Full Text of SB3771 103rd General Assembly
SB3771enr 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SB3771 Enrolled | | LRB103 36354 RJT 66453 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Section 62 as follows: | 6 | | (110 ILCS 947/62) | 7 | | Sec. 62. Grants for exonerated persons and their | 8 | | dependents . | 9 | | (a) In this Section: | 10 | | "Dependent" means any spouse, natural child, legally | 11 | | adopted child, or child in the legal custody of an individual. | 12 | | "Exonerated person" means an individual who has received a | 13 | | pardon from the Governor of the State of Illinois stating that | 14 | | such a pardon is issued on the grounds of innocence of the | 15 | | crime for which he or she was imprisoned or an individual who | 16 | | has received a certificate of innocence from a circuit court | 17 | | pursuant to Section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure. | 18 | | "Satisfactory academic progress" means the qualified | 19 | | applicant's maintenance of minimum standards of academic | 20 | | performance, consistent with requirements for maintaining | 21 | | federal financial aid eligibility, as determined by the | 22 | | institution of higher learning. | 23 | | (b) Subject to a separate appropriation for this purpose, |
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| 1 | | the Commission shall, each year, receive and consider | 2 | | applications for grant assistance under this Section. | 3 | | Recipients of grants issued by the Commission in accordance | 4 | | with this Section must be exonerated persons or, as provided | 5 | | in subsection (c-5) of this Section, their dependents . | 6 | | Provided that the recipient is maintaining satisfactory | 7 | | academic progress and subject to subsection (c-5) of this | 8 | | Section , the funds from the grant may be used to pay up to 8 | 9 | | semesters or 12 quarters of full payment of tuition and | 10 | | mandatory fees at any public university or public community | 11 | | college located in this State for either full or part-time | 12 | | study. This benefit may be used for undergraduate or graduate | 13 | | study. Beginning with grants awarded for the 2025-2026 | 14 | | academic year, a grant under this Section may also be used at | 15 | | any private, not-for-profit college or university in this | 16 | | State that is approved to participate in the Monetary Award | 17 | | Program under Section 35 of this Act. A recipient attending | 18 | | such a private, not-for-profit college or university shall | 19 | | receive payment of tuition and mandatory fees in an amount not | 20 | | to exceed the maximum grant payable to a student enrolled in | 21 | | the most expensive comparable program of study at a public | 22 | | college or university in this State. | 23 | | In addition, an exonerated person or, as provided in | 24 | | subsection (c-5) of this Section, a dependent who has not yet | 25 | | received a high school diploma or a State of Illinois High | 26 | | School Diploma and completes a high school equivalency |
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| 1 | | preparation course through an Illinois Community College | 2 | | Board-approved provider may use grant funds to pay costs | 3 | | associated with obtaining a State of Illinois High School | 4 | | Diploma, including payment of the cost of the high school | 5 | | equivalency test and up to one retest on each test module, and | 6 | | any additional fees that may be required in order to obtain a | 7 | | State of Illinois High School Diploma or an official | 8 | | transcript of test scores after successful completion of the | 9 | | high school equivalency test. | 10 | | (c) An applicant for a grant under this Section need not | 11 | | demonstrate financial need to qualify for the benefits and | 12 | | need not be a resident of this State at the time of enrollment . | 13 | | (c-5) Beginning no later than the 2025-2026 academic year, | 14 | | if an exonerated person has been found by the Commission to | 15 | | qualify for a grant under this Section and the exonerated | 16 | | person has not yet exhausted the benefit for which the | 17 | | exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b), the | 18 | | exonerated person may designate one or more dependents to use | 19 | | any unexpended portion of the benefit for which the exonerated | 20 | | person is eligible, up to the total benefit for which the | 21 | | exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b). The | 22 | | combined benefit used by the exonerated person and any | 23 | | designated dependents may not exceed the total benefit for | 24 | | which the exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b). | 25 | | If funding is insufficient to serve all applicants, the | 26 | | Commission may prioritize applicants who have been exonerated |
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| 1 | | over applicants who are dependents of exonerated persons. | 2 | | (d) The Commission may adopt any rules necessary to | 3 | | implement and administer this Section. | 4 | | (Source: P.A. 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23 .) | 5 | | Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | 6 | | changing Section 2-702 as follows: | 7 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-702) | 8 | | Sec. 2-702. Petition for a certificate of innocence that | 9 | | the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she | 10 | | was incarcerated. | 11 | | (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that innocent | 12 | | persons who have been wrongly convicted of crimes in Illinois | 13 | | and subsequently imprisoned have been frustrated in seeking | 14 | | legal redress due to a variety of substantive and technical | 15 | | obstacles in the law and that such persons should have an | 16 | | available avenue to obtain a finding of innocence so that they | 17 | | may obtain relief through a petition in the Court of Claims. | 18 | | The General Assembly further finds misleading the current | 19 | | legal nomenclature which compels an innocent person to seek a | 20 | | pardon for being wrongfully incarcerated. It is the intent of | 21 | | the General Assembly that the court, in exercising its | 22 | | discretion as permitted by law regarding the weight and | 23 | | admissibility of evidence submitted pursuant to this Section, | 24 | | shall, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to |
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| 1 | | difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death | 2 | | or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or | 3 | | other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on | 4 | | their behalf. | 5 | | (b) Any person convicted and subsequently imprisoned for | 6 | | one or more felonies by the State of Illinois which he or she | 7 | | did not commit may, under the conditions hereinafter provided, | 8 | | file a petition for certificate of innocence in the circuit | 9 | | court of the county in which the person was convicted. The | 10 | | petition shall request a certificate of innocence finding that | 11 | | the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she | 12 | | was incarcerated. | 13 | | (c) In order to present the claim for certificate of | 14 | | innocence of an unjust conviction and imprisonment, the | 15 | | petitioner must attach to his or her petition documentation | 16 | | demonstrating that: | 17 | | (1) he or she has been convicted of one or more | 18 | | felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently | 19 | | sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or | 20 | | any part of the sentence; and | 21 | | (2) his or her judgment of conviction was reversed or | 22 | | vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or, | 23 | | if a new trial was ordered, either he or she was found not | 24 | | guilty at the new trial or he or she was not retried and | 25 | | the indictment or information dismissed; or the statute, | 26 | | or application thereof, on which the indictment or |
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| 1 | | information was based violated the Constitution of the | 2 | | United States or the State of Illinois; and | 3 | | (3) his or her claim is not time barred by the | 4 | | provisions of subsection (i) of this Section. | 5 | | (d) The petition shall state facts in sufficient detail to | 6 | | permit the court to find that the petitioner is likely to | 7 | | succeed at trial in proving that the petitioner is innocent of | 8 | | the offenses charged in the indictment or information or his | 9 | | or her acts or omissions charged in the indictment or | 10 | | information did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor against | 11 | | the State of Illinois, and the petitioner did not by his or her | 12 | | own conduct voluntarily cause or bring about his or her | 13 | | conviction. The petition shall be verified by the petitioner. | 14 | | (e) A copy of the petition shall be served on the Attorney | 15 | | General and the State's Attorney of the county where the | 16 | | conviction was had. The Attorney General and the State's | 17 | | Attorney of the county where the conviction was had shall have | 18 | | the right to intervene as parties. | 19 | | (f) In any hearing seeking a certificate of innocence, the | 20 | | court may take judicial notice of prior sworn testimony or | 21 | | evidence admitted in the criminal proceedings related to the | 22 | | convictions which resulted in the alleged wrongful | 23 | | incarceration, if the petitioner was either represented by | 24 | | counsel at such prior proceedings or the right to counsel was | 25 | | knowingly waived. | 26 | | (g) In order to obtain a certificate of innocence the |
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| 1 | | petitioner must prove by a preponderance of evidence that: | 2 | | (1) the petitioner was convicted of one or more | 3 | | felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently | 4 | | sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or | 5 | | any part of the sentence; | 6 | | (2)(A) the judgment of conviction was reversed or | 7 | | vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or, | 8 | | if a new trial was ordered, either the petitioner was | 9 | | found not guilty at the new trial or the petitioner was not | 10 | | retried and the indictment or information dismissed; or | 11 | | (B) the statute, or application thereof, on which the | 12 | | indictment or information was based violated the | 13 | | Constitution of the United States or the State of | 14 | | Illinois; | 15 | | (3) the petitioner is innocent of the offenses charged | 16 | | in the indictment or information or his or her acts or | 17 | | omissions charged in the indictment or information did not | 18 | | constitute a felony or misdemeanor against the State; and | 19 | | (4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct | 20 | | voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction. | 21 | | (h) If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to a | 22 | | judgment, it shall enter a certificate of innocence finding | 23 | | that the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he | 24 | | or she was incarcerated. Upon entry of the certificate of | 25 | | innocence or pardon from the Governor stating that such pardon | 26 | | was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he |
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| 1 | | or she was imprisoned, (1) the clerk of the court shall | 2 | | transmit a copy of the certificate of innocence to the clerk of | 3 | | the Court of Claims, together with the claimant's current | 4 | | address; and (2) the court shall enter an order expunging the | 5 | | record of arrest from the official records of the arresting | 6 | | authority and order that the records of the clerk of the | 7 | | circuit court and the Illinois State Police be sealed until | 8 | | further order of the court upon good cause shown or as | 9 | | otherwise provided herein, and the name of the defendant | 10 | | obliterated from the official index requested to be kept by | 11 | | the circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks of | 12 | | Courts Act in connection with the arrest and conviction for | 13 | | the offense but the order shall not affect any index issued by | 14 | | the circuit court clerk before the entry of the order. The | 15 | | court shall enter the expungement order regardless of whether | 16 | | the petitioner has prior criminal convictions. | 17 | | All records sealed by the Illinois State Police may be | 18 | | disseminated by the Department only as required by law or to | 19 | | the arresting authority, the State's Attorney, the court upon | 20 | | a later arrest for the same or similar offense, or for the | 21 | | purpose of sentencing for any subsequent felony. Upon | 22 | | conviction for any subsequent offense, the Department of | 23 | | Corrections shall have access to all sealed records of the | 24 | | Department pertaining to that individual. | 25 | | Upon entry of the order of expungement, the clerk of the | 26 | | circuit court shall promptly mail a copy of the order to the |
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| 1 | | person whose records were expunged and sealed. The clerk shall | 2 | | post in the common areas of the courthouse a notice containing | 3 | | information about grants for exonerated persons and their | 4 | | dependents under Section 62 of the Higher Education Student | 5 | | Assistance Act, including the Internet address of the Illinois | 6 | | Student Assistance Commission. The Illinois Student Assistance | 7 | | Commission shall develop a uniform statewide notice and | 8 | | provide the format of the notice to each clerk. | 9 | | (i) Any person seeking a certificate of innocence under | 10 | | this Section based on the dismissal of an indictment or | 11 | | information or acquittal that occurred before the effective | 12 | | date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall | 13 | | file his or her petition within 2 years after the effective | 14 | | date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. Any | 15 | | person seeking a certificate of innocence under this Section | 16 | | based on the dismissal of an indictment or information or | 17 | | acquittal that occurred on or after the effective date of this | 18 | | amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall file his or | 19 | | her petition within 2 years after the dismissal. | 20 | | (j) The decision to grant or deny a certificate of | 21 | | innocence shall be binding only with respect to claims filed | 22 | | in the Court of Claims and shall not have a res judicata effect | 23 | | on any other proceedings. | 24 | | (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.) |
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