HB4141 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 19913 RLC 28690 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4141

Introduced 10/19/2021, by Rep. Robyn Gabel

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

730 ILCS 5/3-2-2	from Ch. 38, par. 1003-2-2
730 ILCS 5/3-7-2	from Ch. 38, par. 1003-7-2

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Director of Corrections shall appoint a Family Liaison Officer to review any denial of or restrictions on visitation to a committed person by a person who, immediately before incarceration of the committed person, was a family or household member of the committed person if the committed person has filed with the chief administrative officer of the facility a list of those persons whom the committed person wishes to visit him or her at the facility. Provides that the Department of Corrections shall adopt rules regarding in-person or video conferencing with committed persons. Provides that a staff member of a facility may not deny an in-person or video conferencing visit for any reason other than as provided for by rule. Provides that visitation rules shall be published on the Department's website. Provides that any potential visitor who is denied a visit shall be given a standard form, in writing, that includes the specific rule that is the basis for the denial and the Family Liaison Officer information if the potential visitor wishes to appeal the denial of the visitation. Provides that the Department's Family Liaison Officer shall review within 15 days after receipt each visitation denial and determine whether the denial was appropriate under the specific rule. Provides that the written review and its outcome shall be published on the Department's website. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Public policy and findings.

(a) The General Assembly finds that it is the public policy of the State of Illinois that frequent in-person visits from family and household members to committed persons in correctional facilities are among the best ways to increase the success of rehabilitation and re-entry of committed persons into society.

(b) The General Assembly finds that the lack of data, transparency, or statewide rules and procedures to actively encourage in-person visitation has hindered the State's mission to successfully reintegrate committed persons into society and promote family stability. The General Assembly further finds that in-person visitation is without any additional cost to the State and the many social benefits, particularly to the family and household members of the committed person, justify centering visitation as a core function of every Department of Corrections facility.

Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by changing Sections 3-2-2 and 3-7-2 as follows:

(730 ILCS 5/3-2-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-2-2)

Sec. 3-2-2. Powers and duties of the Department.

(1) In addition to the powers, duties, and responsibilities which are otherwise provided by law, the Department shall have the following powers:

(a) To accept persons committed to it by the courts of this State for care, custody, treatment and rehabilitation, and to accept federal prisoners and aliens over whom the Office of the Federal Detention Trustee is authorized to exercise the federal detention function for limited purposes and periods of time.

(b) To develop and maintain reception and evaluation units for purposes of analyzing the custody and rehabilitation needs of persons committed to it and to assign such persons to institutions and programs under its control or transfer them to other appropriate agencies. In consultation with the Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (now the Department of Human Services), the Department of Corrections shall develop a master plan for the screening and evaluation of persons committed to its custody who have alcohol or drug abuse problems, and for making appropriate treatment available to such persons; the Department shall report to the General Assembly on such plan not later than April 1, 1987. The maintenance and implementation of such plan shall be contingent upon the availability of funds.

(b-1) To create and implement, on January 1, 2002, a pilot program to establish the effectiveness of pupillometer technology (the measurement of the pupil's reaction to light) as an alternative to a urine test for purposes of screening and evaluating persons committed to its custody who have alcohol or drug problems. The pilot program shall require the pupillometer technology to be used in at least one Department of Corrections facility. The Director may expand the pilot program to include an additional facility or facilities as he or she deems appropriate. A minimum of 4,000 tests shall be included in the pilot program. The Department must report to the General Assembly on the effectiveness of the program by January 1, 2003.

(b-5) To develop, in consultation with the Department of State Police, a program for tracking and evaluating each inmate from commitment through release for recording his or her gang affiliations, activities, or ranks.

(c) To maintain and administer all State correctional institutions and facilities under its control and to establish new ones as needed. Pursuant to its power to establish new institutions and facilities, the Department may, with the written approval of the Governor, authorize the Department of Central Management Services to enter into an agreement of the type described in subsection (d) of Section 405-300 of the Department of Central Management Services Law (20 ILCS 405/405-300). The Department shall designate those institutions which shall constitute the State Penitentiary System.

Pursuant to its power to establish new institutions and facilities, the Department may authorize the Department of Central Management Services to accept bids from counties and municipalities for the construction, remodeling or conversion of a structure to be leased to the Department of Corrections for the purposes of its serving as a correctional institution or facility. Such construction, remodeling or conversion may be financed with revenue bonds issued pursuant to the Industrial Building Revenue Bond Act by the municipality or county. The lease specified in a bid shall be for a term of not less than the time needed to retire any revenue bonds used to finance the project, but not to exceed 40 years. The lease may grant to the State the option to purchase the structure outright.

Upon receipt of the bids, the Department may certify one or more of the bids and shall submit any such bids to the General Assembly for approval. Upon approval of a bid by a constitutional majority of both houses of the General Assembly, pursuant to joint resolution, the Department of Central Management Services may enter into an agreement with the county or municipality pursuant to such bid.

(c-5) To build and maintain regional juvenile detention centers and to charge a per diem to the counties as established by the Department to defray the costs of housing each minor in a center. In this subsection (c-5), "juvenile detention center" means a facility to house minors during pendency of trial who have been transferred from proceedings under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 to prosecutions under the criminal laws of this State in accordance with Section 5-805 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, whether the transfer was by operation of law or permissive under that Section. The Department shall designate the counties to be served by each regional juvenile detention center.

(d) To develop and maintain programs of control, rehabilitation and employment of committed persons within its institutions.

(d-5) To provide a pre-release job preparation program for inmates at Illinois adult correctional centers.

(d-10) To provide educational and visitation opportunities to committed persons within its institutions through temporary access to content-controlled tablets that may be provided as a privilege to committed persons to induce or reward compliance.

(e) To establish a system of supervision and guidance of committed persons in the community.

(f) To establish in cooperation with the Department of Transportation to supply a sufficient number of prisoners for use by the Department of Transportation to clean up the trash and garbage along State, county, township, or municipal highways as designated by the Department of Transportation. The Department of Corrections, at the request of the Department of Transportation, shall furnish such prisoners at least annually for a period to be agreed upon between the Director of Corrections and the Secretary of Transportation. The prisoners used on this program shall be selected by the Director of Corrections on whatever basis he deems proper in consideration of their term, behavior and earned eligibility to participate in such program - where they will be outside of the prison facility but still in the custody of the Department of Corrections. Prisoners convicted of first degree murder, or a Class X felony, or armed violence, or aggravated kidnapping, or criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse or a subsequent conviction for criminal sexual abuse, or forcible detention, or arson, or a prisoner adjudged a Habitual Criminal shall not be eligible for selection to participate in such program. The prisoners shall remain as prisoners in the custody of the Department of Corrections and such Department shall furnish whatever security is necessary. The Department of Transportation shall furnish trucks and equipment for the highway cleanup program and personnel to supervise and direct the program. Neither the Department of Corrections nor the Department of Transportation shall replace any regular employee with a prisoner.

(g) To maintain records of persons committed to it and to establish programs of research, statistics and planning.

(h) To investigate the grievances of any person committed to the Department and to inquire into any alleged misconduct by employees or committed persons; and for these purposes it may issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of writings and papers, and may examine under oath any witnesses who may appear before it; to also investigate alleged violations of a parolee's or releasee's conditions of parole or release; and for this purpose it may issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents only if there is reason to believe that such procedures would provide evidence that such violations have occurred.

If any person fails to obey a subpoena issued under this subsection, the Director may apply to any circuit court to secure compliance with the subpoena. The failure to comply with the order of the court issued in response thereto shall be punishable as contempt of court.

(i) To appoint and remove the chief administrative officers, and administer programs of training and development of personnel of the Department. Personnel assigned by the Department to be responsible for the custody and control of committed persons or to investigate the alleged misconduct of committed persons or employees or alleged violations of a parolee's or releasee's conditions of parole shall be conservators of the peace for those purposes, and shall have the full power of peace officers outside of the facilities of the Department in the protection, arrest, retaking and reconfining of committed persons or where the exercise of such power is necessary to the investigation of such misconduct or violations. This subsection shall not apply to persons committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 on aftercare release.

(j) To cooperate with other departments and agencies and with local communities for the development of standards and programs for better correctional services in this State.

(k) To administer all moneys and properties of the Department.

(l) To report annually to the Governor on the committed persons, institutions and programs of the Department.

(l-5) (Blank).

(m) To make all rules and regulations and exercise all powers and duties vested by law in the Department.

(n) To establish rules and regulations for administering a system of sentence credits, established in accordance with Section 3-6-3, subject to review by the Prisoner Review Board.

(o) To administer the distribution of funds from the State Treasury to reimburse counties where State penal institutions are located for the payment of assistant state's attorneys' salaries under Section 4-2001 of the Counties Code.

(p) To exchange information with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services for the purpose of verifying living arrangements and for other purposes directly connected with the administration of this Code and the Illinois Public Aid Code.

(q) To establish a diversion program.

The program shall provide a structured environment for selected technical parole or mandatory supervised release violators and committed persons who have violated the rules governing their conduct while in work release. This program shall not apply to those persons who have committed a new offense while serving on parole or mandatory supervised release or while committed to work release.

Elements of the program shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(1) The staff of a diversion facility shall provide supervision in accordance with required objectives set by the facility.

(2) Participants shall be required to maintain employment.

(3) Each participant shall pay for room and board at the facility on a sliding-scale basis according to the participant's income.

(4) Each participant shall:

(A) provide restitution to victims in accordance with any court order;

(B) provide financial support to his dependents; and

(C) make appropriate payments toward any other court-ordered obligations.

(5) Each participant shall complete community service in addition to employment.

(6) Participants shall take part in such counseling, educational and other programs as the Department may deem appropriate.

(7) Participants shall submit to drug and alcohol screening.

(8) The Department shall promulgate rules governing the administration of the program.

(r) To enter into intergovernmental cooperation agreements under which persons in the custody of the Department may participate in a county impact incarceration program established under Section 3-6038 or 3-15003.5 of the Counties Code.

(r-5) (Blank).

(r-10) To systematically and routinely identify with respect to each streetgang active within the correctional system: (1) each active gang; (2) every existing inter-gang affiliation or alliance; and (3) the current leaders in each gang. The Department shall promptly segregate leaders from inmates who belong to their gangs and allied gangs. "Segregate" means no physical contact and, to the extent possible under the conditions and space available at the correctional facility, prohibition of visual and sound communication. For the purposes of this paragraph (r-10), "leaders" means persons who:

(i) are members of a criminal streetgang;

(ii) with respect to other individuals within the streetgang, occupy a position of organizer, supervisor, or other position of management or leadership; and

(iii) are actively and personally engaged in directing, ordering, authorizing, or requesting commission of criminal acts by others, which are punishable as a felony, in furtherance of streetgang related activity both within and outside of the Department of Corrections.

"Streetgang", "gang", and "streetgang related" have the meanings ascribed to them in Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act.

(s) To operate a super-maximum security institution, in order to manage and supervise inmates who are disruptive or dangerous and provide for the safety and security of the staff and the other inmates.

(t) To monitor any unprivileged conversation or any unprivileged communication, whether in person or by mail, telephone, or other means, between an inmate who, before commitment to the Department, was a member of an organized gang and any other person without the need to show cause or satisfy any other requirement of law before beginning the monitoring, except as constitutionally required. The monitoring may be by video, voice, or other method of recording or by any other means. As used in this subdivision (1)(t), "organized gang" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act.

As used in this subdivision (1)(t), "unprivileged conversation" or "unprivileged communication" means a conversation or communication that is not protected by any privilege recognized by law or by decision, rule, or order of the Illinois Supreme Court.

(u) To establish a Women's and Children's Pre-release Community Supervision Program for the purpose of providing housing and services to eligible female inmates, as determined by the Department, and their newborn and young children.

(u-5) To issue an order, whenever a person committed to the Department absconds or absents himself or herself, without authority to do so, from any facility or program to which he or she is assigned. The order shall be certified by the Director, the Supervisor of the Apprehension Unit, or any person duly designated by the Director, with the seal of the Department affixed. The order shall be directed to all sheriffs, coroners, and police officers, or to any particular person named in the order. Any order issued pursuant to this subdivision (1) (u-5) shall be sufficient warrant for the officer or person named in the order to arrest and deliver the committed person to the proper correctional officials and shall be executed the same as criminal process.

(v) To do all other acts necessary to carry out the provisions of this Chapter.

(2) The Department of Corrections shall by January 1, 1998, consider building and operating a correctional facility within 100 miles of a county of over 2,000,000 inhabitants, especially a facility designed to house juvenile participants in the impact incarceration program.

(3) When the Department lets bids for contracts for medical services to be provided to persons committed to Department facilities by a health maintenance organization, medical service corporation, or other health care provider, the bid may only be let to a health care provider that has obtained an irrevocable letter of credit or performance bond issued by a company whose bonds have an investment grade or higher rating by a bond rating organization.

(4) When the Department lets bids for contracts for food or commissary services to be provided to Department facilities, the bid may only be let to a food or commissary services provider that has obtained an irrevocable letter of credit or performance bond issued by a company whose bonds have an investment grade or higher rating by a bond rating organization.

(5) On and after the date 6 months after August 16, 2013 (the effective date of Public Act 98-488), as provided in the Executive Order 1 (2012) Implementation Act, all of the powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities related to State healthcare purchasing under this Code that were transferred from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services by Executive Order 3 (2005) are transferred back to the Department of Corrections; however, powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities related to State healthcare purchasing under this Code that were exercised by the Department of Corrections before the effective date of Executive Order 3 (2005) but that pertain to individuals resident in facilities operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice are transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(6) The Director shall appoint a Family Liaison Officer to review any denial of or restrictions on visitation to a committed person by a person who, immediately before incarceration of the committed person, was a family or household member of the committed person if the committed person has filed with the chief administrative officer of the facility a list of those persons whom the committed person wishes to visit him or her at the facility. In this Section and Section 3-7-2, "family or household member" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 112A-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963.

(Source: P.A. 100-198, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 101-235, eff. 1-1-20.)

(730 ILCS 5/3-7-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-7-2)

Sec. 3-7-2. Facilities.

(a) All institutions and facilities of the Department shall provide every committed person with access to toilet facilities, barber facilities, bathing facilities at least once each week, a library of legal materials and published materials including newspapers and magazines approved by the Director. A committed person may not receive any materials that the Director deems pornographic.

(b) (Blank).

(c) All institutions and facilities of the Department shall provide facilities for every committed person to leave his cell for at least one hour each day unless the chief administrative officer determines that it would be harmful or dangerous to the security or safety of the institution or facility.

(d) All institutions and facilities of the Department shall provide every committed person with a wholesome and nutritional diet at regularly scheduled hours, drinking water, clothing adequate for the season, bedding, soap and towels and medical and dental care.

(e) All institutions and facilities of the Department shall permit every committed person to send and receive an unlimited number of uncensored letters, provided, however, that the Director may order that mail be inspected and read for reasons of the security, safety or morale of the institution or facility.

(f) All of the institutions and facilities of the Department shall permit every committed person to receive in-person visitors and video contact, if available, except in case of abuse of the visiting privilege or when the chief administrative officer determines that such visiting would be harmful or dangerous to the security, safety or morale of the institution or facility. Each committed person is entitled to 7 visits per month. Every committed person may submit a list of at least 30 persons to the Department that are authorized to visit the committed person. The list shall be kept in an electronic format by the Department beginning on August 1, 2019, as well as available in paper form for Department employees. The chief administrative officer shall have the right to restrict visitation to non-contact visits, video, or other forms of non-contact visits for reasons of safety, security, and order, including, but not limited to, restricting contact visits for committed persons engaged in gang activity. No committed person in a super maximum security facility or on disciplinary segregation is allowed contact visits. Any committed person found in possession of illegal drugs or who fails a drug test shall not be permitted contact visits for a period of at least 6 months. Any committed person involved in gang activities or found guilty of assault committed against a Department employee shall not be permitted contact visits for a period of at least 6 months. The Department shall offer every visitor appropriate written information concerning HIV and AIDS, including information concerning how to contact the Illinois Department of Public Health for counseling information. The Department shall develop the written materials in consultation with the Department of Public Health. The Department shall ensure that all such information and materials are culturally sensitive and reflect cultural diversity as appropriate. Implementation of the changes made to this Section by Public Act 94-629 is subject to appropriation. The Department shall seek the lowest possible cost to provide video calling and shall charge to the extent of recovering any demonstrated costs of providing video calling. The Department shall not make a commission or profit from video calling services. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to permit video calling instead of in-person visitation.

(f-5) (Blank).

(f-10) The Department may not restrict or limit in-person visits to committed persons due to the availability of interactive video conferences.

(f-15)(1) The Department shall issue a standard written policy for each institution and facility of the Department that provides for:

(A) the number of in-person visits each committed person is entitled to per week and per month including the requirements of subsection (f) of this Section;

(B) the hours of in-person visits;

(C) the type of identification required for visitors at least 18 years of age; and

(D) the type of identification, if any, required for visitors under 18 years of age.

(2) This policy shall be posted on the Department website and at each facility.

(3) The Department shall post on its website daily any restrictions or denials of visitation for that day and the succeeding 5 calendar days, including those based on a lockdown of the facility, to inform family members and other visitors.

(f-20) The Department shall adopt rules regarding in-person or video conferencing with committed persons. A staff member of a facility may not deny an in-person or video conferencing visit for any reason other than as provided for by rule. Visitation rules shall be published on the Department's website. Any potential visitor who is denied a visit shall be given a standard form, in writing, that includes the specific rule that is the basis for the denial and the Family Liaison Officer information if the potential visitor wishes to appeal the denial of the visitation. The Department's Family Liaison Officer shall review within 15 days after receipt each visitation denial and determine whether the denial was appropriate under the specific rule. The written review and its outcome shall be published on the Department's website.

(g) All institutions and facilities of the Department shall permit religious ministrations and sacraments to be available to every committed person, but attendance at religious services shall not be required.

(h) Within 90 days after December 31, 1996, the Department shall prohibit the use of curtains, cell-coverings, or any other matter or object that obstructs or otherwise impairs the line of vision into a committed person's cell.

(Source: P.A. 99-933, eff. 1-27-17; 100-30, eff. 1-1-18; 100-142, eff. 1-1-18; 100-677, eff. 1-1-19; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.