98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB2951

 

Introduced , by Rep. Scott Drury

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
725 ILCS 215/2  from Ch. 38, par. 1702
725 ILCS 215/3  from Ch. 38, par. 1703
725 ILCS 215/4  from Ch. 38, par. 1704

    Amends the Statewide Grand Jury Act. Provides that a Statewide Grand Jury may be convened to investigate violations of offenses involving the corruption of a public official, including the Official Misconduct Article and the Public Contracts Article of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB2951LRB098 09179 RLC 41453 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Statewide Grand Jury Act is amended by
5changing Sections 2, 3, and 4 as follows:
 
6    (725 ILCS 215/2)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1702)
7    Sec. 2. (a) County grand juries and State's Attorneys have
8always had and shall continue to have primary responsibility
9for investigating, indicting, and prosecuting persons who
10violate the criminal laws of the State of Illinois. However, in
11recent years organized terrorist activity directed against
12innocent civilians, and certain criminal enterprises, and
13public corruption have developed that require investigation,
14indictment, and prosecution on a statewide or multicounty
15level. The criminal enterprises exist as a result of the allure
16of profitability present in narcotic activity, public
17corruption, the unlawful sale and transfer of firearms, and
18streetgang related felonies and organized terrorist activity
19is supported by the contribution of money and expert assistance
20from geographically diverse sources. In order to shut off the
21life blood of terrorism and weaken or eliminate the criminal
22enterprises, assets, and property used to further these
23offenses must be frozen, and any profit must be removed. State

 

 

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1statutes exist that can accomplish that goal. Among them are
2the offense of money laundering, the Cannabis and Controlled
3Substances Tax Act, violations of Articles Article 29D, 33, and
433E of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012,
5the Narcotics Profit Forfeiture Act, and gunrunning. Local
6prosecutors need investigative personnel and specialized
7training to attack and eliminate these profits. In light of the
8transitory and complex nature of conduct that constitutes these
9criminal activities, the many diverse property interests that
10may be used, acquired directly or indirectly as a result of
11these criminal activities, and the many places that illegally
12obtained property may be located, it is the purpose of this Act
13to create a limited, multicounty Statewide Grand Jury with
14authority to investigate, indict, and prosecute: narcotic
15activity, including cannabis and controlled substance
16trafficking, narcotics racketeering, money laundering,
17violations of the Cannabis and Controlled Substances Tax Act,
18and violations of Articles Article 29D, 33, and 33E of the
19Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; public
20corruption crimes; the unlawful sale and transfer of firearms;
21gunrunning; and streetgang related felonies.
22    (b) A Statewide Grand Jury may also investigate, indict,
23and prosecute violations facilitated by the use of a computer
24of any of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
25child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
26juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile prostitution,

 

 

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1juvenile pimping, child pornography, aggravated child
2pornography, or promoting juvenile prostitution except as
3described in subdivision (a)(4) of Section 11-14.4 of the
4Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012.
5(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
 
6    (725 ILCS 215/3)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1703)
7    Sec. 3. Written application for the appointment of a
8Circuit Judge to convene and preside over a Statewide Grand
9Jury, with jurisdiction extending throughout the State, shall
10be made to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Upon such
11written application, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
12shall appoint a Circuit Judge from the circuit where the
13Statewide Grand Jury is being sought to be convened, who shall
14make a determination that the convening of a Statewide Grand
15Jury is necessary.
16    In such application the Attorney General shall state that
17the convening of a Statewide Grand Jury is necessary because of
18an alleged offense or offenses set forth in this Section
19involving more than one county of the State and identifying any
20such offense alleged; and
21        (a) that he or she believes that the grand jury
22    function for the investigation and indictment of the
23    offense or offenses cannot effectively be performed by a
24    county grand jury together with the reasons for such
25    belief, and

 

 

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1          (b)(1) that each State's Attorney with jurisdiction
2        over an offense or offenses to be investigated has
3        consented to the impaneling of the Statewide Grand
4        Jury, or
5            (2) if one or more of the State's Attorneys having
6        jurisdiction over an offense or offenses to be
7        investigated fails to consent to the impaneling of the
8        Statewide Grand Jury, the Attorney General shall set
9        forth good cause for impaneling the Statewide Grand
10        Jury.
11    If the Circuit Judge determines that the convening of a
12Statewide Grand Jury is necessary, he or she shall convene and
13impanel the Statewide Grand Jury with jurisdiction extending
14throughout the State to investigate and return indictments:
15        (a) For violations of any of the following or for any
16    other criminal offense committed in the course of violating
17    any of the following: Article 29D of the Criminal Code of
18    1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, the Illinois Controlled
19    Substances Act, the Cannabis Control Act, the
20    Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act, the
21    Narcotics Profit Forfeiture Act, or the Cannabis and
22    Controlled Substances Tax Act; a streetgang related felony
23    offense; Section 24-2.1, 24-2.2, 24-3, 24-3A, 24-3.1,
24    24-3.3, 24-3.4, 24-4, or 24-5 or subsection 24-1(a)(4),
25    24-1(a)(6), 24-1(a)(7), 24-1(a)(9), 24-1(a)(10), or
26    24-1(c) of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code

 

 

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1    of 2012; or a money laundering offense; provided that the
2    violation or offense involves acts occurring in more than
3    one county of this State; and
4        (a-5) For violations facilitated by the use of a
5    computer, including the use of the Internet, the World Wide
6    Web, electronic mail, message board, newsgroup, or any
7    other commercial or noncommercial on-line service, of any
8    of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
9    child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
10    juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile
11    prostitution, juvenile pimping, child pornography,
12    aggravated child pornography, or promoting juvenile
13    prostitution except as described in subdivision (a)(4) of
14    Section 11-14.4 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
15    Criminal Code of 2012; and
16        (a-6) For violations of offenses involving the
17    corruption of a public official, including a violation of
18    Article 33 or 33E of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
19    Criminal Code of 2012; and
20        (b) For the offenses of perjury, subornation of
21    perjury, communicating with jurors and witnesses, and
22    harassment of jurors and witnesses, as they relate to
23    matters before the Statewide Grand Jury.
24    "Streetgang related" has the meaning ascribed to it in
25Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus
26Prevention Act.

 

 

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1    Upon written application by the Attorney General for the
2convening of an additional Statewide Grand Jury, the Chief
3Justice of the Supreme Court shall appoint a Circuit Judge from
4the circuit for which the additional Statewide Grand Jury is
5sought. The Circuit Judge shall determine the necessity for an
6additional Statewide Grand Jury in accordance with the
7provisions of this Section. No more than 2 Statewide Grand
8Juries may be empaneled at any time.
9(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
 
10    (725 ILCS 215/4)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1704)
11    Sec. 4. (a) The presiding judge of the Statewide Grand Jury
12will receive recommendations from the Attorney General as to
13the county in which the Grand Jury will sit. Prior to making
14the recommendations, the Attorney General shall obtain the
15permission of the local State's Attorney to use his or her
16county for the site of the Statewide Grand Jury. Upon receiving
17the Attorney General's recommendations, the presiding judge
18will choose one of those recommended locations as the site
19where the Grand Jury shall sit.
20    Any indictment by a Statewide Grand Jury shall be returned
21to the Circuit Judge presiding over the Statewide Grand Jury
22and shall include a finding as to the county or counties in
23which the alleged offense was committed. Thereupon, the judge
24shall, by order, designate the county of venue for the purpose
25of trial. The judge may also, by order, direct the

 

 

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1consolidation of an indictment returned by a county grand jury
2with an indictment returned by the Statewide Grand Jury and set
3venue for trial.
4    (b) Venue for purposes of trial for the offense of
5narcotics racketeering shall be proper in any county where:
6        (1) Cannabis or a controlled substance which is the
7    basis for the charge of narcotics racketeering was used;
8    acquired; transferred or distributed to, from or through;
9    or any county where any act was performed to further the
10    use; acquisition, transfer or distribution of said
11    cannabis or controlled substance; or
12        (2) Any money, property, property interest, or any
13    other asset generated by narcotics activities was
14    acquired, used, sold, transferred or distributed to, from
15    or through; or,
16        (3) Any enterprise interest obtained as a result of
17    narcotics racketeering was acquired, used, transferred or
18    distributed to, from or through, or where any activity was
19    conducted by the enterprise or any conduct to further the
20    interests of such an enterprise.
21    (c) Venue for purposes of trial for the offense of money
22laundering shall be proper in any county where any part of a
23financial transaction in criminally derived property took
24place, or in any county where any money or monetary interest
25which is the basis for the offense, was acquired, used, sold,
26transferred or distributed to, from, or through.

 

 

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1    (d) A person who commits the offense of cannabis
2trafficking or controlled substance trafficking may be tried in
3any county.
4    (e) Venue for purposes of trial for any violation of
5Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code
6of 2012 may be in the county in which an act of terrorism
7occurs, the county in which material support or resources are
8provided or solicited, the county in which criminal assistance
9is rendered, or any county in which any act in furtherance of
10any violation of Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 or
11the Criminal Code of 2012 occurs.
12    (f) Venue for purposes of trial for any offense involving
13the corruption of a public official may be in the county in
14which the offense occurred.
15(Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)