(725 ILCS 120/5) (from Ch. 38, par. 1405)

Sec. 5. Rights of witnesses.

(a) Witnesses as defined in subsection (b) of Section 3 of this Act shall have the following rights:

(1) to be notified by the Office of the State's Attorney of all court proceedings at which the witness' presence is required in a reasonable amount of time prior to the proceeding, and to be notified of the cancellation of any scheduled court proceeding in sufficient time to prevent an unnecessary appearance in court, where possible;

(2) to be provided with appropriate employer intercession services by the Office of the State's Attorney or the victim advocate personnel to ensure that employers of witnesses will cooperate with the criminal justice system in order to minimize an employee's loss of pay and other benefits resulting from court appearances;

(3) to be provided, whenever possible, a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does not require witnesses to be in close proximity to defendants and their families and friends;

(4) to be provided with notice by the Office of the State's Attorney, where necessary, of the right to have a translator present whenever the witness' presence is required and, in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, to be provided with notice of the right to communications access through a sign language interpreter or by other means.

(b) At the written request of the witness, the witness shall:

(1) receive notice from the office of the State's Attorney 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 for post-conviction review; whenever possible, notice of the hearing on the petition shall be given in advance;

(2) receive notice by the releasing authority of the defendant's discharge from State custody if the defendant was committed to the Department of Human Services under Section 5-2-4 or any other provision of the Unified Code of Corrections;

(3) receive notice from the Prisoner Review Board of the prisoner's escape from State custody, after the Board has been notified of the escape by the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice; when the escapee is apprehended, the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice shall immediately notify the Prisoner Review Board and the Board shall notify the witness;

(4) receive notice from the Prisoner Review Board or the Department of Juvenile Justice of the prisoner's release on parole, aftercare release, electronic detention, work release or mandatory supervised release and of the prisoner's final discharge from parole, aftercare release, electronic detention, work release, or mandatory supervised release.

(c) The crime victim has the right to submit a victim statement to the Prisoner Review Board for consideration at a medical release hearing as provided in Section 3-3-14 of the Unified Code of Corrections. A victim statement may be submitted in writing, on film, videotape, or other electronic means, or in the form of a recording prior to a hearing, or orally at a hearing, or by calling the toll-free number established in subsection (f) of Section 4.5. Victim statements provided to the Board shall be confidential and privileged, including any statements received prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, except if the statement was an oral statement made by the victim at a hearing open to the public.

(Source: P.A. 102-494, eff. 1-1-22.)