Full Text of HJR0007 101st General Assembly
HJ0007 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In order to minimize the serious impact of all | 3 | | types of crime, especially violent
crime, upon Illinois | 4 | | residents, it is necessary for Illinois to be protected by a | 5 | | crime lab that is
operated by the Illinois State Police in a | 6 | | manner that complies with state-of-the-art specifications for
| 7 | | the rapid processing of evidence and identification of criminal | 8 | | suspects; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In response to this need, the Illinois State | 10 | | Police has established a Division of
Forensic Services, | 11 | | commonly referred to as the "State crime lab"; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, It has been publicly known for several years that | 13 | | there is a serious backlog in
the time required for biological | 14 | | evidence to be processed for the establishment of admissible | 15 | | forensic
evidence after that forensic evidence has been | 16 | | recovered from crime scenes, processed by law
enforcement, and | 17 | | transferred to the Division of Forensic Services; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, This backlog in the examination process includes | 19 | | numerous cases where the
processing of evidence collected | 20 | | following incidents of violent crimes, including murders, | 21 | | shootings,
and criminal sexual assaults, is seriously delayed; | 22 | | and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, It typically takes at least one year for | 2 | | biological evidence to be processed by the
Illinois State | 3 | | Police crime lab; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, DNA evidence is critical to the solution of | 5 | | crimes, especially in murder cases
and sexual assaults, where | 6 | | the biological evidence may be the last resort, the only thing | 7 | | tying a
murderer or rapist to a crime scene and a victim in a | 8 | | way that can be proved in a court of law; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, In today's climate where police and prosecutors | 10 | | are increasingly scrutinized
about their procedures, DNA | 11 | | evidence is crucial to the successful prosecution of criminal | 12 | | cases in the
courtroom; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Modern biochemistry has developed the Rapid DNA | 14 | | system, a system to enable
the fully automated generation of a | 15 | | full DNA profile from a cheek swab without human intervention; | 16 | | the ability of Rapid DNA to carry out the efficient profiling | 17 | | of criminal suspects has led
Congress to pass the federal Rapid | 18 | | DNA Act of 2017, which has been signed into federal law as P.L.
| 19 | | 115-50; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, This federal law directs the Federal Bureau of | 21 | | Investigation (FBI) to issue
standards and procedures to create |
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| 1 | | a nationwide police protocol for using Rapid DNA instruments to
| 2 | | analyze DNA samples of criminal offenders and criminal suspects | 3 | | and to compile the data gathered
therein within the Combined | 4 | | DNA Index System or CODIS; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The 50 states and their residents will not enjoy | 6 | | the benefits of Rapid DNA
technology and the ability to conduct | 7 | | instant CODIS identification of criminal suspects who have
| 8 | | already been taken into custody until they take steps to comply | 9 | | with the protocol outlined in the
Rapid DNA Act of 2017 and | 10 | | implemented by FBI standards and procedures; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The usefulness of the CODIS system as a nationwide | 12 | | database will depend upon
the relative compliance of local law | 13 | | enforcement throughout all 50 states; for reasons of both
local | 14 | | criminal justice and so that our State can do its part, it is | 15 | | essential that Illinois law enforcement
be granted the support | 16 | | tools they need to appropriately deploy the Rapid DNA | 17 | | instrumentation in booking stations and forensic laboratories | 18 | | accredited in DNA analysis across Illinois; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 20 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 21 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Auditor General is directed | 22 | | to conduct a performance audit of the Illinois State Police | 23 | | Division of Forensic Services; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not be limited to, an | 2 | | examination of the Division's
equipment, procedures, and | 3 | | staffing levels, with the goal of identifying and reporting to | 4 | | the General
Assembly as soon as possible on barriers and choke | 5 | | points in the way of full Illinois State Police and
local law | 6 | | enforcement compliance with the protocols created by the | 7 | | federal Rapid DNA Act of 2017;
and be it further | 8 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police is directed to | 9 | | comply fully and promptly with all
features of this audit, | 10 | | including elements aimed at identifying the increased | 11 | | personnel and budgetary
support required for the Illinois State | 12 | | Police and local law enforcement to achieve full compliance;
| 13 | | and be it further | 14 | | RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as | 15 | | soon as possible and report his
findings and recommendations | 16 | | upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section | 17 | | 3-14 of
the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That the Department of State Police, the | 19 | | Department of Innovation and Technology, the Department of | 20 | | Corrections, and any other State agencies or Illinois law | 21 | | enforcement agencies that receive State funds are directed to | 22 | | comply fully and promptly with all features of this examination |
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| 1 | | and audit, including elements aimed at identifying increased | 2 | | funding for the Illinois criminal justice community to | 3 | | appropriately utilize Rapid DNA instrumentation; and be it | 4 | | further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police and its Division | 6 | | of Forensic Services are directed
to take all steps possible to | 7 | | achieve compliance, or partial compliance, with the federal | 8 | | Rapid DNA Act of 2017 on the statewide crime lab
level to | 9 | | fulfill implementation of any recommendations
handed down by | 10 | | the Auditor General; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That we express continued support to all of | 12 | | Illinois law enforcement, including
but not limited to the | 13 | | Illinois State Police, for their tireless and courageous work | 14 | | to maintain public
security in the face of growing challenges | 15 | | created by drug violence and other social trends; and be it
| 16 | | further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 18 | | delivered to the Governor of Illinois, the Director of State | 19 | | Police, Col. Sean Cormier of the Illinois State Police
Division | 20 | | of Forensic Services-Forensic Sciences Command, and Auditor | 21 | | General Frank J. Mautino.
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