Public Act 093-1005
 
SB132 Enrolled LRB093 04297 MKM 04343 b

    AN ACT in relation to county government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section
3-3013 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/3-3013)  (from Ch. 34, par. 3-3013)
    Sec. 3-3013. Preliminary investigations; blood and urine
analysis; summoning jury. Every coroner, whenever, as soon as
he knows or is informed that the dead body of any person is
found, or lying within his county, whose death is suspected of
being:
    (a) A sudden or violent death, whether apparently suicidal,
homicidal or accidental, including but not limited to deaths
apparently caused or contributed to by thermal, traumatic,
chemical, electrical or radiational injury, or a complication
of any of them, or by drowning or suffocation, or as a result
of domestic violence as defined in the Illinois Domestic
Violence Act of 1986;
    (b) A maternal or fetal death due to abortion, or any death
due to a sex crime or a crime against nature;
    (c) A death where the circumstances are suspicious,
obscure, mysterious or otherwise unexplained or where, in the
written opinion of the attending physician, the cause of death
is not determined;
    (d) A death where addiction to alcohol or to any drug may
have been a contributory cause; or
    (e) A death where the decedent was not attended by a
licensed physician;
shall go to the place where the dead body is, and take charge
of the same and shall make a preliminary investigation into the
circumstances of the death. In the case of death without
attendance by a licensed physician the body may be moved with
the coroner's consent from the place of death to a mortuary in
the same county. Coroners in their discretion shall notify such
physician as is designated in accordance with Section 3-3014 to
attempt to ascertain the cause of death, either by autopsy or
otherwise.
    In cases of accidental death involving a motor vehicle in
which the decedent was (1) the operator or a suspected operator
of a motor vehicle, or (2) a pedestrian 16 years of age or
older, the coroner shall require that a blood specimen of at
least 30 cc., and if medically possible a urine specimen of at
least 30 cc. or as much as possible up to 30 cc., be withdrawn
from the body of the decedent in a timely fashion after within
6 hours of the accident causing his death, by such physician as
has been designated in accordance with Section 3-3014, or by
the coroner or deputy coroner or a qualified person designated
by at the direction of such physician, coroner, or deputy
coroner. If the county does not maintain laboratory facilities
for making such analysis, the blood and urine so drawn shall be
sent to the Department of State Police or any other accredited
or State-certified laboratory for analysis, when necessary, of
the alcohol, carbon monoxide, and dangerous or narcotic drug
content of such blood and urine specimens. Each specimen
submitted shall be accompanied by pertinent information
concerning the decedent upon a form prescribed by such
laboratory. Department. If the analysis is performed in county
laboratory facilities, the coroner shall forward the results of
each analysis and pertinent information concerning the
decedent to the Department of Public Health upon a form
prescribed by such Department. The coroner causing the blood
and urine to be withdrawn shall be notified of the results of
any analysis made by the Department of State Police and the
Department of Public Health shall keep a record of the results
of all such examinations to be used for statistical purposes.
The cumulative results of the examinations, without
identifying the individuals involved, shall be disseminated
and made public by the Department of Public Health. Any person
drawing blood and urine and any person making any examination
of the blood and urine under the terms of this Division shall
be immune from all liability, civil or criminal, that might
otherwise be incurred or imposed. The coroner shall be paid a
fee of $10 by the Department of Public Health for each
acceptable set of blood and urine specimens sent to the
Department of State Police forensic science laboratory
accompanied by the required form or for each report of analysis
performed by a county laboratory furnished upon the required
form. Upon collection, the coroner shall pay the fee over to
the county treasurer for deposit in the general fund of the
county.
    In all other cases coming within the jurisdiction of the
coroner and referred to in subparagraphs (a) through (e) above,
blood, and whenever possible, urine samples shall be analyzed
for the presence of alcohol and other drugs. When the coroner
suspects that drugs may have been involved in the death, either
directly or indirectly, a toxicological examination shall be
performed which may include analyses of blood, urine, bile,
gastric contents and other tissues. When the coroner suspects a
death is due to toxic substances, other than drugs, the coroner
shall consult with the toxicologist prior to collection of
samples. Information submitted to the toxicologist shall
include information as to height, weight, age, sex and race of
the decedent as well as medical history, medications used by
and the manner of death of decedent.
    Except in counties that have a jury commission, in cases of
apparent suicide, homicide, or accidental death or in other
cases, within the discretion of the coroner, the coroner shall
summon 8 persons of lawful age from those persons drawn for
petit jurors in the county. The summons shall command these
persons to present themselves personally at such a place and
time as the coroner shall determine, and may be in any form
which the coroner shall determine and may incorporate any
reasonable form of request for acknowledgement which the
coroner deems practical and provides a reliable proof of
service. The summons may be served by first class mail. From
the 8 persons so summoned, the coroner shall select 6 to serve
as the jury for the inquest. Inquests may be continued from
time to time, as the coroner may deem necessary. The 6 jurors
selected in a given case may view the body of the deceased. If
at any continuation of an inquest one or more of the original
jurors shall be unable to continue to serve, the coroner shall
fill the vacancy or vacancies. A juror serving pursuant to this
paragraph shall receive compensation from the county at the
same rate as the rate of compensation that is paid to petit or
grand jurors in the county. The coroner shall furnish to each
juror without fee at the time of his discharge a certificate of
the number of days in attendance at an inquest, and, upon being
presented with such certificate, the county treasurer shall pay
to the juror the sum provided for his services.
    In counties which have a jury commission, in cases of
apparent suicide or homicide or of accidental death, the
coroner shall, and in other cases in his discretion may,
conduct an inquest. The jury commission shall provide at least
8 jurors to the coroner, from whom the coroner shall select any
6 to serve as the jury for the inquest. Inquests may be
continued from time to time as the coroner may deem necessary.
The 6 jurors originally chosen in a given case may view the
body of the deceased. If at any continuation of an inquest one
or more of the 6 jurors originally chosen shall be unable to
continue to serve, the coroner shall fill the vacancy or
vacancies. At the coroner's discretion, additional jurors to
fill such vacancies shall be supplied by the jury commission. A
juror serving pursuant to this paragraph in such county shall
receive compensation from the county at the same rate as the
rate of compensation that is paid to petit or grand jurors in
the county.
    In addition, in every case in which domestic violence is
determined to be a contributing factor in a death, the coroner
shall report the death to the Department of State Police.
    All deaths in State institutions and all deaths of wards of
the State in private care facilities or in programs funded by
the Department of Human Services under its powers relating to
mental health and developmental disabilities or alcoholism and
substance abuse or funded by the Department of Children and
Family Services shall be reported to the coroner of the county
in which the facility is located. If the coroner has reason to
believe that an investigation is needed to determine whether
the death was caused by maltreatment or negligent care of the
ward of the State, the coroner may conduct a preliminary
investigation of the circumstances of such death as in cases of
death under circumstances set forth in paragraphs (a) through
(e) of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 91-521, eff. 1-1-00.)