97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3615

 

Introduced 2/24/2011, by Rep. Sidney H. Mathias - Renée Kosel - Richard Morthland

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
725 ILCS 215/2  from Ch. 38, par. 1702
725 ILCS 215/3  from Ch. 38, par. 1703
725 ILCS 215/4  from Ch. 38, par. 1704

    Amends the Statewide Grand Jury Act. Provides that a Statewide Grand Jury may be convened to investigate violations of offenses involving the corruption of a public official, including theft, fraud, extortion or the Official Misconduct Article and the Public Contracts Article of the Criminal Code of 1961.


LRB097 08533 RLC 48660 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3615LRB097 08533 RLC 48660 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Statewide Grand Jury Act is amended by
5changing Sections 2, 3, and 4 as follows:
 
6    (725 ILCS 215/2)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1702)
7    Sec. 2. (a) County grand juries and State's Attorneys have
8always had and shall continue to have primary responsibility
9for investigating, indicting, and prosecuting persons who
10violate the criminal laws of the State of Illinois. However, in
11recent years organized terrorist activity directed against
12innocent civilians, and certain criminal enterprises, and
13public corruption have developed that require investigation,
14indictment, and prosecution on a statewide or multicounty
15level. The criminal enterprises exist as a result of the allure
16of profitability present in narcotic activity, public
17corruption, the unlawful sale and transfer of firearms, and
18streetgang related felonies and organized terrorist activity
19is supported by the contribution of money and expert assistance
20from geographically diverse sources. In order to shut off the
21life blood of terrorism and weaken or eliminate the criminal
22enterprises, assets, and property used to further these
23offenses must be frozen, and any profit must be removed. State

 

 

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1statutes exist that can accomplish that goal. Among them are
2the offense of money laundering, the Cannabis and Controlled
3Substances Tax Act, violations of Articles Article 29D, 33, and
433E of the Criminal Code of 1961, the Narcotics Profit
5Forfeiture Act, and gunrunning. Local prosecutors need
6investigative personnel and specialized training to attack and
7eliminate these profits. In light of the transitory and complex
8nature of conduct that constitutes these criminal activities,
9the many diverse property interests that may be used, acquired
10directly or indirectly as a result of these criminal
11activities, and the many places that illegally obtained
12property may be located, it is the purpose of this Act to
13create a limited, multicounty Statewide Grand Jury with
14authority to investigate, indict, and prosecute: narcotic
15activity, including cannabis and controlled substance
16trafficking, narcotics racketeering, money laundering,
17violations of the Cannabis and Controlled Substances Tax Act,
18and violations of Articles Article 29D, 33, and 33E of the
19Criminal Code of 1961; public corruption crimes; the unlawful
20sale and transfer of firearms; gunrunning; and streetgang
21related felonies.
22    (b) A Statewide Grand Jury may also investigate, indict,
23and prosecute violations facilitated by the use of a computer
24of any of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
25child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
26juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile prostitution,

 

 

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1juvenile pimping, or child pornography.
2(Source: P.A. 91-225, eff. 1-1-00; 92-854, eff. 12-5-02.)
 
3    (725 ILCS 215/3)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1703)
4    Sec. 3. Written application for the appointment of a
5Circuit Judge to convene and preside over a Statewide Grand
6Jury, with jurisdiction extending throughout the State, shall
7be made to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Upon such
8written application, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
9shall appoint a Circuit Judge from the circuit where the
10Statewide Grand Jury is being sought to be convened, who shall
11make a determination that the convening of a Statewide Grand
12Jury is necessary.
13    In such application the Attorney General shall state that
14the convening of a Statewide Grand Jury is necessary because of
15an alleged offense or offenses set forth in this Section
16involving more than one county of the State and identifying any
17such offense alleged; and
18        (a) that he or she believes that the grand jury
19    function for the investigation and indictment of the
20    offense or offenses cannot effectively be performed by a
21    county grand jury together with the reasons for such
22    belief, and
23          (b)(1) that each State's Attorney with jurisdiction
24        over an offense or offenses to be investigated has
25        consented to the impaneling of the Statewide Grand

 

 

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1        Jury, or
2            (2) if one or more of the State's Attorneys having
3        jurisdiction over an offense or offenses to be
4        investigated fails to consent to the impaneling of the
5        Statewide Grand Jury, the Attorney General shall set
6        forth good cause for impaneling the Statewide Grand
7        Jury.
8    If the Circuit Judge determines that the convening of a
9Statewide Grand Jury is necessary, he or she shall convene and
10impanel the Statewide Grand Jury with jurisdiction extending
11throughout the State to investigate and return indictments:
12        (a) For violations of any of the following or for any
13    other criminal offense committed in the course of violating
14    any of the following: Article 29D of the Criminal Code of
15    1961, the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, the Cannabis
16    Control Act, the Methamphetamine Control and Community
17    Protection Act, the Narcotics Profit Forfeiture Act, or the
18    Cannabis and Controlled Substances Tax Act; a streetgang
19    related felony offense; Section 24-2.1, 24-2.2, 24-3,
20    24-3A, 24-3.1, 24-3.3, 24-3.4, 24-4, or 24-5 or subsection
21    24-1(a)(4), 24-1(a)(6), 24-1(a)(7), 24-1(a)(9),
22    24-1(a)(10), or 24-1(c) of the Criminal Code of 1961; or a
23    money laundering offense; provided that the violation or
24    offense involves acts occurring in more than one county of
25    this State; and
26        (a-5) For violations facilitated by the use of a

 

 

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1    computer, including the use of the Internet, the World Wide
2    Web, electronic mail, message board, newsgroup, or any
3    other commercial or noncommercial on-line service, of any
4    of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
5    child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
6    juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile
7    prostitution, juvenile pimping, or child pornography; and
8        (a-6) For violations of offenses involving the
9    corruption of a public official, including theft, fraud,
10    extortion or a violation of Article 33 or 33E of the
11    Criminal Code of 1961; and
12        (b) For the offenses of perjury, subornation of
13    perjury, communicating with jurors and witnesses, and
14    harassment of jurors and witnesses, as they relate to
15    matters before the Statewide Grand Jury.
16    "Streetgang related" has the meaning ascribed to it in
17Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus
18Prevention Act.
19    Upon written application by the Attorney General for the
20convening of an additional Statewide Grand Jury, the Chief
21Justice of the Supreme Court shall appoint a Circuit Judge from
22the circuit for which the additional Statewide Grand Jury is
23sought. The Circuit Judge shall determine the necessity for an
24additional Statewide Grand Jury in accordance with the
25provisions of this Section. No more than 2 Statewide Grand
26Juries may be empaneled at any time.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 94-556, eff. 9-11-05.)
 
2    (725 ILCS 215/4)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1704)
3    Sec. 4. (a) The presiding judge of the Statewide Grand Jury
4will receive recommendations from the Attorney General as to
5the county in which the Grand Jury will sit. Prior to making
6the recommendations, the Attorney General shall obtain the
7permission of the local State's Attorney to use his or her
8county for the site of the Statewide Grand Jury. Upon receiving
9the Attorney General's recommendations, the presiding judge
10will choose one of those recommended locations as the site
11where the Grand Jury shall sit.
12    Any indictment by a Statewide Grand Jury shall be returned
13to the Circuit Judge presiding over the Statewide Grand Jury
14and shall include a finding as to the county or counties in
15which the alleged offense was committed. Thereupon, the judge
16shall, by order, designate the county of venue for the purpose
17of trial. The judge may also, by order, direct the
18consolidation of an indictment returned by a county grand jury
19with an indictment returned by the Statewide Grand Jury and set
20venue for trial.
21    (b) Venue for purposes of trial for the offense of
22narcotics racketeering shall be proper in any county where:
23        (1) Cannabis or a controlled substance which is the
24    basis for the charge of narcotics racketeering was used;
25    acquired; transferred or distributed to, from or through;

 

 

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1    or any county where any act was performed to further the
2    use; acquisition, transfer or distribution of said
3    cannabis or controlled substance; or
4        (2) Any money, property, property interest, or any
5    other asset generated by narcotics activities was
6    acquired, used, sold, transferred or distributed to, from
7    or through; or,
8        (3) Any enterprise interest obtained as a result of
9    narcotics racketeering was acquired, used, transferred or
10    distributed to, from or through, or where any activity was
11    conducted by the enterprise or any conduct to further the
12    interests of such an enterprise.
13    (c) Venue for purposes of trial for the offense of money
14laundering shall be proper in any county where any part of a
15financial transaction in criminally derived property took
16place, or in any county where any money or monetary interest
17which is the basis for the offense, was acquired, used, sold,
18transferred or distributed to, from, or through.
19    (d) A person who commits the offense of cannabis
20trafficking or controlled substance trafficking may be tried in
21any county.
22    (e) Venue for purposes of trial for any violation of
23Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 may be in the county
24in which an act of terrorism occurs, the county in which
25material support or resources are provided or solicited, the
26county in which criminal assistance is rendered, or any county

 

 

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1in which any act in furtherance of any violation of Article 29D
2of the Criminal Code of 1961 occurs.
3    (f) Venue for purposes of trial for any offense involving
4the corruption of a public official may be in the county in
5which the offense occurred.
6(Source: P.A. 92-854, eff. 12-5-02.)