HB2431 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB100 09936 HEP 20107 b

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB2431

Introduced , by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 305/2

from Ch. 78, par. 2

Amends the Jury Act. Provides that, except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, no person who is qualified and able to serve as a juror may be excluded from jury service in any court of this State on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or unfavorable discharge from military service.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning civil law.

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 2 as follows:

(705 ILCS 305/2) (from Ch. 78, par. 2)

Sec. 2. Jury qualifications.

(a) At the September meeting of the county board in each year in the respective counties in this State, except those that have jury commissioners, the board shall select from the list the number of persons as the judges of the circuit courts, to be held in the county during the succeeding year, may by joint action determine to serve as petit jurors. In counties having jury commissioners, the persons to serve as petit jurors shall be selected by the jury commissioners, as provided by law. County boards, a jury administrator, and jury commissioners may utilize the services of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts in making these selections. Jurors in all counties in Illinois must have the legal qualifications herein prescribed. Jurors must be:

(1) Inhabitants of the county.

(2) Of the age of 18 years or upwards.

(3) Free from all legal exception, of fair character, of approved integrity, of sound judgment, well informed, and able to understand the English language, whether in spoken or written form or interpreted into sign language.

(4) Citizens of the United States of America.

(b) Except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, no person who is qualified and able to serve as a juror may be excluded from jury service in any court of this State on the basis of religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, order of protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or unfavorable military discharge, as those terms are defined in Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, or on the basis of race, color, or ancestry.

(Source: P.A. 90-482, eff. 1-1-98.)