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1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Court of Claims Act is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Sections 8 and 11 as follows:
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6 | (705 ILCS 505/8)
(from Ch. 37, par. 439.8)
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7 | Sec. 8. Court of Claims jurisdiction; deliberation | ||||||
8 | periods. The court shall have exclusive
jurisdiction to hear | ||||||
9 | and determine the following matters:
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10 | (a) All claims against the State founded upon any law | ||||||
11 | of the State of
Illinois or upon any regulation adopted | ||||||
12 | thereunder by an executive or
administrative officer or | ||||||
13 | agency; provided, however, the court shall not have
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14 | jurisdiction (i) to hear or determine claims arising under
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15 | the Workers' Compensation Act or the Workers' Occupational | ||||||
16 | Diseases Act, or
claims for expenses in civil litigation, | ||||||
17 | or (ii) to review administrative
decisions for which a | ||||||
18 | statute provides that review shall be in the circuit or
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19 | appellate court.
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20 | (b) All claims against the State founded upon any | ||||||
21 | contract entered
into with the State of Illinois.
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22 | (c) All claims against the State for time unjustly | ||||||
23 | served in prisons
of this State , in a county jail, on |
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1 | parole, on intensive supervision probation, or on the sex | ||||||
2 | offender registry, when
the unjustly convicted person
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3 | imprisoned received
a pardon from
the Governor stating | ||||||
4 | that such pardon is issued on the ground of
innocence of | ||||||
5 | the crime for which he or she was convicted
imprisoned or | ||||||
6 | he or she received a certificate of innocence from the | ||||||
7 | Circuit Court as provided in Section 2-702 of the Code of | ||||||
8 | Civil Procedure . The court shall make an award of $50,000 | ||||||
9 | per
year, and prorated for any partial year, during which | ||||||
10 | the person was wrongfully incarcerated in a State | ||||||
11 | correctional institution or in a county jail,
including | ||||||
12 | the time the person was incarcerated awaiting trial,
and | ||||||
13 | $25,000 for each year, and prorated for any partial year,
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14 | during which the person was wrongfully on parole, | ||||||
15 | wrongfully on
intensive supervision probation, or was | ||||||
16 | wrongfully required to
register as a sex offender. In | ||||||
17 | addition, the Circuit Court shall
make an award of | ||||||
18 | reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and expenses
in the | ||||||
19 | amount determined by the Circuit Court after awarding a
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20 | certificate of innocence under Section 2-702 of the Code | ||||||
21 | of
Civil Procedure. The ; provided, the amount of the | ||||||
22 | award is at the discretion of the court; and provided, the
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23 | court shall make no award in excess of the following | ||||||
24 | amounts: for
imprisonment of 5 years or less, not more | ||||||
25 | than $85,350; for imprisonment
of 14 years or less but | ||||||
26 | over 5 years, not more than $170,000; for
imprisonment of |
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1 | over 14 years, not more than $199,150; and provided
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2 | further, the court shall fix attorney's fees not to exceed | ||||||
3 | 25% of the award
granted. On or after the effective date of | ||||||
4 | this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly,
the | ||||||
5 | court shall
annually adjust the maximum awards authorized | ||||||
6 | by this subsection (c) to reflect
the increase, if any, in | ||||||
7 | the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers for
the | ||||||
8 | previous calendar year, as determined by the United States | ||||||
9 | Department of
Labor, except that no annual increment may | ||||||
10 | exceed 5%. For the annual adjustments, if the Consumer | ||||||
11 | Price Index
decreases during a calendar year, there shall | ||||||
12 | be no adjustment for that
calendar year. The transmission | ||||||
13 | by the Prisoner Review Board or the clerk of the circuit | ||||||
14 | court of the information described in Section 11(b) to the | ||||||
15 | clerk of the Court of Claims is conclusive evidence of the | ||||||
16 | validity of the claim. The changes made by this amendatory | ||||||
17 | Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all
claims | ||||||
18 | pending on or filed on or after the effective date.
The | ||||||
19 | changes made by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General | ||||||
20 | Assembly apply to all claims pending or filed on or after | ||||||
21 | the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd | ||||||
22 | General Assembly.
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23 | (d) All claims against the State for damages in cases | ||||||
24 | sounding in tort, if
a like cause of action would lie | ||||||
25 | against a private person or corporation in a
civil suit, | ||||||
26 | and all like claims sounding in tort against the Medical |
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1 | Center
Commission, the Board of Trustees of the University | ||||||
2 | of Illinois, the Board of
Trustees of Southern Illinois | ||||||
3 | University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago
State | ||||||
4 | University, the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois | ||||||
5 | University, the
Board of Trustees of Governors State | ||||||
6 | University, the Board of Trustees of
Illinois State | ||||||
7 | University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois
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8 | University, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois | ||||||
9 | University, the Board
of Trustees of Western Illinois | ||||||
10 | University, or the Board of Trustees of the
Illinois | ||||||
11 | Mathematics and Science Academy; provided, that an award | ||||||
12 | for damages
in a case sounding in tort, other than certain | ||||||
13 | cases involving the operation
of a State vehicle described | ||||||
14 | in this paragraph, shall not exceed the sum of $2,000,000
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15 | to or for the benefit of
any claimant. The $2,000,000 | ||||||
16 | limit prescribed by this Section does not
apply to an | ||||||
17 | award of damages in any case sounding in tort arising out | ||||||
18 | of
the operation by a State employee of a vehicle owned, | ||||||
19 | leased or
controlled by the State. The defense that the | ||||||
20 | State or the Medical
Center Commission or the Board of | ||||||
21 | Trustees of the University of Illinois, the
Board of | ||||||
22 | Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the Board of | ||||||
23 | Trustees of
Chicago State University, the Board of | ||||||
24 | Trustees of Eastern Illinois University,
the Board of | ||||||
25 | Trustees of Governors State University, the Board of | ||||||
26 | Trustees of
Illinois State University, the Board of |
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1 | Trustees of Northeastern Illinois
University, the Board of | ||||||
2 | Trustees of Northern Illinois University, the Board of
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3 | Trustees of Western Illinois University, or the Board of | ||||||
4 | Trustees of the
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy | ||||||
5 | is not liable for the negligence of
its officers, agents, | ||||||
6 | and employees in the course of their employment is not
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7 | applicable to the hearing and determination of such | ||||||
8 | claims. The changes to this Section made by this | ||||||
9 | amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly apply only to | ||||||
10 | claims filed on or after July 1, 2015. | ||||||
11 | The court shall
annually adjust the maximum awards | ||||||
12 | authorized by this subsection to reflect
the increase, if | ||||||
13 | any, in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers | ||||||
14 | for
the previous calendar year, as determined by the | ||||||
15 | United States Department of
Labor. The Comptroller shall | ||||||
16 | make the new amount resulting from each annual adjustment | ||||||
17 | available to the public via the Comptroller's official | ||||||
18 | website by January 31 of every year.
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19 | (e) All claims for recoupment made by the State of | ||||||
20 | Illinois against
any claimant.
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21 | (f) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty | ||||||
22 | Compensation
Act. A claim under that Act must be heard and | ||||||
23 | determined within one year after the application for that | ||||||
24 | claim is filed with the Court as provided in that Act.
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25 | (g) All claims filed pursuant to the Crime Victims | ||||||
26 | Compensation Act.
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1 | (h) All claims pursuant to the Illinois National | ||||||
2 | Guardsman's Compensation
Act. A claim under that Act must | ||||||
3 | be heard and determined within one year after the | ||||||
4 | application for that claim is filed with the Court as | ||||||
5 | provided in that Act.
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6 | (i) All claims authorized by subsection (a) of Section | ||||||
7 | 10-55 of the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act for the | ||||||
8 | expenses incurred by a party in a
contested case on the | ||||||
9 | administrative level.
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10 | (Source: P.A. 100-1124, eff. 11-27-18 .)
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11 | (705 ILCS 505/11) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.11)
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12 | Sec. 11. Filing claims.
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13 | (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this | ||||||
14 | Section and
subsection (4)
of Section 24,
the claimant shall | ||||||
15 | in all cases set forth fully in his petition
the claim, the | ||||||
16 | action thereon, if any, on behalf of the State, what persons
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17 | are owners thereof or interested therein, when and upon what | ||||||
18 | consideration
such persons became so interested; that no | ||||||
19 | assignment or transfer of the
claim or any part thereof or | ||||||
20 | interest therein has been made, except as
stated in the | ||||||
21 | petition; that the claimant is justly entitled to the amount
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22 | therein claimed from the State of Illinois, after allowing all | ||||||
23 | just
credits; and that claimant believes the facts stated in | ||||||
24 | the petition to be
true. The petition shall be verified, as to | ||||||
25 | statements of facts, by the
affidavit of the claimant, his |
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1 | agent, or attorney.
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2 | (b) Whenever a person has served a term of imprisonment | ||||||
3 | and has received a pardon by the Governor stating that such | ||||||
4 | pardon was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for | ||||||
5 | which he or she was convicted imprisoned , the Prisoner Review | ||||||
6 | Board shall transmit this information to the clerk of the | ||||||
7 | Court of Claims, together with the claimant's current address. | ||||||
8 | Whenever a person has served a term of imprisonment and has | ||||||
9 | received a certificate of innocence from the Circuit Court as | ||||||
10 | provided in Section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the | ||||||
11 | clerk of the issuing Circuit Court shall transmit this | ||||||
12 | information to the clerk of the Court of Claims, together with | ||||||
13 | the claimant's current address. The clerk of the Court of | ||||||
14 | Claims shall immediately docket the case for consideration by | ||||||
15 | the Court of Claims, and shall provide notice to the claimant | ||||||
16 | of such docketing together with all hearing dates and | ||||||
17 | applicable deadlines. The Court of Claims shall hear the case | ||||||
18 | and render a decision within 90 days after its docketing.
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19 | (Source: P.A. 95-970, eff. 9-22-08; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09.)
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20 | Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | ||||||
21 | changing Section 2-702 as follows: | ||||||
22 | (735 ILCS 5/2-702) | ||||||
23 | Sec. 2-702. Petition for a certificate of innocence that | ||||||
24 | the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she |
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1 | was incarcerated. | ||||||
2 | (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that innocent | ||||||
3 | persons who have been wrongly convicted of crimes in Illinois | ||||||
4 | and subsequently imprisoned have been frustrated in seeking | ||||||
5 | legal redress due to a variety of substantive and technical | ||||||
6 | obstacles in the law and that such persons should have an | ||||||
7 | available avenue to obtain a finding of innocence so that they | ||||||
8 | may obtain relief through a petition in the Court of Claims. | ||||||
9 | The General Assembly further finds misleading the current | ||||||
10 | legal nomenclature which compels an innocent person to seek a | ||||||
11 | pardon for being wrongfully incarcerated. It is the intent of | ||||||
12 | the General Assembly that the court, in exercising its | ||||||
13 | discretion as permitted by law regarding the weight and | ||||||
14 | admissibility of evidence submitted pursuant to this Section, | ||||||
15 | shall, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to | ||||||
16 | difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death | ||||||
17 | or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or | ||||||
18 | other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on | ||||||
19 | their behalf. | ||||||
20 | (b) Any person who is convicted or adjudicated a | ||||||
21 | delinquent and subsequently serves any part of a sentence of | ||||||
22 | incarceration in a State correctional institution or in a | ||||||
23 | county jail, of parole, of intensive supervision
probation, or | ||||||
24 | of registration as a sex offender imprisoned for one or more | ||||||
25 | felonies by the State of Illinois which he or she did not | ||||||
26 | commit may, under the conditions hereinafter provided, file a |
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1 | petition for certificate of innocence in the circuit court of | ||||||
2 | the county in which the person was convicted or adjudicated a | ||||||
3 | delinquent . The petition shall request a certificate of | ||||||
4 | innocence finding that the petitioner was innocent of one or | ||||||
5 | more all offenses for which he or she was convicted | ||||||
6 | incarcerated . | ||||||
7 | (c) In order to present the claim for certificate of | ||||||
8 | innocence of an unjust conviction or juvenile delinquency | ||||||
9 | adjudication and imprisonment , the petitioner must attach to | ||||||
10 | his or her petition documentation demonstrating that: | ||||||
11 | (1) he or she has been convicted or adjudicated a | ||||||
12 | delinquent of one or more felonies by the State of | ||||||
13 | Illinois and subsequently sentenced to a term of | ||||||
14 | imprisonment , and has served all or any part of the | ||||||
15 | sentence; and | ||||||
16 | (2) his or her judgment of conviction or delinquency | ||||||
17 | adjudication was reversed or vacated, and the indictment , | ||||||
18 | or information , or petition dismissed or, if a new trial | ||||||
19 | was ordered, either he or she was found not guilty at the | ||||||
20 | new trial or he or she was not retried and the indictment , | ||||||
21 | or information , or petition dismissed; or the statute, or | ||||||
22 | application thereof, on which the indictment or | ||||||
23 | information was based violated the Constitution of the | ||||||
24 | United States or the State of Illinois; and | ||||||
25 | (3) his or her claim is not time barred by the | ||||||
26 | provisions of subsection (i) of this Section. |
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1 | (d) The petition shall state facts in sufficient detail to | ||||||
2 | permit the court to find that the petitioner is likely to | ||||||
3 | succeed at trial in proving that the petitioner is innocent of | ||||||
4 | the alleged offenses for which he or she was convicted or | ||||||
5 | adjudicated a delinquent charged in the indictment or | ||||||
6 | information or his or her acts or omissions charged in the | ||||||
7 | indictment or information did not constitute a felony or | ||||||
8 | misdemeanor against the State of Illinois , and the petitioner | ||||||
9 | did not by his or her own conduct voluntarily cause or bring | ||||||
10 | about his or her conviction or juvenile delinquency | ||||||
11 | adjudication. Neither a guilty plea nor a confession | ||||||
12 | constitutes conduct causing or bringing about one's conviction | ||||||
13 | or delinquency adjudication . The petition shall be verified by | ||||||
14 | the petitioner. | ||||||
15 | (e) A copy of the petition shall be served on the Attorney | ||||||
16 | General and the State's Attorney of the county where the | ||||||
17 | conviction or juvenile delinquency adjudication was had. The | ||||||
18 | Attorney General and the State's Attorney of the county where | ||||||
19 | the conviction or juvenile delinquency adjudication was had | ||||||
20 | shall have the right to intervene as parties. | ||||||
21 | (f) In any hearing seeking a certificate of innocence, the | ||||||
22 | court may take judicial notice of prior sworn testimony or | ||||||
23 | evidence admitted in the criminal or juvenile delinquency | ||||||
24 | proceedings related to the convictions or adjudications which | ||||||
25 | resulted in the alleged wrongful incarceration, if the | ||||||
26 | petitioner was either represented by counsel at such prior |
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1 | proceedings or the right to counsel was knowingly waived. | ||||||
2 | (g) In order to obtain a certificate of innocence the | ||||||
3 | petitioner must prove by a preponderance of evidence that: | ||||||
4 | (1) the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated a | ||||||
5 | delinquent of one or more felonies by the State of | ||||||
6 | Illinois and subsequently sentenced to a term of | ||||||
7 | imprisonment, and has served all or any part of the | ||||||
8 | sentence; | ||||||
9 | (2)(A) the judgment of conviction or adjudication was | ||||||
10 | reversed or vacated, and the indictment or information | ||||||
11 | dismissed or, if a new trial was ordered, either the | ||||||
12 | petitioner was found not guilty at the new trial or the | ||||||
13 | petitioner was not retried and the indictment , or | ||||||
14 | information , or petition dismissed; or (B) the statute, or | ||||||
15 | application thereof, on which the indictment , or | ||||||
16 | information , or petition was based violated the | ||||||
17 | Constitution of the United States or the State of | ||||||
18 | Illinois; | ||||||
19 | (3) the petitioner is innocent of one or more of the | ||||||
20 | offenses for which he or she was convicted or adjudicated | ||||||
21 | a delinquent charged in the indictment or information or | ||||||
22 | his or her acts or omissions charged in the indictment or | ||||||
23 | information did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor | ||||||
24 | against the State; and | ||||||
25 | (4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct
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26 | voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction or |
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1 | juvenile delinquency adjudication. Neither a guilty plea | ||||||
2 | nor a confession constitutes conduct causing or bringing | ||||||
3 | about one's conviction or delinquency adjudication . | ||||||
4 | (h) If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to a
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5 | judgment, it shall enter a certificate of innocence finding | ||||||
6 | that
the petitioner was innocent of one or more all offenses | ||||||
7 | for which he or she was convicted or adjudicated a delinquent. | ||||||
8 | The court shall also make a determination, subject to proof by | ||||||
9 | the claimant, of the reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and | ||||||
10 | expenses incurred by the claimant in connection with obtaining | ||||||
11 | the certificate of innocence under this Section incarcerated . | ||||||
12 | Upon entry of the certificate of innocence or pardon from the | ||||||
13 | Governor stating that such pardon was issued on the ground of | ||||||
14 | innocence of the crime for which he or she was convicted or | ||||||
15 | adjudicated a delinquent imprisoned , (1) the clerk of the | ||||||
16 | court shall transmit a copy of the certificate of innocence to | ||||||
17 | the clerk of the Court of Claims, together with the claimant's | ||||||
18 | current address; and (2) the court shall enter an order | ||||||
19 | expunging the record of arrest from the
official records of | ||||||
20 | the
arresting authority and order that the records of the | ||||||
21 | clerk of the circuit
court and the Illinois State Police be | ||||||
22 | sealed until further order of the court upon good cause shown
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23 | or as otherwise provided
herein, and the name of the defendant | ||||||
24 | or respondent in a juvenile delinquency proceeding obliterated | ||||||
25 | from the official index
requested to be kept by the
circuit | ||||||
26 | court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks of Courts Act in |
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1 | connection
with the arrest and
conviction or delinquency | ||||||
2 | adjudication for the offense but the order shall not affect | ||||||
3 | any index issued by
the circuit court clerk before the entry of | ||||||
4 | the order. The court shall enter the expungement order | ||||||
5 | regardless of whether the petitioner has prior criminal | ||||||
6 | convictions or delinquency adjudications . | ||||||
7 | All records sealed by the Illinois State Police may be
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8 | disseminated by the Department only as required by law or to | ||||||
9 | the arresting
authority, the State's Attorney, the court upon | ||||||
10 | a later arrest for the same or
similar offense, or for the | ||||||
11 | purpose of sentencing for any subsequent felony.
Upon | ||||||
12 | conviction for any subsequent offense, the Department of | ||||||
13 | Corrections shall
have access to all sealed records of the | ||||||
14 | Department
pertaining to that individual. | ||||||
15 | Upon entry of the order of expungement, the clerk of the | ||||||
16 | circuit court shall
promptly mail a copy of the order to the | ||||||
17 | person whose records were expunged and
sealed. | ||||||
18 | (i) Any person seeking a certificate of innocence under | ||||||
19 | this
Section based on the dismissal of an indictment or | ||||||
20 | information
or acquittal that occurred before the effective | ||||||
21 | date of this
amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall | ||||||
22 | file his or
her petition within 2 years after the effective | ||||||
23 | date of this
amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. Any | ||||||
24 | person seeking
a certificate of innocence under this Section | ||||||
25 | based on the
dismissal of an indictment or information or | ||||||
26 | acquittal that
occurred on or after the effective date of this |
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1 | amendatory Act
of the 95th General Assembly shall file his or | ||||||
2 | her petition
within 2 years after the dismissal or acquittal. | ||||||
3 | Any person seeking a certificate of innocence under this | ||||||
4 | Section
based on the dismissal of a juvenile delinquency | ||||||
5 | petition or an
acquittal on such petition that occurred before | ||||||
6 | the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General | ||||||
7 | Assembly,
including a petitioner whose petition was denied | ||||||
8 | solely on the
basis that this Section did not formerly apply to | ||||||
9 | juvenile delinquency adjudications, shall file his or her | ||||||
10 | petition within
4 years after the effective date of this | ||||||
11 | amendatory Act of the
103rd General Assembly. Any person | ||||||
12 | seeking a certificate of
innocence under this Section based on | ||||||
13 | the dismissal of a
juvenile delinquency petition or an | ||||||
14 | acquittal on such petition
that occurred on or after the | ||||||
15 | effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 103rd General | ||||||
16 | Assembly shall file his or her petition
within 2 years after | ||||||
17 | the dismissal or acquittal . | ||||||
18 | (j) The decision to grant or deny a certificate of | ||||||
19 | innocence shall be binding only with respect to claims filed | ||||||
20 | in the Court of Claims and shall not have a res judicata effect | ||||||
21 | on any other proceedings.
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22 | (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
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23 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
24 | becoming law.
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