Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB0698

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Creates the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program Law. Provides that the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall be established as a 5-year pilot project to be instituted within the Department of Corrections. Provides that the goal of the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program is to provide inmates with useful business skills for use after release from prison in an effort to reduce recidivism rates for self-motivated individuals. Provides that the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall consist of a rigorous curriculum, and participants shall be taught business skills, such as computer skills, budgeting, creating a business plan, public speaking, and realistic goal setting. Provides that inmates who successfully complete the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall be awarded a Certificate of Completion. Establishes eligibility requirements for the Program. Provides that subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program may establish post-release assistance to individuals awarded a Certificate of Completion. Provides that post-release assistance may include drafting a resume and cover letter, searching for employment, networking events, or mock interviews. Provides that the funding for the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall be from moneys appropriated to the Department of Corrections for this purpose. Provides that the Article is repealed 5 years after its effective date. Effective immediately.

Provides that in order to participate in the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program, the inmate must never have been convicted of a major sex offense, vulnerable victims sex offense, or child pornography (rather than any sex offense). Provides that the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall consist of a rigorous curriculum, and participants shall be taught business skills, such as computer skills, budgeting, creating a business plan, public speaking, and realistic goal setting. Provides that the curriculum shall not include the employment of participants as employees under the Department of Corrections or any for-profit or not-for-profit organization unless: (1) the participant receives a wage equal to or greater than the prevailing market rate for the services performed during the course of the employment; (2) the employment is reasonably related to the purpose and curriculum of the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program; and (3) the participant consents in writing to the terms, provisions, working conditions, and wages of the employment. Provides that participants shall retain rights, control, and possession of all products created by the participant during the course of the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program. The rights shall include intellectual property rights and rights in trade secrets. Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly shall be construed to give the Department of Corrections any right to sell, use, distribute, market, possess, or otherwise control any product created by a participant during the course of the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program, without the participant's written consent. Provides that participants who successfully complete the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall be awarded a Certificate of Completion. Provides that the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.

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