State of Illinois
91^st General Assembly
Public Acts

Public Act 91-0264

SB178 Enrolled                                 LRB9103017RCdv

    AN ACT to amend the Jury Act by changing Section 10.2.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.   The Jury Act is amended by changing Section
10.2 as follows:

    (705 ILCS 305/10.2) (from Ch. 78, par. 10.2)
    Sec. 10.2.  Excusing prospective jurors; hardship.
    (a)  The county boards of the  respective  counties,  the
jury   commissioners  for  those  counties  which  have  been
appointed under the Jury Commission Act, pursuant to "An  Act
in  relation  to jury commissioners and authorizing judges to
appoint such commissioners and to make rules concerning their
powers and duties", approved June 15, 1887, as amended, or  a
jury   administrator  shall  have  the  authority  to  submit
questionnaires to prospective jurors to inquire as  to  their
qualifications  for  jury service and as to the hardship that
jury service would pose  to  the  prospective  jurors.   Upon
prior approval by the chief judge of the judicial circuits in
which   a   county   board,   jury   administrator,  or  jury
commissioners  are   situated,   the   county   board,   jury
administrator,   or   jury   commissioners   shall  excuse  a
prospective juror from jury service if the prospective  juror
shows  that  such  service  would impose an undue hardship on
account of the nature of the prospective juror's  occupation,
business  affairs,  physical health, family situation, active
duty  in  the  Illinois  National  Guard  or  Illinois  Naval
Militia, or other personal affairs, and cause his or her name
to be returned to the jury list or general jury list.
    (b)  When an undue hardship caused by a family  situation
is  due to the prospective juror being the primary care giver
of a person with a mental or physical  disability,  a  person
with a medically diagnosed behavior problem, or a child under
age  12,  then  the  county board, jury commissioners or jury
administrator shall excuse such a prospective  juror,  if  it
finds  that  no reasonable alternative care is feasible which
would not impose an undue hardship on the  prospective  juror
or  the  person  for  whom the prospective juror is providing
care, or both.
(Source: P.A. 90-482, eff. 1-1-98.)

    Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  July
1, 1999.