates under this Act. The Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court may, at the discretion of the Chief Judge, be a separate court or a program of a problem-solving court, including but not limited to a drug court or mental health court. At the discretion of the Chief Judge, the Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program may be operated in one or more counties in the Circuit, and allow veteran and servicemember defendants and family member of veteran and servicemember defendants from all counties within the Circuit to participate.

(Source: P.A. 99-807, eff. 1-1-18; 100-88, eff. 1-1-18.)

(730 ILCS 167/20)

Sec. 20. Eligibility. Veterans and Servicemembers and families of Veterans and Servicemembers are eligible for Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Courts, provided the following:

(a) A defendant, who is eligible for probation based on the nature of the crime convicted of and in consideration of his or her criminal background, if any, may be admitted into a Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program before adjudication only upon the agreement of the defendant and with the approval of the Court. A defendant may be admitted into a Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program post-adjudication only with the approval of the court.

(b) A defendant shall be excluded from Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program if any of one of the following applies:

(1) The crime is a crime of violence as set forth in clause (3) of this subsection (b).

(2) The defendant does not demonstrate a willingness to participate in a treatment program.

(3) The defendant has been convicted of a crime of violence within the past 10 years excluding incarceration time, including first degree murder, second degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, armed robbery, aggravated arson, arson, aggravated kidnapping and kidnapping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability, stalking, aggravated stalking, or any offense involving the discharge of a firearm.

(4) (Blank).

(5) The crime for which the defendant has been convicted is non-probationable.

(6) The sentence imposed on the defendant, whether the result of a plea or a finding of guilt, renders the defendant ineligible for probation.

(Source: P.A. 99-480, eff. 9-9-15; 100-426, eff. 1-1-18.)

(730 ILCS 167/25)

Sec. 25. Procedure.

(a) The Court shall order the defendant to submit to an eligibility screening and an assessment through the VA, VAC, and/or the IDVA to provide information on the defendant's veteran or servicemember status or family member status.

(b) The Court shall order the defendant to submit to an eligibility screening and mental health and drug/alcohol screening and assessment of the defendant by the VA, VAC, or by the IDVA or a Court Assessment Service for a family member to provide assessment services for Illinois Courts. The assessment shall include a risks assessment and be based, in part, upon the known availability of treatment resources available to the Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court. The assessment shall also include recommendations for treatment of the conditions which are indicating a need for treatment under the monitoring of the Court and be reflective of a level of risk assessed for the individual seeking admission. An assessment need not be ordered if the Court finds a valid screening and/or assessment related to the present charge pending against the defendant has been completed within the previous 60 days.

(c) The judge shall inform the defendant that if the defendant fails to meet the conditions of the Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families, and Families Court program, eligibility to participate in the program may be revoked and the defendant may be sentenced or the prosecution continued as provided in the Unified Code of Corrections for the crime charged.

(d) The defendant shall execute a written agreement with the Court as to his or her participation in the program and shall agree to all of the terms and conditions of the program, including but not limited to the possibility of sanctions or incarceration for failing to abide or comply with the terms of the program.

(e) In addition to any conditions authorized under the Pretrial Services Act and Section 5-6-3 of the Unified Code of Corrections, the Court may order the defendant to complete substance abuse treatment in an outpatient, inpatient, residential, or jail-based custodial treatment program, order the defendant to complete mental health counseling in an inpatient or outpatient basis, comply with physicians' recommendation regarding medications and all follow up treatment. This treatment may include but is not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and depression.

(f) The Court may establish a mentorship program that provides access and support to program participants by peer recovery coaches. Courts shall be responsible to administer the mentorship program with the support of volunteer veterans and local veteran service organizations, including a VAC. Peer recovery coaches shall be trained and certified by the Court prior to being assigned to participants in the program.

(Source: P.A. 99-314, eff. 8-7-15; 99-819, eff. 8-15-16.)

(730 ILCS 167/30)

Sec. 30. Mental health and substance abuse treatment.

(a) The Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program may maintain a network of substance abuse treatment programs representing a continuum of graduated substance abuse treatment options commensurate with the needs of defendants; these shall include programs with the VA, IDVA, a VAC, the State of Illinois and community-based programs supported and sanctioned by either or both.

(b) Any substance abuse treatment program to which defendants are referred must meet all of the rules and governing programs in Parts 2030 and 2060 of Title 77 of the Illinois Administrative Code.

(c) The Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program may, in its discretion, employ additional services or interventions, as it deems necessary on a case by case basis.

(d) The Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court program may maintain or collaborate with a network of mental health treatment programs and, if it is a co-occurring mental health and substance abuse court program, a network of substance abuse treatment programs representing a continuum of treatment options commensurate with the needs of the defendant and available resources including programs with the VA, the IDVA, a VAC, and the State of Illinois.

(Source: P.A. 99-819, eff. 8-15-16.)

(730 ILCS 167/35)

Sec. 35. Violation; termination; discharge.

(a) If the Court finds from the evidence presented including but not limited to the reports or proffers of proof from the Veterans, and Servicemembers, and Families Court professionals that:

(1) the defendant is not performing satisfactorily in the assigned program;

(2) the defendant is not benefitting from education, treatment, or rehabilitation;

(3) the defendant has engaged in criminal conduct rendering him or her unsuitable for the program; or

(4) the defendant has otherwise violated the terms and conditions of the program or his or her sentence or is for any reason unable to participate; the Court may impose reasonable sanctions under prior written agreement of the defendant, including but not limited to imprisonment or dismissal of the defendant from the program and the Court may reinstate criminal proceedings against him or her or proceed under Section 5-6-4 of the Unified Code of Corrections for a violation of probation, conditional discharge, or supervision hearing.

(b) Upon successful completion of the terms and conditions of the program, the Court may dismiss the original charges against the defendant or successfully terminate the defendant's sentence or otherwise discharge him or her from any further proceedings against him or her in the original prosecution.

(Source: P.A. 96-924, eff. 6-14-10.)