HB3474 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 05889 CPF 50910 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3474

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Justin Slaughter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 120/2	from Ch. 102, par. 42
430 ILCS 69/35-15
430 ILCS 69/35-25
430 ILCS 69/35-30
430 ILCS 69/35-35
430 ILCS 69/35-40

Amends the Reimagine Public Safety Act. Removes language requiring grants from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention to be in specified quantities, specified amounts, or both. Provides that, at the discretion of the Assistant Secretary of Firearm Violence Prevention, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may provide grants in each eligible service area that the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention determines to be eligible. Provides that various services must be distributed equitably among various recipients. Removes language requiring initial grants issued by the Department of Human Services and the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention to be named no later than April 1, 2022 and renewed or competitively bid as appropriate in subsequent fiscal years. Provides that 60 days after the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention receives all local advisory council recommendations under specified provisions and distributes funding based on those recommendations, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall have no responsibility to manage, oversee, or exercise administrative authority over any local advisory council and local advisory councils shall be exempt from specified State requirements. Makes other changes. Makes a conforming change in the Open Meetings Act.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

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

Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing Section 2 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/2) (from Ch. 102, par. 42)

Sec. 2. Open meetings.

(a) Openness required. All meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public unless excepted in subsection (c) and closed in accordance with Section 2a.

(b) Construction of exceptions. The exceptions contained in subsection (c) are in derogation of the requirement that public bodies meet in the open, and therefore, the exceptions are to be strictly construed, extending only to subjects clearly within their scope. The exceptions authorize but do not require the holding of a closed meeting to discuss a subject included within an enumerated exception.

(c) Exceptions. A public body may hold closed meetings to consider the following subjects:

(1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or a volunteer of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. However, a meeting to consider an increase in compensation to a specific employee of a public body that is subject to the Local Government Wage Increase Transparency Act may not be closed and shall be open to the public and posted and held in accordance with this Act.

(2) Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees.

(3) The selection of a person to fill a public office, as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a public office, when the public body is given power to appoint under law or ordinance, or the discipline, performance or removal of the occupant of a public office, when the public body is given power to remove the occupant under law or ordinance.

(4) Evidence or testimony presented in open hearing, or in closed hearing where specifically authorized by law, to a quasi-adjudicative body, as defined in this Act, provided that the body prepares and makes available for public inspection a written decision setting forth its determinative reasoning.

(5) The purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose of discussing whether a particular parcel should be acquired.

(6) The setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the public body.

(7) The sale or purchase of securities, investments, or investment contracts. This exception shall not apply to the investment of assets or income of funds deposited into the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund.

(8) Security procedures, school building safety and security, and the use of personnel and equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees, students, staff, the public, or public property.

(9) Student disciplinary cases.

(10) The placement of individual students in special education programs and other matters relating to individual students.

(11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting.

(12) The establishment of reserves or settlement of claims as provided in the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, if otherwise the disposition of a claim or potential claim might be prejudiced, or the review or discussion of claims, loss or risk management information, records, data, advice or communications from or with respect to any insurer of the public body or any intergovernmental risk management association or self insurance pool of which the public body is a member.

(13) Conciliation of complaints of discrimination in the sale or rental of housing, when closed meetings are authorized by the law or ordinance prescribing fair housing practices and creating a commission or administrative agency for their enforcement.

(14) Informant sources, the hiring or assignment of undercover personnel or equipment, or ongoing, prior or future criminal investigations, when discussed by a public body with criminal investigatory responsibilities.

(15) Professional ethics or performance when considered by an advisory body appointed to advise a licensing or regulatory agency on matters germane to the advisory body's field of competence.

(16) Self evaluation, practices and procedures or professional ethics, when meeting with a representative of a statewide association of which the public body is a member.

(17) The recruitment, credentialing, discipline or formal peer review of physicians or other health care professionals, or for the discussion of matters protected under the federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, including 42 C.F.R. Part 3 (73 FR 70732), or the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, including 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 162, and 164, by a hospital, or other institution providing medical care, that is operated by the public body.

(18) Deliberations for decisions of the Prisoner Review Board.

(19) Review or discussion of applications received under the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Act.

(20) The classification and discussion of matters classified as confidential or continued confidential by the State Government Suggestion Award Board.

(21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under this Act, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06.

(22) Deliberations for decisions of the State Emergency Medical Services Disciplinary Review Board.

(23) The operation by a municipality of a municipal utility or the operation of a municipal power agency or municipal natural gas agency when the discussion involves (i) contracts relating to the purchase, sale, or delivery of electricity or natural gas or (ii) the results or conclusions of load forecast studies.

(24) Meetings of a residential health care facility resident sexual assault and death review team or the Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review Team Act.

(25) Meetings of an independent team of experts under Brian's Law.

(26) Meetings of a mortality review team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice Mortality Review Team Act.

(27) (Blank).

(28) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Illinois Public Aid Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of the Illinois Public Aid Code.

(29) Meetings between internal or external auditors and governmental audit committees, finance committees, and their equivalents, when the discussion involves internal control weaknesses, identification of potential fraud risk areas, known or suspected frauds, and fraud interviews conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards of the United States of America.

(30) Those meetings or portions of meetings of a fatality review team or the Illinois Fatality Review Team Advisory Council during which a review of the death of an eligible adult in which abuse or neglect is suspected, alleged, or substantiated is conducted pursuant to Section 15 of the Adult Protective Services Act.

(31) Meetings and deliberations for decisions of the Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

(32) Meetings between the Regional Transportation Authority Board and its Service Boards when the discussion involves review by the Regional Transportation Authority Board of employment contracts under Section 28d of the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act and Sections 3A.18 and 3B.26 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act.

(33) Those meetings or portions of meetings of the advisory committee and peer review subcommittee created under Section 320 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act during which specific controlled substance prescriber, dispenser, or patient information is discussed.

(34) Meetings of the Tax Increment Financing Reform Task Force under Section 2505-800 of the Department of Revenue Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.

(35) Meetings of the group established to discuss Medicaid capitation rates under Section 5-30.8 of the Illinois Public Aid Code.

(36) Those deliberations or portions of deliberations for decisions of the Illinois Gaming Board in which there is discussed any of the following: (i) personal, commercial, financial, or other information obtained from any source that is privileged, proprietary, confidential, or a trade secret; or (ii) information specifically exempted from the disclosure by federal or State law.

(37) Deliberations for decisions of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, the Certification Review Panel, and the Illinois State Police Merit Board regarding certification and decertification.

(38) Meetings of the Ad Hoc Statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Board that occur in closed executive session under subsection (d) of Section 35 of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act.

(39) Meetings of the regional review teams under subsection (a) of Section 75 of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act.

(40) Meetings of the Firearm Owner's Identification Card Review Board under Section 10 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act.

(41) Meetings of local advisory councils held after the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention receives all local advisory council recommendations and distributes funding based on those recommendations, pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 35-40 of the Reimagine Public Safety Act.

(d) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:

"Employee" means a person employed by a public body whose relationship with the public body constitutes an employer-employee relationship under the usual common law rules, and who is not an independent contractor.

"Public office" means a position created by or under the Constitution or laws of this State, the occupant of which is charged with the exercise of some portion of the sovereign power of this State. The term "public office" shall include members of the public body, but it shall not include organizational positions filled by members thereof, whether established by law or by a public body itself, that exist to assist the body in the conduct of its business.

"Quasi-adjudicative body" means an administrative body charged by law or ordinance with the responsibility to conduct hearings, receive evidence or testimony and make determinations based thereon, but does not include local electoral boards when such bodies are considering petition challenges.

(e) Final action. No final action may be taken at a closed meeting. Final action shall be preceded by a public recital of the nature of the matter being considered and other information that will inform the public of the business being conducted.

(Source: P.A. 101-31, eff. 6-28-19; 101-459, eff. 8-23-19; 101-652, eff. 1-1-22; 102-237, eff. 1-1-22; 102-520, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)

Section 10. The Reimagine Public Safety Act is amended by changing Sections 35-15, 35-25, 35-30, 35-35, and 35-40 as follows:

(430 ILCS 69/35-15)

Sec. 35-15. Findings. The Illinois General Assembly finds that:

(1) Discrete neighborhoods in municipalities across Illinois are experiencing concentrated and perpetual firearm violence that is a public health epidemic.

(2) Within neighborhoods experiencing this firearm violence epidemic, violence is concentrated among teens and young adults that have chronic exposure to the risk of violence and criminal legal system involvement and related trauma in small geographic areas where these young people live or congregate.

(3) Firearm violence victimization and perpetration is highly concentrated in particular neighborhoods, particular blocks within these neighborhoods, and among a small number of individuals living in these areas.

(4) People who are chronically exposed to the risk of firearm violence victimization are substantially more likely to be violently injured or violently injure another person. People who have been violently injured are substantially more likely to be violently reinjured. Chronic exposure to violence additionally leads individuals to engage in behavior, as part of a cycle of community violence, trauma, and retaliation that substantially increases their own risk of violent injury or reinjury.

(5) Evidence-based programs that engage individuals at the highest risk of firearm violence and provide life stabilization, case management, and culturally competent group and individual therapy reduce firearm violence victimization and perpetration and can end Illinois' firearm violence epidemic.

(6) A public health approach to ending Illinois' firearm violence epidemic requires targeted, integrated behavioral health services and economic opportunity that promotes self-sufficiency for victims of firearm violence and those with chronic exposure to the risk of firearm violence victimization, including, but not limited to, services for criminal and juvenile justice-involved populations, community revitalization initiatives, and crisis response services, such as psychological first aid.

(7) A public health approach to ending Illinois' firearm violence epidemic further requires broader preventive investments in the census tracts and blocks that reduce risk factors for youth and families living in areas at the highest risk of firearm violence victimization.

(8) A public health approach to ending Illinois' firearm violence epidemic requires empowering residents and community-based organizations within impacted neighborhoods to provide culturally competent care based on lived experience in these areas and long-term relationships of mutual interest that promote safety and stability.

(9) A public health approach to ending Illinois' firearm violence epidemic further requires that preventive youth development services for youth in these neighborhoods be fully integrated with a team-based model of mental health care to address trauma recovery for those young people at the highest risk of firearm violence victimization.

(10) Community revitalization can be an effective violence prevention strategy, provided that revitalization is targeted to the highest risk geographies within communities and revitalization efforts are designed and led by individuals living and working in the impacted communities.

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-679, eff. 12-10-21.)

(430 ILCS 69/35-25)

Sec. 35-25. Integrated violence prevention and other services.

(a) Subject to appropriation, for municipalities with 1,000,000 or more residents, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall make grants to violence prevention organizations for evidence-based violence prevention services. Approved technical assistance and training providers shall create learning communities for the exchange of information between community-based organizations in the same or similar fields. Firearm violence prevention organizations shall prioritize individuals at the highest risk of firearm violence victimization and provide these individuals with evidence-based comprehensive services that reduce their exposure to chronic firearm violence.

(b) In the geographic areas they serve, violence Violence prevention organizations shall develop the following expertise in the geographic areas that they cover:

(1) Analyzing and leveraging data to identify the individuals who will most benefit from evidence-based violence prevention services in their geographic areas.

(2) Identifying the conflicts that are responsible for recurring violence.

(3) Having relationships with individuals who are most able to reduce conflicts.

(4) Addressing the stabilization and trauma recovery needs of individuals impacted by violence by providing direct services for their unmet needs or referring them to other qualified service providers.

(5) Having and building relationships with community members and community organizations that provide evidence-based violence prevention services and get referrals of people who will most benefit from evidence-based violence prevention services in their geographic areas.

(6) Providing training and technical assistance to local law enforcement agencies to improve their effectiveness without having any role, requirement, or mandate to participate in the policing, enforcement, or prosecution of any crime.

(c) Violence prevention organizations receiving grants under this Act shall coordinate services with other violence prevention organizations in their area.

(d) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall identify, for each separate eligible service area under this Act, an experienced violence prevention organization to serve as the Lead Violence Prevention Convener for that area and provide each Lead Violence Prevention Convener with a grant of up to $100,000 to these organizations to coordinate monthly meetings between violence prevention organizations and youth development organizations under this Act. The Lead Violence Prevention Convener may also receive, from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, technical assistance or training through approved providers when needs are jointly identified. The Lead Violence Prevention Convener shall:

(1) provide the convened organizations with summary notes recommendations made at the monthly meetings to improve the effectiveness of evidence-based violence prevention services based on review of timely data on shootings and homicides in his or her relevant neighborhood;

(2) attend monthly meetings where the cause of violence and other neighborhood disputes is discussed and strategize on how to resolve ongoing conflicts and execute on agreed plans;

(3) (blank);

(4) on behalf of the convened organizations, make consensus recommendations to the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention and local law enforcement on how to reduce violent conflict in his or her neighborhood;

(5) meet on an emergency basis when conflicts that need immediate attention and resolution arise;

(6) share knowledge and strategies of the community violence dynamic in monthly meetings with local youth development specialists receiving grants under this Act;

(7) select when and where needed an approved Office of Violence Prevention-funded technical assistance and training service provider to receive agreed upon services; and

(8) after meeting with community residents and other community organizations that have expertise in housing, mental health, economic development, education, and social services, make recommendations to the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention on how to target community revitalization resources available from federal and State funding sources.

The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall compile recommendations from all Lead Violence Prevention Conveners and report to the General Assembly bi-annually on these funding recommendations. The Lead Violence Prevention Convener may also serve as a violence prevention or youth development provider.

(d-5) At the discretion of the Assistant Secretary of Firearm Violence Prevention and taking into consideration funding recommendations provided by Lead Violence Prevention Conveners, community needs and trends, and emerging best practices, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may provide grants, in each eligible service area, for activities that include, but are not limited to, interventions for justice-involved or re-entry populations, community revitalization initiatives, trauma-informed behavioral health services, restorative justice initiatives, and crisis response services, such as psychological first aid.

(e) The Illinois Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall select, when possible and appropriate, no fewer than 2 and no more than 3 approved technical assistance and training providers to deliver technical assistance and training to the violence prevention organizations that request to receive approved technical assistance and training. Violence prevention organizations shall have the opportunity complete authority to select among the approved technical assistance services providers funded by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, to the extent that the approved technical assistance services providers can distribute technical assistance and training equitably among violence prevention organizations.

(f) Approved technical assistance and training providers may:

(1) provide training and certification to violence prevention professionals on how to perform violence prevention services and other professional development to violence prevention professionals.

(2) provide management training on how to manage violence prevention professionals;

(3) provide training and assistance on how to develop memorandum of understanding for referral services or create approved provider lists for these referral services, or both;

(4) share lessons learned among violence prevention professionals and service providers in their network; and

(5) provide technical assistance and training on human resources, grants management, capacity building, and fiscal management strategies.

(g) Approved technical assistance and training providers shall:

(1) provide additional services identified as necessary by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention and service providers in their network; and

(2) receive a base grant of up to $250,000 plus negotiated service rates to provide group and individualized services to participating violence prevention organizations.

(h) (Blank).

(i) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue grants to , when possible and appropriate, to no fewer than 2 violence prevention organizations in each of the eligible service areas and no more than 6 organizations. When possible, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall work to ensure that grant resources are equitably distributed across eligible service areas grants shall be for no less than $300,000 per violence prevention organization. The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may establish grant award ranges to ensure grants will have the potential to reduce violence in each neighborhood.

(j) No violence prevention organization can serve more than 3 eligible service areas unless the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention is unable to identify violence prevention organizations to provide adequate coverage.

(k) No approved technical assistance and training provider shall provide evidence-based violence prevention services in an eligible service area under this Act unless the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention is unable to identify qualified violence prevention organizations to provide adequate coverage.

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-679, eff. 12-10-21.)

(430 ILCS 69/35-30)

Sec. 35-30. Integrated youth services.

(a) Subject to appropriation, for municipalities with 1,000,000 or more residents, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall make grants to youth development organizations for evidence-based youth programming, including, but not limited to, after-school and summer programming. Evidence-based youth development programs shall provide services to teens and young adults that increase their school attendance, and school performance, reduce involvement in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, develop employment and life skills, and develop nonacademic interests that build social emotional persistence and intelligence.

(b) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall identify municipal blocks where more than 35% of all fatal and nonfatal firearm-shot incidents take place and focus youth development service grants to residents of these identified blocks in the designated eligible service areas. The Department of Human Services shall prioritize funding to youth development service programs that serve the following teens before expanding services to the broader community:

(1) criminal and juvenile justice-involved youth;

(2) students who are attending or have attended option schools;

(3) family members of individuals working with violence prevention organizations; and

(4) youth living on the blocks where more than 35% of the violence takes place in a neighborhood.

(c) Each program participant enrolled in a youth development program under this Act, when possible and appropriate, shall receive an individualized needs assessment to determine if the participant requires intensive youth services as provided for in Section 35-35 of this Act. The needs assessment should be the best available instrument that considers the physical and mental condition of each youth based on the youth's family ties, financial resources, past substance use, criminal justice involvement, and trauma related to chronic exposure to firearm violence behavioral health assessment to determine the participant's broader support and mental health needs. The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall determine best practices for referring program participants who are at the highest risk of violence and justice involvement to be referred to a high-risk youth intervention program established in Section 35-35.

(d) Youth development prevention program participants shall receive services designed to empower participants with the social and emotional skills necessary to forge paths of healthy development and disengagement from high-risk behaviors. Within the context of engaging social, physical, and personal development activities, participants should build resilience and the skills associated with healthy social, emotional, and identity development.

(e) Youth development providers shall develop the following expertise in the geographic areas they cover:

(1) Knowledge of the teens and their social organization in the blocks they are designated to serve.

(2) Youth development organizations receiving grants under this Act shall be required to coordinate services with other youth development organizations in their neighborhood by sharing lessons learned in monthly meetings.

(3) (Blank).

(4) Meeting on an emergency basis when conflicts related to program participants that need immediate attention and resolution arise.

(5) Sharing knowledge and strategies of the neighborhood violence dynamic in monthly meetings with local violence prevention organizations receiving grants under this Act.

(6) Selecting an approved technical assistance and training service provider to receive agreed upon services.

(f) The Illinois Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall select, when possible and appropriate, no fewer than 2 and no more than 3 approved technical assistance and training providers to deliver technical assistance and training to the youth development organizations that request to receive approved technical assistance and training. Youth development organizations must use an approved technical assistance and training provider but have complete authority to select among the approved technical assistance services providers funded by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. Youth development organizations shall have the opportunity to select among the approved technical assistance services providers funded by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, to the extent that youth development organizations can be distributed equitably among approved technical assistance services providers.

(g) Approved technical assistance and training providers may:

(1) provide training to youth development workers on how to perform outreach services;

(2) provide management training on how to manage youth development workers;

(3) provide training and assistance on how to develop memorandum of understanding for referral services or create approved provider lists for these referral services, or both;

(4) share lessons learned among youth development service providers in their network; and

(5) provide technical assistance and training on human resources, grants management, capacity building, and fiscal management strategies.

(h) Approved technical assistance and training providers shall:

(1) provide additional services identified as necessary by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention and youth development service providers in their network; and

(2) receive an annual base grant of up to $250,000 plus negotiated service rates to provide group and individualized services to participating youth development service organizations.

(i) (Blank).

(j) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue youth development services grants to , when possible and appropriate, to no fewer than 4 youth services organizations in each of the eligible service areas and no more than 8 organizations. When possible, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall work to ensure that grant resources are equitably distributed across eligible service areas grants shall be for no less than $300,000 per youth development organization. The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may establish award ranges to ensure grants will have the potential to reduce violence in each neighborhood.

(k) No youth development organization can serve more than 3 eligible service areas unless the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention is unable to identify youth development organizations to provide adequate coverage.

(l) No approved technical assistance and training provider shall provide youth development services in any neighborhood under this Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-679, eff. 12-10-21.)

(430 ILCS 69/35-35)

Sec. 35-35. Intensive youth intervention services.

(a) Subject to appropriation, for municipalities with 1,000,000 or more residents, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue grants to high-risk youth intervention organizations for evidence-based intervention services that reduce involvement in the criminal and juvenile justice system, increase school attendance, and refer high-risk teens into therapeutic programs that address trauma recovery and other mental health improvements. Each program participant enrolled in a high-risk youth intervention program under this Act shall receive a nationally recognized comprehensive mental health assessment delivered by a qualified mental health professional certified to provide services to Medicaid recipients.

(b) High-risk youth intervention program participants shall receive needed services as determined by the individualized assessment which may include, but is not limited to:

(1) receive group-based emotional regulation therapy that helps them control their emotions and understand how trauma and stress impacts their thinking and behavior; and

(2) have youth advocates that accompany them to their group therapy sessions, assist them with issues that prevent them from attending school, and address life skills development activities through weekly coaching.

(b-5) High-risk youth intervention service organizations shall have trained clinical staff managing the youth advocate interface with program participants.

(c) Youth development service organizations and providers of evidence-based violence prevention services shall be assigned to the youth intervention service providers for referrals by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention.

(d) The youth receiving intervention services who are evaluated to need trauma recovery and other behavioral health interventions and who have the greatest risk of firearm violence victimization shall be referred to the family systems intervention services established in Section 35-55.

(e) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue high-risk youth intervention grants, when possible and appropriate, to no less than 2 youth intervention organizations and no more than 4 organizations in municipalities with 1,000,000 or more residents.

(f) No high-risk youth intervention organization can serve more than 13 eligible service areas.

(g) The approved technical assistance and training providers for youth development programs provided in subsection (d) of Section 35-30 shall also provide technical assistance and training to the affiliated high-risk youth intervention service providers.

(h) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-679, eff. 12-10-21.)

(430 ILCS 69/35-40)

Sec. 35-40. Services for municipalities with less than 1,000,000 residents.

(a) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall identify the 10 municipalities or geographically contiguous areas in Illinois with less than 1,000,000 residents and more than 35,000 residents that have the largest concentration of fatal and nonfatal firearm-shot victims over the 5-year period considered for eligibility. These areas shall qualify for grants under this Act. The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may identify up to 5 additional municipalities or geographically contiguous areas with less than 1,000,000 residents that would benefit from evidence-based violence prevention services. In identifying the additional municipalities that qualify for funding under Section 35-40, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall consider the following factors when possible:

(1) the total number of fatal and nonfatal firearms victims, excluding self-inflicted incidents, in a potential municipality over the 5-year period considered for eligibility;

(2) the per capita rate of fatal and nonfatal firearms victims, excluding self-inflicted incidents, in a potential municipality over the 5-year period considered for eligibility; and

(3) the total potential firearms violence reduction benefit for the entire State of Illinois by serving the additional municipalities compared to the total benefit of investing in all other municipalities identified for grants to municipalities with more than 35,000 residents and less than 1,000,000 residents.

(b) Resources for each of these areas shall be distributed based on a formula to be developed by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention that will maximize the total potential reduction in firearms victimization for all municipalities receiving grants under this Act.

(c) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall create local advisory councils for each of the designated service areas for the purpose of obtaining recommendations on how to distribute funds in these areas to reduce firearm violence incidents. Local advisory councils shall have a minimum of 5 members with the following expertise or experience:

(1) a representative of a nonelected official in local government from the designated area;

(2) a representative of an elected official at the local or state level for the area;

(3) a representative with public health experience in firearm violence prevention or youth development;

(4) two residents of the subsection of each area with the most concentrated firearm violence incidents; and

(5) additional members as determined by the individual local advisory council.

(d) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall provide data to each local council on the characteristics of firearm violence in the designated area and other relevant information on the physical and demographic characteristics of the designated area. The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall also provide best available evidence on how to address the social determinants of health in the designated area in order to reduce firearm violence.

(e) Each local advisory council shall make recommendations on how to allocate distributed resources for its area based on information provided to them by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, local law enforcement data, and other locally available data.

(f) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall consider the recommendations and determine how to distribute funds through grants to community-based organizations and local governments. To the extent the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention does not follow a local advisory council's recommendation on allocation of funds, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall explain in writing why a different allocation of resources is more likely to reduce firearm violence in the designated area.

(g) Subject to appropriation, the Department of Human Services and the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue grants to local governmental agencies or community-based organizations, or both, to maximize firearm violence reduction each year. When possible, initial grants shall be named no later than April 1, 2022 and renewed or competitively bid as appropriate in subsequent fiscal years.

(h) Sixty days after the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention receives all local advisory council recommendations under subsection (f) and distributes funding based on those recommendations:

(1) the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall have no responsibility to manage, oversee, or exercise administrative authority over any local advisory council;

(2) each local advisory council shall operate under the governing body of its designated service area;

(3) each local advisory council meeting shall be exempt from the requirements of the Open Meetings Act in accordance with paragraph (41) of subsection (c) of Section 2 of that Act; and

(4) each local advisory council meeting shall be exempt from any other State requirement under this Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-679, eff. 12-10-21.)