Public Act 095-1031
 
SB2275 Enrolled LRB095 17559 RLC 45906 b

    AN ACT in relation to minors.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
changing Sections 5-105 and 5-120 and by adding Section 5-121
as follows:
 
    (705 ILCS 405/5-105)
    Sec. 5-105. Definitions. As used in this Article:
    (1) "Court" means the circuit court in a session or
division assigned to hear proceedings under this Act, and
includes the term Juvenile Court.
    (2) "Community service" means uncompensated labor for a
community service agency as hereinafter defined.
    (2.5) "Community service agency" means a not-for-profit
organization, community organization, church, charitable
organization, individual, public office, or other public body
whose purpose is to enhance the physical or mental health of a
delinquent minor or to rehabilitate the minor, or to improve
the environmental quality or social welfare of the community
which agrees to accept community service from juvenile
delinquents and to report on the progress of the community
service to the State's Attorney pursuant to an agreement or to
the court or to any agency designated by the court or to the
authorized diversion program that has referred the delinquent
minor for community service.
    (3) "Delinquent minor" means any minor who prior to his or
her 17th birthday has violated or attempted to violate,
regardless of where the act occurred, any federal or State law,
county or municipal ordinance, and any minor who prior to his
or her 18th birthday has violated or attempted to violate,
regardless of where the act occurred, any federal, State,
county or municipal law or ordinance classified as a
misdemeanor offense.
    (4) "Department" means the Department of Human Services
unless specifically referenced as another department.
    (5) "Detention" means the temporary care of a minor who is
alleged to be or has been adjudicated delinquent and who
requires secure custody for the minor's own protection or the
community's protection in a facility designed to physically
restrict the minor's movements, pending disposition by the
court or execution of an order of the court for placement or
commitment. Design features that physically restrict movement
include, but are not limited to, locked rooms and the secure
handcuffing of a minor to a rail or other stationary object. In
addition, "detention" includes the court ordered care of an
alleged or adjudicated delinquent minor who requires secure
custody pursuant to Section 5-125 of this Act.
    (6) "Diversion" means the referral of a juvenile, without
court intervention, into a program that provides services
designed to educate the juvenile and develop a productive and
responsible approach to living in the community.
    (7) "Juvenile detention home" means a public facility with
specially trained staff that conforms to the county juvenile
detention standards promulgated by the Department of
Corrections.
    (8) "Juvenile justice continuum" means a set of delinquency
prevention programs and services designed for the purpose of
preventing or reducing delinquent acts, including criminal
activity by youth gangs, as well as intervention,
rehabilitation, and prevention services targeted at minors who
have committed delinquent acts, and minors who have previously
been committed to residential treatment programs for
delinquents. The term includes children-in-need-of-services
and families-in-need-of-services programs; aftercare and
reentry services; substance abuse and mental health programs;
community service programs; community service work programs;
and alternative-dispute resolution programs serving
youth-at-risk of delinquency and their families, whether
offered or delivered by State or local governmental entities,
public or private for-profit or not-for-profit organizations,
or religious or charitable organizations. This term would also
encompass any program or service consistent with the purpose of
those programs and services enumerated in this subsection.
    (9) "Juvenile police officer" means a sworn police officer
who has completed a Basic Recruit Training Course, has been
assigned to the position of juvenile police officer by his or
her chief law enforcement officer and has completed the
necessary juvenile officers training as prescribed by the
Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, or in the
case of a State police officer, juvenile officer training
approved by the Director of State Police.
    (10) "Minor" means a person under the age of 21 years
subject to this Act.
    (11) "Non-secure custody" means confinement where the
minor is not physically restricted by being placed in a locked
cell or room, by being handcuffed to a rail or other stationary
object, or by other means. Non-secure custody may include, but
is not limited to, electronic monitoring, foster home
placement, home confinement, group home placement, or physical
restriction of movement or activity solely through facility
staff.
    (12) "Public or community service" means uncompensated
labor for a not-for-profit organization or public body whose
purpose is to enhance physical or mental stability of the
offender, environmental quality or the social welfare and which
agrees to accept public or community service from offenders and
to report on the progress of the offender and the public or
community service to the court or to the authorized diversion
program that has referred the offender for public or community
service.
    (13) "Sentencing hearing" means a hearing to determine
whether a minor should be adjudged a ward of the court, and to
determine what sentence should be imposed on the minor. It is
the intent of the General Assembly that the term "sentencing
hearing" replace the term "dispositional hearing" and be
synonymous with that definition as it was used in the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987.
    (14) "Shelter" means the temporary care of a minor in
physically unrestricting facilities pending court disposition
or execution of court order for placement.
    (15) "Site" means a not-for-profit organization, public
body, church, charitable organization, or individual agreeing
to accept community service from offenders and to report on the
progress of ordered or required public or community service to
the court or to the authorized diversion program that has
referred the offender for public or community service.
    (16) "Station adjustment" means the informal or formal
handling of an alleged offender by a juvenile police officer.
    (17) "Trial" means a hearing to determine whether the
allegations of a petition under Section 5-520 that a minor is
delinquent are proved beyond a reasonable doubt. It is the
intent of the General Assembly that the term "trial" replace
the term "adjudicatory hearing" and be synonymous with that
definition as it was used in the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
(Source: P.A. 90-590, eff. 1-1-99; 91-820, eff. 6-13-00.)
 
    (705 ILCS 405/5-120)
    Sec. 5-120. Exclusive jurisdiction. Proceedings may be
instituted under the provisions of this Article concerning any
minor who prior to the minor's 17th birthday has violated or
attempted to violate, regardless of where the act occurred, any
federal or State law or municipal or county ordinance, and any
minor who prior to his or her 18th birthday has violated or
attempted to violate, regardless of where the act occurred, any
federal, State, county or municipal law or ordinance classified
as a misdemeanor offense. If before trial or plea, an
information or indictment is filed that includes one or more
charges under the criminal laws of this State and additional
charges that are classified as misdemeanors that are subject to
proceedings under this Act, all of the charges arising out of
the same incident shall be prosecuted under the criminal laws
of this State. If after trial or plea the court finds that the
minor committed an offense that is solely classified as a
misdemeanor, the court must proceed under Section 5-705 and
5-710 of this Act. Except as provided in Sections 5-125, 5-130,
5-805, and 5-810 of this Article, no minor who was under 17
years of age at the time of the alleged offense may be
prosecuted under the criminal laws of this State.
(Source: P.A. 90-590, eff. 1-1-99.)
 
    (705 ILCS 405/5-121 new)
    Sec. 5-121. Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force.
    (a) The General Assembly finds that:
        (1) 37 other states and the District of Columbia, the
    Federal Government, and nearly every other nation in the
    world use 18 as the age of juvenile court jurisdiction; and
        (2) the Legislature of Connecticut voted last year to
    raise the age to 18 for juvenile court; and
        (3) recent research on adolescent brain development
    reveals that the center of the brain that controls
    reasoning and impulsivity is not fully developed until the
    early twenties; and
        (4) research consistently documents that trying youth
    age 17 in the adult court disproportionately impacts
    minority youth.
    (b) The Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force is hereby
created within the Department of Juvenile Justice. The mission
of the Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force is to study
the impact of, develop timelines and propose a funding
structure to accommodate the expansion of the jurisdiction of
the Illinois Juvenile Court to include youth age 17 under the
jurisdiction of this Act.
    (c) The Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force shall
consist of the following members:
        (1) one member appointed by the President of the
    Senate;
        (2) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
    Senate;
        (3) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House;
        (4) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
    House;
        (5) one member appointed by the Governor;
        (6) the Director of Juvenile Justice or his or her
    designee;
        (7) the Director of the Administrative Office of
    Illinois Courts or his or her designee;
        (8) the Cook County State's Attorney or his or her
    designee;
        (9) the Cook County Public Defender or his or her
    designee;
        (10) the Director of the Office of the State's
    Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor or his or her designee;
        (11) the State Appellate Defender or his or her
    designee;
        (12) the Chair of the Illinois Juvenile Justice
    Commission;
        (13) the Chair of the Redeploy Illinois Partnership;
        (14) one member appointed by the Governor who is a
    chairman of a county board; and
        (15) one member appointed by the President of the
    Illinois Probation and Court Services Association.
    (d) The Task Force shall appoint a chairperson from among
its members. If a vacancy occurs in the Task Force membership,
the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the initial
appointment.
    (e) Members of the Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task
Force shall serve without compensation.
    (f) The Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force may begin
to conduct business upon the appointment of a majority of its
members.
    (g) The Task Force shall submit a report by January 1, 2010
to the General Assembly with recommendations on extending
juvenile court jurisdiction to youth age 17 charged with felony
offenses.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law, except that the amendatory changes to Sections
5-105 and 5-120 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 take effect
January 1, 2010.