(740 ILCS 92/20)
Sec. 20.
Role of State's Attorney or Attorney General.
(a) If the State's Attorney or Attorney General proceeds with the action, he
or
she shall
have the primary responsibility for prosecuting the action, and shall not be
bound by an act of the
person bringing the action. That person shall have the right to continue as a
party to the action,
subject to the limitations set forth in subsection (b).
(b) The State's Attorney or Attorney General may dismiss the action
notwithstanding the
objections of the person initiating the action if the person has been notified
by the State's
Attorney or Attorney General of the filing of the motion, and the court has
provided the person
with an opportunity for a hearing on the motion.
The State's Attorney or Attorney General may settle the action with the
defendant
notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the action if the court
determines, after a
hearing, that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable under
all the
circumstances.
Upon a showing of good cause, the hearing may be held in camera.
Upon a showing by the State's Attorney or Attorney General that unrestricted
participation during the course of the litigation by the person initiating the
action would interfere
with or unduly delay the State's Attorney's or Attorney General's prosecution
of the case, or
would be repetitious, irrelevant, or for purposes of harassment, the court may,
in its discretion,
impose limitations on the person's participation, including, but not limited
to, the following:
(1) limiting the number of witnesses the person may |
Upon a showing by the defendant that unrestricted participation during the
course of the
litigation by the person initiating the action would be for purposes of
harassment or would cause
the defendant undue burden or unnecessary expense, the court may limit the
participation by the
person in the litigation.
(c) If the State's Attorney or Attorney General elects not to proceed with
the
action, the
person who initiated the action shall have the right to conduct the action. If
the State's Attorney
or Attorney General so requests, he or she shall be served with copies of all
pleadings filed in the
action and shall be supplied with copies of all deposition transcripts, at the
State's Attorney's or
Attorney General's expense. When a person proceeds with the action, the court,
without limiting
the status and rights of the person initiating the action, may nevertheless
permit the State's
Attorney or Attorney General to intervene at a later date upon a showing of
good cause.
(d) If at any time both a civil action for penalties and equitable relief
pursuant to this Act
and a criminal action are pending against a defendant for substantially the
same conduct, whether
brought by the government or a private party, the civil action shall be stayed
until the criminal
action has been concluded at the trial court level. The stay shall not preclude
the court from
granting or enforcing temporary equitable relief while the actions are pending.
Whether or not
the State's Attorney or Attorney General proceeds with the action, upon a
showing by the State's
Attorney or Attorney General that certain actions of discovery by the person
initiating the action
would interfere with a law enforcement or governmental agency investigation or
prosecution of a
criminal or civil matter arising out of the same facts, the court may stay discovery for a period of
not more than 180 days. A hearing on a request for the stay shall be conducted in camera. The
court may extend the 180-day period upon a further showing in camera that the agency has
pursued the criminal or civil investigation or proceedings with reasonable diligence and any
proposed discovery in the civil action will interfere with the ongoing criminal
or civil
investigation or proceedings.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 15, the State's Attorney or Attorney General may
elect to
pursue its claim through any alternate remedy available to the State's Attorney
or Attorney
General.
(Source: P.A. 92-233, eff. 1-1-02.)
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