HB4078 Enrolled

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    AN ACT concerning criminal law.

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

 
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    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
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Elected Officials Misconduct Forfeiture Act.
 
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    Section 5. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, 
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"elected official" means any former elected official whose term 
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of office is terminated by operation of law for conviction of 
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an offense, who is removed from office on conviction of 
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impeachment for misconduct in office, or who resigned from 
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office prior, upon,  or after conviction; and "proceeds" means 
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any interest in property of any kind acquired through or caused 
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by an act or omission, or derived from the act or omission, 
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directly or indirectly, and any fruits of this interest, in 
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whatever form.
 
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    Section 10. Purposes. The General Assembly finds that it 
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has compelling governmental interests in: (1)  preventing 
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criminals from profiting from their crimes, and (2) ensuring 
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that the victims of crime are compensated by those who harm 
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them.  Further, the General Assembly finds that the unlawful or 
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deceitful actions of elected officials can erode the public's 
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confidence in its government and debase the public's belief in 
 


 






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a fair democratic process.  
 
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    Section 15. Forfeiture action. The Attorney General  may 
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file an action in circuit court on behalf of the people of 
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Illinois against an elected official who has, by his or her 
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violation of Article 33 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or 
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violation of a similar federal offense, injured the people of 
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Illinois.  The purpose of such suit is to recover all proceeds 
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traceable to the elected official's offense and by so doing, 
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prevent, restrain or remedy violations of Article 33 of the 
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Criminal Code of 1961 or similar federal offenses.


 
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    Section 20. Procedure. 
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    (a) The circuit court has jurisdiction to prevent, 
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restrain, and remedy violations of Article 33 of the Criminal 
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Code of 1961 or violations of a similar federal offense after a 
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hearing or trial, as appropriate, by issuing appropriate 
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orders.

Prior to a determination of liability such orders may 
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include, but are not limited to, issuing seizure warrants, 
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entering findings of probable cause for in personam or in rem 
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forfeiture, or taking such other actions, in connection with 
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any property or other interest subject to forfeiture or other 
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remedies or restraints pursuant to this Section as the court 
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deems proper.
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    (b) If the Attorney General prevails in his or her action, 
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the court shall order the forfeiture of all proceeds traceable 
 


 






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to the elected official's violations of Article 33 of the 
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Criminal Code of 1961 or similar federal offenses.  Proceeds 
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seized and forfeited as a result of the Attorney General's 
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action will be deposited into the General Revenue Fund or the 
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corporate county fund, as appropriate.

 
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    Section 25. Term of forfeiture. The maximum term of a civil 
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forfeiture under this Act shall be equal to the term of 
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imprisonment, probation and mandatory supervised release or 
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parole received by the elected official as a result of his or 
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her conviction for violating Article 33 of the Criminal Code of 
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1961 or similar federal offenses.


 
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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.