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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 7
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2 | WHEREAS, In order to minimize the serious impact of all
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3 | types of crime, especially violent crime, upon Illinois
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4 | residents, it is necessary for Illinois to be protected by a
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5 | crime lab that is operated by the Illinois State Police in a
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6 | manner that complies with state-of-the-art specifications for
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7 | the rapid processing of evidence and identification of criminal
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8 | suspects; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, In response to this need, the Illinois State
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10 | Police has established a Division of Forensic Services,
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11 | commonly referred to as the "State crime lab"; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, It has been nationally recognized for several | ||||||
13 | years that there
is a serious backlog of biological
evidence to | ||||||
14 | be processed in the time required for the establishment of | ||||||
15 | admissible
forensic evidence after that forensic evidence has | ||||||
16 | been
recovered from crime scenes, processed by law enforcement, | ||||||
17 | and transferred to crime laboratories; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, This backlog in the examination process includes
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19 | numerous cases where the processing of evidence collected
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20 | following incidents of violent crimes, including murders,
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21 | shootings, and criminal sexual assaults, is seriously delayed;
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22 | and |
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1 | WHEREAS, It typically takes at least one year for
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2 | biological evidence to be processed by the Illinois State
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3 | Police crime lab; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, DNA evidence is critical to the solution of
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5 | crimes, especially in murder cases and sexual assaults, where
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6 | the biological evidence may be the last resort, the only thing
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7 | tying a murderer or rapist to a crime scene and a victim in a
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8 | way that can be proved in a court of law; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, In today's climate where police and prosecutors
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10 | are increasingly scrutinized about their procedures, DNA
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11 | evidence is crucial to the successful prosecution of criminal
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12 | cases in the courtroom; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Modern biochemistry has developed the Rapid DNA
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14 | system, a system to enable the fully automated generation of a
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15 | full DNA profile from a cheek swab without human intervention;
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16 | the ability of Rapid DNA to carry out the efficient profiling
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17 | of criminal suspects has led Congress to pass the federal Rapid
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18 | DNA Act of 2017, which has been signed into federal law as P.L.
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19 | 115-50; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will | ||||||
21 | conduct a pilot study in Arizona, California, Florida, |
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1 | Louisiana, and Texas in 2019 to evaluate Rapid DNA | ||||||
2 | instrumentation in booking stations where buccal (cheek) swab | ||||||
3 | samples will be processed from individuals arrested, indicted, | ||||||
4 | or convicted of specific criminal offenses, and, upon | ||||||
5 | completion of this pilot study, the FBI will identify | ||||||
6 | NDIS-approved Rapid DNA instrumentation for use in booking | ||||||
7 | stations; and | ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, This federal law directs the FBI to issue | ||||||
9 | standards and procedures to create a nationwide police protocol | ||||||
10 | for using Rapid DNA instruments to
analyze DNA samples of | ||||||
11 | criminal offenders and criminal suspects
and to compile the | ||||||
12 | data gathered therein within the Combined
DNA Index System or | ||||||
13 | CODIS; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, The 50 states and their residents will not enjoy | ||||||
15 | the benefits of Rapid DNA technology and the ability to conduct
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16 | instant CODIS identification of criminal suspects who have
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17 | already been taken into custody until they take steps to comply
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18 | with the protocol outlined in the Rapid DNA Act of 2017 and
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19 | implemented by FBI standards and procedures; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, The usefulness of the CODIS system as a nationwide
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21 | database will depend upon the relative compliance of local law
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22 | enforcement throughout all 50 states; for reasons of both local
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23 | criminal justice and so that our State can do its part, it is
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1 | essential that Illinois law enforcement be granted the support
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2 | tools they need to appropriately deploy the Rapid DNA | ||||||
3 | instrumentation in booking stations and forensic laboratories
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4 | accredited in DNA analysis across Illinois; therefore, be it | ||||||
5 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
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6 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
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7 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois State Police is | ||||||
8 | directed to review and evaluate its varied duties and | ||||||
9 | responsibilities to determine the most effective and efficient | ||||||
10 | use of Rapid DNA technology and to recommend improvements to | ||||||
11 | Illinois' DNA submission laws with the goal of taking full | ||||||
12 | advantage of Rapid DNA technology throughout Illinois; and be | ||||||
13 | it further | ||||||
14 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police may consult with | ||||||
15 | any State and local agencies they determine necessary, which | ||||||
16 | may include, but not be limited to, the Department of | ||||||
17 | Innovation and Technology, the Department of Corrections, and | ||||||
18 | any State, county, or local law enforcement agency which | ||||||
19 | utilizes State funds to identify and apprehend criminal | ||||||
20 | offenders; and be it further | ||||||
21 | RESOLVED, That the examination include, but not be limited | ||||||
22 | to, an examination of equipment, procedures, staffing levels, | ||||||
23 | required legislation, administrative rules, funding, and |
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1 | information technology infrastructure, including status and | ||||||
2 | recommended improvements to Illinois' DNA arrestee submission | ||||||
3 | law to fully take advantage of Rapid DNA technology, with the | ||||||
4 | goal of identifying and reporting to the General Assembly as | ||||||
5 | soon as possible on barriers and choke points in the way of | ||||||
6 | Illinois State Police, local law enforcement, booking | ||||||
7 | stations, and accredited NDIS-participating forensic | ||||||
8 | laboratories across Illinois enabling full compliance with | ||||||
9 | existing and future protocols approved by the FBI created by | ||||||
10 | the federal Rapid DNA Act of 2017; and be it further | ||||||
11 | RESOLVED, That the Department of Innovation and | ||||||
12 | Technology, the Department of Corrections, any State agency and | ||||||
13 | any Illinois law enforcement agency which utilizes State funds | ||||||
14 | to identify and apprehend criminal offenders are highly | ||||||
15 | encouraged to assist the Illinois State Police with this | ||||||
16 | report, including elements aimed at identifying the increased | ||||||
17 | funding, personnel and budgetary support required for the | ||||||
18 | Illinois State Police, local law enforcement, and the entire | ||||||
19 | Illinois criminal justice community to appropriately utilize | ||||||
20 | Rapid DNA instrumentation to achieve full compliance; and be it | ||||||
21 | further | ||||||
22 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police commence this | ||||||
23 | examination and submit a report of their findings and | ||||||
24 | recommendations to the Governor and Illinois General Assembly |
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1 | by September 30, 2019; and be it further | ||||||
2 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police and its Division | ||||||
3 | of Forensic Services are directed to take all steps possible to | ||||||
4 | achieve compliance, or partial compliance, with the federal | ||||||
5 | Rapid DNA Act of 2017 on the statewide crime lab level to | ||||||
6 | fulfill implementation; and be it further | ||||||
7 | RESOLVED, That we express continued support to all of | ||||||
8 | Illinois law enforcement, including but not limited to, the | ||||||
9 | Illinois State Police, for their tireless and courageous work | ||||||
10 | to maintain public security in the face of growing challenges | ||||||
11 | created by drug violence and other social trends; and be it | ||||||
12 | further | ||||||
13 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
14 | delivered to the Governor of Illinois and the Director of State | ||||||
15 | Police, Col. Sean Cormier of the Illinois State Police Division | ||||||
16 | of Forensic Services-Forensic Sciences Command.
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