Public Act 097-0457
 
SB1043 EnrolledLRB097 04747 RLC 44786 b

    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
    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.
    (a-5) When law enforcement authorities re-open a closed
case to resume investigating, they shall provide notice of the
re-opening of the case, except where the State's Attorney
determines that disclosure of such information would
unreasonably interfere with the investigation.
    (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
    and, in compliance with the federal Americans with
    Disabilities Act of 1990, the right to communications
    access through a sign language interpreter or by other
    means;
        (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;
        (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;
        (11) shall request restitution at sentencing and shall
    consider restitution in any plea negotiation, as provided
    by law; and
        (12) shall, upon the court entering a verdict of not
    guilty by reason of insanity, inform the victim of the
    notification services available from the Department of
    Human Services, including the statewide telephone number,
    under subparagraph (d)(2) of this Section.
    (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, international transfer or
exchange, 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.
    (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 furloughs, temporary release, or final discharge
from State custody. The Department of Human Services shall
establish and maintain a statewide telephone number to be used
by victims to make notification requests under these provisions
and shall publicize this telephone number on its website and to
the State's Attorney of each county.
    (3) In the event of an escape from State custody, the
Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice
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 or the Department of
Juvenile Justice 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
30 days prior to the parole interview 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 interview 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 or the State's Attorney of the
county where the person seeking parole was prosecuted, the
Prisoner Review Board shall notify the victim and the State's
Attorney of the county where the person seeking parole was
prosecuted 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, the Department of Juvenile Justice,
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.
    (8) When a defendant has been convicted of a sex offense as
defined in Section 2 of the Sex Offender Registration Act and
has been sentenced to the Department of Corrections or the
Department of Juvenile Justice, the Prisoner Review Board shall
notify the victim of the sex offense of the prisoner's
eligibility for release on parole, mandatory supervised
release, electronic detention, work release, international
transfer or exchange, or by the custodian of the discharge of
any individual who was adjudicated a delinquent for a sex
offense from State custody and by the sheriff of the
appropriate county of any such person's final discharge from
county custody. The notification shall be made to the victim at
least 30 days, whenever possible, before release of the sex
offender.
    (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. 95-317, eff. 8-21-07; 95-896, eff. 1-1-09;
95-897, eff. 1-1-09; 95-904, eff. 1-1-09; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09;
96-875, eff. 1-22-10.)