HB0616sam002 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. James F. Clayborne Jr.

Filed: 5/10/2007

09500HB0616sam002 LRB095 05209 DRJ 36070 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 616

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 616 on page 1, by replacing lines 4 and 5 with the following:

"Section 2. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing Section 1.02 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/1.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 41.02)

Sec. 1.02. For the purposes of this Act:

"Meeting" means any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference, telephone call, electronic means (such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat, and instant messaging), or other means of contemporaneous interactive communication, of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business.

"Public body" includes all legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the State, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, except the General Assembly and committees or commissions thereof. "Public body" includes tourism boards and convention or civic center boards located in counties that are contiguous to the Mississippi River with populations of more than 250,000 but less than 300,000. "Public body" includes the Health Facilities Planning Board. "Public body" does not include a child death review team, or the Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council, or the Child Death Investigation Task Force established under the Child Death Review Team Act or an ethics commission acting under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-617, eff. 12-9-03; 94-1058, eff. 1-1-07.)

Section 3. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by changing Section 2 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) "Public body" means any legislative, executive, administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, and a School Finance Authority created under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not include a child death review team, or the Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council, or the Child Death Investigation Task Force established under the Child Death Review Team Act.

(b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association, acting individually or as a group.

(c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data processing records, recorded information and all other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared, or having been or being used, received, possessed or under the control of any public body. "Public records" includes, but is expressly not limited to: (i) administrative manuals, procedural rules, and instructions to staff, unless exempted by Section 7(p) of this Act; (ii) final opinions and orders made in the adjudication of cases, except an educational institution's adjudication of student or employee grievance or disciplinary cases; (iii) substantive rules; (iv) statements and interpretations of policy which have been adopted by a public body; (v) final planning policies, recommendations, and decisions; (vi) factual reports, inspection reports, and studies whether prepared by or for the public body; (vii) all information in any account, voucher, or contract dealing with the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds of public bodies; (viii) the names, salaries, titles, and dates of employment of all employees and officers of public bodies; (ix) materials containing opinions concerning the rights of the state, the public, a subdivision of state or a local government, or of any private persons; (x) the name of every official and the final records of voting in all proceedings of public bodies; (xi) applications for any contract, permit, grant, or agreement except as exempted from disclosure by subsection (g) of Section 7 of this Act; (xii) each report, document, study, or publication prepared by independent consultants or other independent contractors for the public body; (xiii) all other information required by law to be made available for public inspection or copying; (xiv) information relating to any grant or contract made by or between a public body and another public body or private organization; (xv) waiver documents filed with the State Superintendent of Education or the president of the University of Illinois under Section 30-12.5 of the School Code, concerning nominees for General Assembly scholarships under Sections 30-9, 30-10, and 30-11 of the School Code; (xvi) complaints, results of complaints, and Department of Children and Family Services staff findings of licensing violations at day care facilities, provided that personal and identifying information is not released; and (xvii) records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, and other documentary information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared, or having been or being used, received, possessed, or under the control of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority dealing with the receipt or expenditure of public funds or other funds of the Authority in connection with the reconstruction, renovation, remodeling, extension, or improvement of all or substantially all of an existing "facility" as that term is defined in the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority Act.

(d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other process, device or means.

(e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor, chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent, manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary executive and administrative authority for the public body, or such person's duly authorized designee.

(f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, a radio station, a television station, a television network, a community antenna television service, or a person or corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion picture news for public showing.

(Source: P.A. 91-935, eff. 6-1-01; 92-335, eff. 8-10-01; 92-468, eff. 8-22-01; 92-547, eff. 6-13-02; 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)

Section 4. The Child Death Review Team Act is amended by changing Sections 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 and by adding Sections 45 and 50 as follows:

(20 ILCS 515/15)

Sec. 15. Child death review teams; establishment.

(a) The Executive Council Director, in consultation with the Executive Council, law enforcement, and other professionals who work in the field of investigating, treating, or preventing child abuse or neglect in that subregion, shall appoint members to a child death review team in each of the Department's administrative subregions of the State outside Cook County and at least one child death review team in Cook County. The members of a team shall be appointed for 2-year terms and shall be eligible for reappointment upon the expiration of the terms. The child death review teams shall be independent of the operations of the Department and shall report to the Executive Council.

(b) Each child death review team shall consist of at least one member from each of the following categories:

(1) Pediatrician or other physician knowledgeable about child abuse and neglect.

(2) Representative of the Department.

(3) State's attorney or State's attorney's representative.

(4) Representative of a local law enforcement agency.

(5) Psychologist or psychiatrist.

(6) Representative of a local health department.

(7) Representative of a school district or other education or child care interests.

(8) Coroner or forensic pathologist.

(9) Representative of a child welfare agency or child advocacy organization.

(10) Representative of a local hospital, trauma center, or provider of emergency medical services.

Each child death review team may make recommendations to the Director concerning additional appointments.

Each child death review team member must have demonstrated experience and an interest in investigating, treating, or preventing child abuse or neglect.

(c) Each child death review team shall select a chairperson from among its members. The chairperson shall also serve on the Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council.

(d) The Executive Council shall appoint a Child Death Review Teams Executive Director who shall oversee the operation of the child death review teams and shall report directly to the Executive Council. The Executive Director, with the approval of the Executive Council, shall appoint a Child Death Review Teams Assistant Director, who shall report to the Executive Director. The Executive Director, with the approval of the Executive Council, shall employ staff as necessary and appropriate to enable the child death review teams to perform their functions as required under this Act. The staff shall include a Department Senior Public Service Administrator, a liaison to coordinate activities between the child death review teams and the Department, and clerical and other support staff as necessary. The liaison and the clerical and other support staff shall not be employees of the Department.

(e) The child death review teams shall be funded under a separate line item in the Department's annual budget.

(Source: P.A. 92-468, eff. 8-22-01.)"; and

on page 1, by replacing line 21 with the following: "or neglect and investigated by the Child Death Investigation Task Force established under Section 45 which report is subsequently indicated."; and

on page 4, after line 3, by inserting the following:

"(20 ILCS 515/25)

Sec. 25. Team access to information.

(a) The Department shall provide to a child death review team, on the request of the team chairperson, and to the Child Death Investigation Task Force, on the request of the Deputy Director in charge of the Task Force, all records and information in the Department's possession that are relevant to the team's or Task Force's review or investigation of a child death or serious, life-threatening injury, including records and information concerning previous reports or investigations of suspected child abuse or neglect.

(b) A child death review team and the Child Death Investigation Task Force shall have access to all records and information that are relevant to its review or investigation of a child death or serious, life-threatening injury and in the possession of a State or local governmental agency. These records and information include, without limitation, birth certificates, all relevant medical and mental health records, records of law enforcement agency investigations, records of coroner or medical examiner investigations, records of the Department of Corrections concerning a person's parole, records of a probation and court services department, and records of a social services agency that provided services to the child or the child's family.

(Source: P.A. 91-812, eff. 6-13-00.)

(20 ILCS 515/30)

Sec. 30. Public access to information.

(a) Meetings of the child death review teams, and the Executive Council, and the Child Death Investigation Task Force shall be closed to the public. Meetings of the child death review teams, and the Executive Council, and the Child Death Investigation Task Force are not subject to the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120), as provided in that Act.

(b) Records and information provided to a child death review team, and the Executive Council, and the Child Death Investigation Task Force, and records maintained by a team, or the Executive Council, or the Child Death Investigation Task Force, are confidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140), as provided in that Act.

Nothing contained in this subsection (b) prevents the sharing or disclosure of records, other than those produced by a Child Death Review Team, or the Executive Council, or the Child Death Investigation Task Force, relating or pertaining to the death of a minor under the care of or receiving services from the Department of Children and Family Services and under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court with the juvenile court, the State's Attorney, and the minor's attorney.

(c) Members of a child death review team, and the Executive Council , and the Child Death Investigation Task Force are not subject to examination, in any civil or criminal proceeding, concerning information presented to members of the team, or the Executive Council, or the Task Force or opinions formed by members of the team, or the Executive Council, or the Task Force based on that information. A person may, however, be examined concerning information provided to a child death review team, or the Executive Council, or the Task Force that is otherwise available to the public.

(d) Records and information produced by a child death review team, and the Executive Council, and the Child Death Investigation Task Force are not subject to discovery or subpoena and are not admissible as evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding. Those records and information are, however, subject to discovery or a subpoena, and are admissible as evidence, to the extent they are otherwise available to the public.

(Source: P.A. 92-468, eff. 8-22-01)

(20 ILCS 515/35)

Sec. 35. Indemnification. The State shall indemnify and hold harmless members of a child death review team, and the Executive Council, and the Child Death Investigation Task Force for all their acts, omissions, decisions, or other conduct arising out of the scope of their service on the team, or Executive Council, or Task Force, except those involving willful or wanton misconduct. The method of providing indemnification shall be as provided in the State Employee Indemnification Act (5 ILCS 350/1 et seq.).

(Source: P.A. 92-468, eff. 8-22-01.)"; and

on page 7, after line 14, by inserting the following:

"(20 ILCS 515/45 new)

Sec. 45. Child Death Investigation Task Force; pilot program.

(a) The Child Death Investigation Task Force is established as a 3-year pilot program in the Department's Southern Administrative Region of the State. The Task Force shall include pathologists, crime scene experts, crime scene investigators, law enforcement investigators, social workers, psychologists, and pediatricians appointed by the Child Death Review Teams Executive Director and approved by the Executive Council. The Task Force shall be under the direction of a Deputy Director appointed by the Child Death Review Teams Executive Director. The Task Force's office shall be in a location other than a Department office. The Task Force shall be independent of the operations of the Department.

(b) A member of the Task Force who is an investigator has the same authority to arrest and hold a person in custody as peace officers of this State have to arrest and hold a person in custody on the ground that the person has committed an offense in this State. Every such investigator member of the Task Force must successfully complete training approved by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board. Every such investigator member of the Task Force shall be issued a badge and other appropriate identification.

(c) The Task Force shall investigate every death of a child under 18 years of age occurring within the region of its jurisdiction and every serious, life-threatening injury of a child under 18 years of age occurring within that region. A local or State law enforcement agency, hospital, or coroner shall promptly notify the Task Force of a death or serious, life-threatening injury to a child under 18 years of age. Within 10 days after concluding an inquest into the death of a child under 18 years of age, a coroner shall submit to the Task Force the death certificate and autopsy report concerning that death. The Task Force shall also investigate any second or subsequent report of alleged child abuse or neglect involving the same child or household. The Task Force may review and reopen any case involving a Department finding concerning a report of suspected child abuse or neglect.

The Deputy Director in charge of the Task Force has the authority to issue subpoenas to obtain testimony or records necessary to enable the Task Force to conduct an investigation. The Task Force may request from the Department all records in the Department's possession relating to a case under investigation by the Task Force, including all records relating to any prior allegation of child abuse or neglect involving the same child or household.

(d) Upon completing an investigation, the Deputy Director in charge of the Task Force shall submit a report containing findings and recommendations to the Executive Council, the Director of Children and Family Services, the Inspector General appointed under Section 35.5 of the Children and Family Services Act, the appropriate State's Attorney, and the State Representative and State Senator in whose legislative districts the case arose. The Task Force's report to the Inspector General shall include, when appropriate, findings as to whether the Department's policies and procedures were followed by Department staff in conducting an investigation of a report of suspected child abuse or neglect and other findings concerning the conduct of Department staff. The Task Force may recommend disciplinary action in appropriate cases.

(e) Not later than 6 months before the conclusion of the pilot program established under this Section, the Deputy Director in charge of the Task Force shall submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report summarizing the activities of the Task Force and making recommendations as to whether the Task Force's activities should be expanded to additional regions of the State.

(f) The Child Death Investigation Task Force shall be funded under a separate line item in the Department's annual budget.

(20 ILCS 515/50 new)

Sec. 50. Training.

(a) The child death review teams, in conjunction with the Child Death Investigation Task Force, shall conduct an annual symposium for the purpose of providing education and training for review team and Task Force members as well as Department staff.

(b) The Child Death Investigation Task Force shall conduct quarterly training for Department field staff, supervisors, and managers.".