Public Act 93-0235
HB1359 Enrolled LRB093 08744 RLC 08974 b
AN ACT in relation to crime victims.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act
is amended by changing Section 4.5 as follows:
(725 ILCS 120/4.5)
Sec. 4.5. Procedures to implement the rights of crime
victims. To afford crime victims their rights, law
enforcement, prosecutors, judges and corrections will provide
information, as appropriate of the following procedures:
(a) At the request of the crime victim, law enforcement
authorities investigating the case shall provide notice of
the status of the investigation, except where the State's
Attorney determines that disclosure of such information would
unreasonably interfere with the investigation, until such
time as the alleged assailant is apprehended or the
investigation is closed.
(b) The office of the State's Attorney:
(1) shall provide notice of the filing of
information, the return of an indictment by which a
prosecution for any violent crime is commenced, or the
filing of a petition to adjudicate a minor as a
delinquent for a violent crime;
(2) shall provide notice of the date, time, and
place of trial;
(3) or victim advocate personnel shall provide
information of social services and financial assistance
available for victims of crime, including information of
how to apply for these services and assistance;
(4) shall assist in having any stolen or other
personal property held by law enforcement authorities for
evidentiary or other purposes returned as expeditiously
as possible, pursuant to the procedures set out in
Section 115-9 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963;
(5) or victim advocate personnel shall provide
appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that
employers of victims will cooperate with the criminal
justice system in order to minimize an employee's loss of
pay and other benefits resulting from court appearances;
(6) shall provide information whenever possible, of
a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does
not require victims to be in close proximity to defendant
or juveniles accused of a violent crime, and their
families and friends;
(7) shall provide notice to the crime victim of the
right to have a translator present at all court
proceedings;
(8) in the case of the death of a person, which
death occurred in the same transaction or occurrence in
which acts occurred for which a defendant is charged with
an offense, shall notify the spouse, parent, child or
sibling of the decedent of the date of the trial of the
person or persons allegedly responsible for the death;
(9) shall inform the victim of the right to have
present at all court proceedings, subject to the rules of
evidence, an advocate or other support person of the
victim's choice, and the right to retain an attorney, at
the victim's own expense, who, upon written notice filed
with the clerk of the court and State's Attorney, is to
receive copies of all notices, motions and court orders
filed thereafter in the case, in the same manner as if
the victim were a named party in the case; and
(10) at the sentencing hearing shall make a good
faith attempt to explain the minimum amount of time
during which the defendant may actually be physically
imprisoned. The Office of the State's Attorney shall
further notify the crime victim of the right to request
from the Prisoner Review Board information concerning the
release of the defendant under subparagraph (d)(1) of
this Section; and
(11) shall request restitution at sentencing and
shall consider restitution in any plea negotiation, as
provided by law.
(c) At the written request of the crime victim, the
office of the State's Attorney shall:
(1) provide notice a reasonable time in advance of
the following court proceedings: preliminary hearing, any
hearing the effect of which may be the release of
defendant from custody, or to alter the conditions of
bond and the sentencing hearing. The crime victim shall
also be notified of the cancellation of the court
proceeding in sufficient time, wherever possible, to
prevent an unnecessary appearance in court;
(2) provide notice within a reasonable time after
receipt of notice from the custodian, of the release of
the defendant on bail or personal recognizance or the
release from detention of a minor who has been detained
for a violent crime;
(3) explain in nontechnical language the details of
any plea or verdict of a defendant, or any adjudication
of a juvenile as a delinquent for a violent crime;
(4) where practical, consult with the crime victim
before the Office of the State's Attorney makes an offer
of a plea bargain to the defendant or enters into
negotiations with the defendant concerning a possible
plea agreement, and shall consider the written victim
impact statement, if prepared prior to entering into a
plea agreement;
(5) provide notice of the ultimate disposition of
the cases arising from an indictment or an information,
or a petition to have a juvenile adjudicated as a
delinquent for a violent crime;
(6) provide notice of any appeal taken by the
defendant and information on how to contact the
appropriate agency handling the appeal;
(7) provide notice of any request for
post-conviction review filed by the defendant under
Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963,
and of the date, time and place of any hearing concerning
the petition. Whenever possible, notice of the hearing
shall be given in advance;
(8) forward a copy of any statement presented under
Section 6 to the Prisoner Review Board to be considered
by the Board in making its determination under subsection
(b) of Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
(d) (1) The Prisoner Review Board shall inform a victim
or any other concerned citizen, upon written request, of
the prisoner's release on parole, mandatory supervised
release, electronic detention, work release or by the
custodian of the discharge of any individual who was
adjudicated a delinquent for a violent crime from State
custody and by the sheriff of the appropriate county of
any such person's final discharge from county custody.
The Prisoner Review Board, upon written request, shall
provide to a victim or any other concerned citizen a
recent photograph of any person convicted of a felony,
upon his or her release from custody. The Prisoner Review
Board, upon written request, shall inform a victim or any
other concerned citizen when feasible at least 7 days
prior to the prisoner's release on furlough of the times
and dates of such furlough. Upon written request by the
victim or any other concerned citizen, the State's
Attorney shall notify the person once of the times and
dates of release of a prisoner sentenced to periodic
imprisonment. Notification shall be based on the most
recent information as to victim's or other concerned
citizen's residence or other location available to the
notifying authority. For purposes of this paragraph (1)
of subsection (d), "concerned citizen" includes relatives
of the victim, friends of the victim, witnesses to the
crime, or any other person associated with the victim or
prisoner.
(2) When the defendant has been committed to the
Department of Human Services pursuant to Section 5-2-4 or
any other provision of the Unified Code of Corrections,
the victim may request to be notified by the releasing
authority of the defendant's discharge from State
custody.
(3) In the event of an escape from State custody,
the Department of Corrections immediately shall notify
the Prisoner Review Board of the escape and the Prisoner
Review Board shall notify the victim. The notification
shall be based upon the most recent information as to the
victim's residence or other location available to the
Board. When no such information is available, the Board
shall make all reasonable efforts to obtain the
information and make the notification. When the escapee
is apprehended, the Department of Corrections immediately
shall notify the Prisoner Review Board and the Board
shall notify the victim.
(4) The victim of the crime for which the prisoner
has been sentenced shall receive reasonable written
notice not less than 15 days prior to the parole hearing
and may submit, in writing, on film, videotape or other
electronic means or in the form of a recording or in
person at the parole hearing or if a victim of a violent
crime, by calling the toll-free number established in
subsection (f) of this Section, information for
consideration by the Prisoner Review Board. The victim
shall be notified within 7 days after the prisoner has
been granted parole and shall be informed of the right to
inspect the registry of parole decisions, established
under subsection (g) of Section 3-3-5 of the Unified Code
of Corrections. The provisions of this paragraph (4) are
subject to the Open Parole Hearings Act.
(5) If a statement is presented under Section 6,
the Prisoner Review Board shall inform the victim of any
order of discharge entered by the Board pursuant to
Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
(6) At the written request of the victim of the
crime for which the prisoner was sentenced, the Prisoner
Review Board shall notify the victim of the death of the
prisoner if the prisoner died while on parole or
mandatory supervised release.
(7) When a defendant who has been committed to the
Department of Corrections or the Department of Human
Services is released or discharged and subsequently
committed to the Department of Human Services as a
sexually violent person and the victim had requested to
be notified by the releasing authority of the defendant's
discharge from State custody, the releasing authority
shall provide to the Department of Human Services such
information that would allow the Department of Human
Services to contact the victim.
(e) The officials named in this Section may satisfy some
or all of their obligations to provide notices and other
information through participation in a statewide victim and
witness notification system established by the Attorney
General under Section 8.5 of this Act.
(f) To permit a victim of a violent crime to provide
information to the Prisoner Review Board for consideration by
the Board at a parole hearing of a person who committed the
crime against the victim in accordance with clause (d)(4) of
this Section or at a proceeding to determine the conditions
of mandatory supervised release of a person sentenced to a
determinate sentence or at a hearing on revocation of
mandatory supervised release of a person sentenced to a
determinate sentence, the Board shall establish a toll-free
number that may be accessed by the victim of a violent crime
to present that information to the Board.
(Source: P.A. 90-14, eff. 7-1-97; 90-793, eff. 8-14-98;
91-237, eff. 1-1-00; 91-693, eff. 4-13-00.)
Section 10. The Open Parole Hearings Act is amended by
changing Section 25 as follows:
(730 ILCS 105/25) (from Ch. 38, par. 1675)
Sec. 25. Notification of future parole hearings.
(a) The Board shall notify the State's Attorney of the
committing county of the pending hearing and the victim of
all forthcoming parole hearings at least 15 days in advance.
Written notification shall contain:
(1) notification of the place of the hearing;
(2) the date and approximate time of the hearing;
(3) their right to enter a statement, to appear in
person, and to submit other information by video tape,
tape recording, or other electronic means in the form and
manner described by the Board or if a victim of a violent
crime as defined in subsection (c) of Section 3 of the
Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act, by calling the
toll-free number established in subsection (f) of that
Section.
Notification to the victims shall be at the last known
address of the victim. It shall be the responsibility of the
victim to notify the board of any changes in address and
name.
(b) However, at any time the victim may request by a
written certified statement that the Prisoner Review Board
stop sending notice under this Section.
(c) (Blank).
(d) No later than 7 days after a parole hearing the
Board shall send notice of its decision to the State's
Attorney and victim. If parole is denied, the Board shall
within a reasonable period of time notify the victim of the
month and year of the next scheduled hearing.
(Source: P.A. 87-224; revised 1-20-03.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.