HB4550 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 22624 RLC 31767 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4550

Introduced 1/21/2022, by Rep. Justin Slaughter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
5 ILCS 140/7	from Ch. 116, par. 207
20 ILCS 5/5-15	was 20 ILCS 5/3
20 ILCS 5/5-20	was 20 ILCS 5/4
20 ILCS 5/5-172 new
20 ILCS 5/5-240 new
20 ILCS 5/5-402 new
730 ILCS 5/3-14-3	from Ch. 38, par. 1003-14-3

Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Second Chance State Act. Creates the Department of Returning Resident Affairs Act and amends the Freedom of Information Act, the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, and the Unified Code of Corrections. Contains declarations and findings. Sets forth the powers of the Department of Returning Resident Affairs in relation to returning residents (residents who have been detained, are defendants in criminal prosecutions, are incarcerated, or have been incarcerated) and other matters. Provides that the Department shall develop and administer the Second Chance State Program for returning residents and provides for the establishment of hub sites to provide specified services to eligible individuals and other elements of the Program. Creates the Second Chance State Transportation Task Force to create a program to provide no-cost or low-cost transportation options for returning residents before or after their release from incarceration. Creates the Returning Residents Interagency Council to identify the manner in which State officials and agencies can designate, allocate, and coordinate the use of their resources to best support the needs of returning residents. Provides for the appointment of a Director of Returning Resident Affairs who has experience working with or for a community-based organization and was incarcerated in an Illinois Department of Corrections facility for not less than one year, as well as an Assistant Director and a General Counsel. Provides that the Director, Assistant Director, and General Counsel shall serve for 7-year terms and are subject to removal only upon a finding of misconduct by the Executive Inspector General for the agencies of the Illinois Governor. Contains provisions regarding other matters. Provides that the provisions of the Act are severable. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT creating the Department of Returning Resident Affairs.

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

Section 1. Short title; references to Act.

(a) This Act may be cited as the Department of Returning Resident Affairs Act.

(b) This Act may be referred to as the Second Chance State Act.

Section 5. Legislative declarations and findings. The General Assembly finds and declares that:

(1) The health, welfare, and prosperity of all Illinois citizens requires the State to change its response to individuals impacted by the judicial system from failed siloed programming to a comprehensive, coordinated, and holistic approach that provides those returning residents with a real second chance to succeed in life.

(2) Approximately 42% of Illinois' working age population has an arrest or conviction record. The fact that many of these Illinoisans had no first chance at success in life before their interaction with the judicial system, let alone a real second chance after their release, underscores the need to respond to these individuals when their justice involvement begins without waiting until it ends.

(3) This condition is exacerbated after these individuals are released from incarceration because they are often perceived as being forever irredeemable even though they have paid their debt to society. Their post-incarceration environment is therefore fraught with barriers to their success, with obstacles impeding them from accessing such basic human necessities as decent housing, meaningful employment, transportation, education, digital literacy, health care, and nutrition.

(4) The cost of those obstacles to Illinois is high, both in terms of dollars and violence. Approximately 41% of persons incarcerated in Illinois will recidivate within 3 years. Each recidivism event costs Illinois taxpayers over $151,000. The cost of recidivism in terms of violence to Illinois communities is higher, with 39% of returning residents being re-arrested for a violent crime within 9 years of release and 83% of homicide offenders in Illinois having arrest or conviction records. An uncalculated cost to Illinois is the loss of productivity and profitability to our State's businesses that suffer from labor shortages when returning residents could be supported and prepared to enter the workforce.

(5) Illinois' current approach to returning residents fails because it requires them to navigate through the requirements of numerous disjointed, siloed, and uncoordinated programs that do not fit their individual needs and without the fundamental knowledge, tools, and assistance needed for those returning residents to navigate them.

(6) It is in the best interests of all Illinois citizens for the State to reduce the cost of recidivism by moving from this failed approach. It is therefore in the best interests of all Illinois citizens for the State to create a comprehensive, coordinated, and holistic program that provides returning residents with effective assistance to respond to the social determinants and obstacles that impede their successful reentry to society.

(7) This approach is best achieved by the State's creation of a single Department to coordinate the provision of programs to returning residents through community-based navigators working for community-based organizations. Those navigators and community-based organizations understand returning residents' assessed and individualized needs because they work in the communities where returning residents live. With this experience, they can support returning residents with the resources and assistance they need to navigate through and connect with the multiple systems and service providers that returning residents require to be successful in life.

(8) The General Assembly therefore finds that it is necessary to create the Department of Returning Resident Affairs and to require the Department to take the actions and establish the programs described in this Act.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Community-based organization" means a private, non-profit entity that has established and demonstrable experience providing services to Illinois' returning resident community and an understanding of the issues affecting those returning residents, which is evidenced by:

(1) the provision of services to returning residents in Illinois for at least 5 years;

(2) experience providing returning residents with assistance regarding issues necessary for those returning residents' success in life, including, without limitation, job preparation training, skills training, job placement, housing, financial and digital literacy, and physical and behavioral health;

(3) experience providing educational programming to returning residents;

(4) experience providing that assistance on a comprehensive, coordinated, and holistic basis;

(5) experience using service delivery systems that employ the navigators or personnel similar to the navigators described in this Act to connect returning residents to other community-based service providers;

(6) establishment of relationships with other community-based service providers that serve returning residents' needs;

(7) the organization's history of employing returning residents; and

(8) the organization's leadership reflecting the diversity of the community in which the organization operates.

"Council" means the Returning Resident Interagency Council.

"Director" means the Director of Returning Resident Affairs.

"Department" means the Department of Returning Resident Affairs.

"For-profit correctional entity" means a person or entity that directly, indirectly, or beneficially operates a correctional or detention facility for profit.

"Hub site operator" means the community-based organization that contracts with the Department to operate a hub site under the Program;

"Navigator" means one of the various types of navigators described in this Act who are employed by or contracted with a hub site operator under the Program.

"Program" means the Second Chance State Program described in this Act.

"Program participant" means a returning resident who has consented to participate in the Program.

"Returning resident" means an Illinois resident who is at least 17 years old and:

(1) has been detained by a law enforcement officer or correctional officer of this State or any agency or political subdivision of this State;

(2) is a defendant in a criminal prosecution pending in any State or federal court sitting in the State of Illinois;

(3) is incarcerated or otherwise detained in any local, county, State, or federal correctional or detention facility located in the State of Illinois; or

(4) has been incarcerated or otherwise detained in any local, county, State, or federal correctional or detention facility.

Section 15. Creation of the Department of Returning Resident Affairs. The Department of Returning Resident Affairs is created. The Department shall exercise governmental and public powers, be perpetual in duration, and have the powers and duties enumerated in this Act, together with other powers and duties conferred upon it by law and powers and duties that are necessary or implied for the purpose of effectuating the policy declared in Section 5.

Section 20. General powers of the Department.

(a) Except as otherwise limited by this Act, the Department has all of the powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act, including, without limitation, each of the following:

(1) To have a corporate seal, and to alter that seal at pleasure, and to use it by causing it or a facsimile to be affixed or impressed or reproduced in any other manner.

(2) To obtain and employ personnel and hire consultants that are necessary to fulfill the Department's purposes, and to make expenditures for that purpose within the appropriations for that purpose.

(3) To purchase, receive, take by grant, gift, devise, bequest, or otherwise, lease, or otherwise acquire, own, hold, improve, employ, use, convey in whole or in part, and otherwise deal in and with real or personal property whether tangible or intangible, or any interest therein, within the State.

(4) To make and execute agreements, contracts, and other instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers and functions of the Department under this Act, including contracts with any person, local government, State Department, or other entity. All State agencies and all local governments are authorized to enter into and do all things necessary to perform any such agreement, contract, or other instrument with the Department. No such agreement, contract, or other instrument shall exceed 40 years.

(6) To maintain the Department at such place or places in the State as it may determine.

(7) To request information, and to make any inquiry, investigation, survey, or study that the Department may deem necessary to enable it effectively to carry out the provisions of this Act.

(8) To accept and expend appropriations.

(9) To engage in any activity or operation that is incidental to and in furtherance of efficient operation to accomplish the Department's purposes.

(10) To adopt, revise, amend, and repeal rules with respect to its operations as may be necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this Act, subject to the provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The Department shall consult and collaborate with community-based organizations in a meaningful manner when developing the rules. The Department shall provide all community-based organizations that file a written statement of interest with the Department with at least 10 business days to comment on any proposed rules of the Department before the Department publishes notice of the proposed rules in the Illinois Register in accordance with Section 5-40 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(b) Unless otherwise stated, the Department is subject to the provisions of all applicable laws, including, but not limited to:

(1) The State Records Act.

(2) The Illinois Procurement Code.

(3) The Freedom of Information Act.

(4) The State Property Control Act.

Section 25. Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act shall apply to all administrative rules and procedures of the Department.

Section 30. Administrative Review Law. Any final administrative decision of the Department is subject to review under the Administrative Review Law.

Section 35. Illinois State Auditing Act. For purposes of the Illinois State Auditing Act, the Department is a State agency within the meaning of that Act and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Auditor General.

Section 40. Department officials.

(a) The Department shall have a Director who meets the qualifications specified in subsection (a) of Section 5-240 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.

(b) The Department shall have an Assistant Director and General Counsel who meet the qualifications specified in subsection (b) of Section 5-240 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.

Section 45. The Second Chance State Program.

(a) Subject to appropriation, within one year of the effective date of this Act, the Department shall develop, create, implement, and administer the Second Chance State Program.

(b) The following actions shall be taken to implement the Program:

(1) Within 2 hours after making an arrest, or sooner if the arrestee is released in less than 2 hours, each law enforcement officer shall provide each person that the law enforcement officer arrests with information about the Program, including, without limitation, contact information for the Program and an opportunity for the arrestee to consent to the law enforcement officer's direct referral of the arrestee to the Program. Upon the arrestee's consent to such direct referral and provision of appropriate contact information to the law enforcement officer, that law enforcement officer shall forward the arrestee's consent and contact information to the Program within 5 business days after the law enforcement officer receives such information.

(2) Simultaneously with a defendant's first appearance in a criminal proceeding, the clerk of the circuit court where the defendant's case is pending shall provide the defendant with information about the Program, including, without limitation, contact information for the Program and an opportunity for the defendant to consent to the clerk's direct referral of the defendant to the Program. Upon the defendant's consent to such direct referral and provision of appropriate contact information to the clerk, that clerk shall forward the defendant's consent and contact information to the Program within 5 business days after the clerk receives such information.

(3) Each county sheriff shall provide the following to each person detained in a facility over which that sheriff has jurisdiction, prior to each detainee's release from the facility: (A) information about the Program, including, without limitation, contact information for the Program and (B) an opportunity for the detainee to consent to the sheriff's direct referral of the detainee to the Program. Upon the detainee's consent to such direct referral and provision of appropriate contact information to the sheriff, that sheriff shall forward the detainee's consent and contact information to the Program within 5 business days after the sheriff receives such information.

(4) The Department of Corrections shall provide the following to each person incarcerated in a facility operated directly by or under contract with the Department of Corrections within 6 months of the individual's projected release from the facility: (A) information about the Program, including, without limitation, contact information for the Program and (B) an opportunity for the incarcerated individual to consent to the Department of Corrections' direct referral of the individual to the Program. Upon the incarcerated individual's consent to such direct referral and provision of appropriate contact information to the Department of Corrections, the Department of Corrections shall forward the incarcerated individual's consent and contact information to the Program within 5 business days after the Department of Corrections receives such information.

(5) The Department shall provide both hard copy and electronic versions of the information and consent forms described in this Act in English, Spanish, Polish, and such other languages as the Department may choose to clerks of the circuit court, county sheriffs, the Department of Corrections, and other entities that request such information and forms. The Department shall create a system that allows for law enforcement officers, clerks of the circuit court, the Department of Corrections, and others to electronically transmit information to the Department that is required by this Act in the most reasonably efficient and expeditious manner. The obligations imposed upon law enforcement officers, clerks of the circuit court, the Department of Corrections, and others by this Act shall not be held in abeyance or otherwise altered while the Department creates such a system.

(6) The Department shall, on its own or under contract with a community-based organization, maintain a non-automated, toll-free telephone hotline for returning residents to contact about their immediate needs and referral to the Program. That hotline shall be solely answered and staffed by individuals trained to triage and otherwise provide a trauma-informed response to the needs of returning residents who may be experiencing a crisis. The Department shall endeavor to cause the hotline to be staffed in a manner that allows for callers to it to be connected to hotline staff within not less than 10 minutes after the call is placed. Hotline staff shall connect returning residents who call the hotline to:

(A) a suicide prevention hotline or qualified mental health professional that can respond to the caller's immediate needs if hotline staff determines that the caller is in danger of harming the caller or others;

(B) community-based organizations or community-based providers that can respond to other immediate needs of the caller;

(C) a hub site for participation in the Program if the caller is a returning resident who consents to such referral and provides the hotline with information necessary to make the referral.

The Department shall partner, collaborate, and otherwise work with community-based organizations to develop a plan to publicize and promote this hotline.

(7) The Department shall partner, collaborate, and otherwise work with federal correctional facilities located in Illinois, other State agencies, community-based organizations, community-based service providers, religious and other charitable entities, and any other entity it deems necessary to disseminate information about the Program to returning residents and offer them an opportunity to participate in the Program. Other State agencies shall be required to partner, collaborate, and otherwise work with the Department for this purpose.

(8) The Program shall be operated at 13 hub sites geographically distributed across the State, including at least one hub site located in or near each of the following areas: Chicago (South Side), Chicago (Southwest and West Sides), Waukegan, Rockford, Aurora, Joliet, Peoria, Champaign, Danville, Decatur, Carbondale, East St. Louis, and Alton.

(9) The Program's elements shall be delivered at each hub site by community-based organizations, which shall act as the hub site operator under contract with the Department, and the community-based organization's subcontractors. Recognizing the General Assembly's finding that successful reentry of returning residents is dependent upon a comprehensive, coordinated, and holistic response, the Department shall select not more than 3 community-based organizations to deliver the Program's elements to hub sites throughout Illinois as a hub site operator, with each community-based organization delivering the Program's elements as a hub site operator at multiple hub sites assigned to it by the Department for not less than a 3-year period. Those community-based organizations may provide the Program elements as a hub site operator on their own or in whole or part under subcontracts with other community-based providers. The Department shall employ not less than 3 Regional Supervisors to oversee the work of the hub site operators.

(10) The Department shall electronically transmit consents and contact information for each returning resident that is referred to or otherwise contacts the Program, to the hub site that services the geographic area in which the returning resident is or expects to be located within 2 business days after the Department receives that information.

(11) The Program's elements at each hub site shall consist of the following:

(A) Each hub site operator shall develop a network of community-based service providers that provide those services needed by each individual Program participant to avoid incarceration and otherwise succeed in life, including, without limitation, pretrial services (including, without limitation, facilitating participation in participatory defense and restorative justice programs and other alternatives to traditional criminal proceedings), education, job preparation and training, skills training, job placement, housing, financial and digital literacy, and physical and behavioral health.

(B) Each hub site operator shall employ pretrial navigators at each hub site it operates. Each returning resident who has been detained by law enforcement or is a defendant in a criminal action and who consents to participation in the Program shall be assigned to a pretrial navigator.

(C) Law enforcement officers shall allow and facilitate communications and in-person visits between arrestees who have consented to referral to the Program and pretrial navigators assigned to those arrestees.

(D) Each hub site operator shall employ reentry navigators at each hub site it operates. Each returning resident who consents to participation in the Program shall be assigned to a reentry navigator.

(E) The Department of Corrections shall allow and facilitate communications and in-person visits between returning residents incarcerated in correctional facilities operated directly by or under contract with the Department of Corrections and who have consented to referral to the Program and the reentry navigators assigned to those returning residents, for the purposes establishing a seamless transition of those returning residents from the Department of Corrections to the Program upon the returning residents' release from incarceration. Upon the consent of a returning resident, the Department of Corrections shall provide the reentry navigator assigned to the returning resident with all:

(i) Medicaid-related information pertaining to the returning resident that was obtained under subsection (a-4) of Section 3-14-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections; and

(ii) health care coverage information pertaining to the returning resident that was obtained under subsection (f) of Section 3-14-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections.

Upon a returning resident's release from incarceration, the Department of Corrections shall also provide that returning resident with one month's supply of any prescribed medications the returning resident was taking at the time of the returning resident's release.

(F) Each county sheriff shall allow and facilitate communications and in-person visits between returning residents appearing in courts within that sheriff's jurisdiction or detained in facilities operated directly by or under contract with the county sheriff and who have consented to referral to the Program and the navigators assigned to those returning residents, for the purpose of establishing a seamless transition of those returning residents from those facilities to the Program upon the returning residents' release from detention.

(G) Navigators shall be in regular communication with the Program participants assigned to them for the purposes of:

(i) assessing that participant's individual needs to avoid recidivating and otherwise succeed in life;

(ii) determining what community-based service providers or others are best suited to provide services to the participant that are necessary for that purpose;

(iii) maintaining regular and continuing contact with the Program participant for as long as is necessary to ensure that the participant's needs are being met and until the navigator reasonably believes that the participant is not in danger of recidivating; and

(iv) providing other services that the navigator may be required or authorized to provide under law.

(H) Each hub site operator shall endeavor to limit each navigator's active caseload of Program participants assigned to that navigator to not more than 25 returning residents.

(I) Each hub site operator shall employ one or more Education Counselors at each hub site it operates to assist pretrial and reentry navigators at that site with obtaining and facilitating educational and education-related financial aid opportunities for Program participants and the presentation of educational programming in correctional and detention facilities. Each hub site shall conduct educational programming for Program participants before, during, and after they have been incarcerated or detained. The Department of Corrections shall allow and facilitate in-person and virtual contact between returning residents incarcerated in correctional facilities operated directly by or under contract with the Department of Corrections and hub site personnel for the purpose of conducting this programming. Each county sheriff shall allow and facilitate in-person and virtual contact between returning residents detained in facilities operated directly by or under contract with the county sheriff and hub site personnel for the purpose of conducting this programming.

(J) Each hub site operator shall employ one or more housing counselors at each hub site that it operates, to assist pretrial and reentry navigators at that site with housing issues affecting Program participants.

(K) Each hub site operator shall employ one or more job developers at each hub site that it operates, to assist pretrial and reentry navigators at that site with employment issues affecting Program participants.

(L) Each hub site operator shall employ one or more qualified mental health professionals at each hub site that it operates, to provide behavioral health treatment to Program participants and assist pretrial and reentry navigators at that site with behavioral health issues affecting Program participants. Each hub site operator shall endeavor to limit the caseload of Program participants assigned to each qualified mental health professional for treatment by that qualified mental health professional to 25 Program participants.

(M) Each hub site operator shall employ one or more certified alcohol and drug counselors at each hub site that it operates to assist pretrial and reentry navigators at that site with substance abuse issues affecting Program participants. Each hub site operator shall endeavor to limit the caseload of Program participants assigned to each certified alcohol and drug counselor for treatment by that counselor to 25 Program participants.

(N) Each hub site operator shall employ one or more persons who have been incarcerated to work as certified peer support specialists at each hub site that it operates. Each certified peer support specialist shall assist Program participants with such matters that include, without limitation, articulating goals, developing plans, learning and practicing new skills, monitoring progress, treatment support, effective coping techniques, and self-help strategies, and shall also assist pretrial and reentry navigators at that site with issues affecting Program participants. Each hub site operator shall endeavor to limit the caseload of Program participants assigned to each certified peer support specialists to 25 Program participants.

(O) Within 2 years of the date of a hub site operator's contract with the Department to operate a hub site, the hub site operator shall develop and implement a program to train individuals for certification as certified alcohol and drug counselors and certified peer support specialists without charge to those individuals. Preference for such training shall be given to persons who have been incarcerated.

(P) When making employment decisions regarding the employment of individuals at their hub sites, hub site operators shall give preference to persons who have been incarcerated. Hub site operators shall only employ persons who have been incarcerated as certified peer support specialists.

(Q) Hub site operators and the hub sites they operate shall partner, collaborate, and otherwise work together to develop best practices to achieve the purposes of this Act and leverage resources available for those purposes. The Department shall convene in-person meetings or virtual meetings of all hub site operators for this purpose on not less than a monthly basis.

(R) The Department and the hub site operators shall operate each hub site in cooperation and geographic proximity with any hub sites that may be operated under the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program, Illinois Climate Works Preapprenticeship Program, or Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program.

Section 50. Metrics and reporting.

(a) Each hub site operator shall report the following to the Department on a quarterly basis for Program participants served by the hub site:

(1) the total number of Program participants referred to, assessed by, and enrolled in a program by the hub site and total number of those Program participants who successfully completed a program related to their referral to the hub site;

(2) pretrial program referrals and 90-day, 180-day, 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 7-year incarceration or recidivism rates for Program participants referred to those programs, categorized by incarceration or recidivism resulting from:

(i) violation of court-imposed restrictions;

(ii) alleged commission of a violent crime; and

(iii) alleged commission of a non-violent crime;

(3) 90-day, 180-day, 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 7-year recidivism rates for Program participants, categorized by the recidivism resulting from:

(i) violation of probation, violation of mandatory supervised release, technical parole violation, or similar activity;

(ii) alleged commission of a violent crime; and

(iii) alleged commission of a non-violent crime;

(4) job referrals, job starts, and 30-day, 60-day, 90-day, and 365-day job retention data;

(5) preapprenticeship training referrals, preapprenticeship training acceptances, apprenticeship program referrals, apprenticeship program acceptances and 30-day, 60-day, 90-day, and 365-day job retention data;

(6) the number of hours of educational programming provided in correctional or detention facilities and the number of incarcerated or detained individuals attending that programming;

(7) educational referrals and placements, including, without limitation, referrals to and placements in high school equivalency programs, postsecondary educational classes, and vocational classes;

(8) housing referrals, housing placements 30-day, 60-day, 90-day, and 365-day housing retention data, categorized by transitional housing and permanent housing;

(9) non-hospital admission medical referrals, non-hospital admission medical placements; hospital admission referrals, hospital admission placements;

(10) behavioral health service referrals, behavioral health assessments, behavioral health program enrollments, and successful completions of behavioral health programs;

(11) substance or alcohol abuse referrals, substance or alcohol abuse assessments, substance or alcohol abuse treatment enrollments, and successful completions of substance or alcohol abuse treatment programs;

(12) referrals to other community-based service providers and placements with those providers, categorized by provider;

(13) financial expenditures for the operation of the Program, itemized by categories, which shall be determined by the Department; and

(14) such other information as the Department may require.

(b) To facilitate the reporting required under this Section that pertains to incarcerations or recidivism, the Department shall provide the Department of Corrections with the identity of all Program participants who were not incarcerated while participating in the Program, on a monthly basis. Within 10 business days of the Department of Corrections' receipt of that information, the Department of Corrections shall provide the Department with the identities of all such Program participants who are incarcerated in facilities operated by or under contract with the Department of Corrections. The Department of Corrections shall also provide the Department with such other information as the Department reasonably requires for reporting purposes or to otherwise implement or conduct the Program.

(c) The Department shall make the reports provided to it by the hub site operators under this Section available on the Department's website.

(d) The Department shall make an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly that includes cumulative data that reflects the information provided to the Department under this Section.

(e) The Department shall annually perform an analysis of the financial costs and benefits of the Department's programs and other programs that support or otherwise relate to returning residents. This analysis shall include, at a minimum, the financial impact of returning resident education, training and employment programs and other returning resident programs, the net tax revenues to the State and its political subdivisions that result from returning resident programs, the reduction in public assistance to returning residents that results from returning resident programs, and such other similar financial costs and benefits as the Director deems necessary to analyze. The Governor's Office of Management and Budget shall be the lead agency to provide principal support to the Department for this analysis. All other State agencies shall provide such information as the Department deems reasonably necessary for this analysis and shall assist with it. The Department shall report the findings of this analysis to the General Assembly and the Governor and shall publish those findings on its website.

Section 55. Privilege for communications by returning residents.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), anything said or done by an arrestee or Program participant as part of, in anticipation of or as a follow-up to that that individual's participation in the Program shall be privileged, shall not be disclosed and may not be used in any pending or future civil, criminal, juvenile, court, administrative, or other proceeding unless the privilege is waived in writing by the individual covered by the privilege after upon the individual's informed consent.

(b) Any waiver of privilege provided by this Section is limited to the participation and communication of the waiving party only, and the participation or communications of any other arrestee or Program participant shall remain privileged unless waived by the other individual.

(c) The privilege afforded by this Section does not apply if disclosure is necessary to prevent death, great bodily harm, or the commission of a crime.

Section 60. Prohibition on relationships with for-profit correctional entities.

(a) Neither the Department nor any hub site operator shall enter into a contractual or other financial, service, or volunteer relationship with and shall not pay any money or provide any other form of consideration to:

(1) a for-profit correctional entity;

(2) a person or entity that directly, indirectly, or beneficially, in the name of the person or entity or in the name of a nominee, has an ownership interest in or other form of control over more than 7 1/2% of a for-profit correctional entity;

(3) an entity where a person or entity described in paragraph (1) or (2) directly, indirectly, or beneficially, in the name of the person or entity or in the name of a nominee, has an ownership interest in or other form of control over more than 7 1/2%;

(4) an entity where a person described in paragraph (2) is an officer, director, trustee, administrator, or employee;

(5) a person who is or has been an officer, director, trustee, administrator, or employee of a for-profit correctional entity;

(6) an entity where a person described in paragraph (5) is an officer, director, trustee, administrator, or employee;

(7) an entity in which a for-profit correctional entity, directly, indirectly, or beneficially, in its own name or in the name of a nominee, has an ownership interest in or other form of control over more than 7 1/2%;

(8) a non-profit entity that was or is organized by, operated by, or funded in part by, or has as an officer, director, trustee, administrator, or employee, any person or entity described in paragraphs (1) through (7).

(b) A hub site operator shall not assign or otherwise transfer any of its powers, duties, or obligations that are set forth in this Act or any agreement it enters into under this Act to any person or entity described in subsection (a). The Department, any officer, director, administrator, or employee of the Department, a hub site operator or any officer, director, trustee, administrator, or employee shall not refer a returning resident for any service whatsoever to a person or entity described in paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (a).

(c) Each party to any contract, agreement, memorandum of understanding, or similar instrument with the Department or a hub site operator shall certify in writing that, under penalty of perjury, the party has performed due diligence to determine whether the party complies with this Section and, after performing that due diligence, has determined that the party complies with this Section.

(d) Each employee of the Department and each hub site operator shall certify in writing that the employee or operator performed due diligence to determine whether the employee or operator complies with this Section and, after performing that due diligence, has determined that the employee or operator complies with this Section.

Section 65. Second Chance State Transportation Task Force. The Second Chance State Transportation Task Force is established to create a program to provide no-cost or low-cost transportation options for returning residents prior to or after their release from incarceration. The Task Force shall consist of the following members:

(1) the Director or the Director's designee, who shall serve as chair of the Task Force;

(2) one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(3) one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives;

(4) one member of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate;

(5) one member of the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

(6) one person appointed by the Secretary of Transportation;

(7) one person appointed by the Director of Revenue who, in addition to being a member of the Task Force, shall also serve as an advisor and resource to the Task Force on tax incentive issues;

(8) one person representing each of the members of the Illinois Association of Regional Councils;

(9) one person appointed by the chair of the Regional Transportation Authority;

(10) one person appointed by the chair of the Chicago Transit Authority;

(11) one person appointed by every other transit district in Illinois;

(12) three persons appointed by the Governor who represent ridesharing entities;

(13) three persons appointed by the Governor who represent the automobile sales industry;

(14) the mayor or president of a municipality located in the geographic area serviced by each hub site created for the Program, appointed by the Governor;

(15) one person appointed by the President of the University of Illinois who shall have expertise in the areas studied by the Second Chance State Transportation Task Force and, in addition to being a member of the Task Force, shall also serve as an advisor and resource to the Task Force; and

(16) five persons appointed by the Governor, upon the recommendation of the Director, who are returning residents.

No person shall serve on the Task Force who is a lobbyist within the meaning of the Lobbyist Registration Act. No person shall serve on the Task Force who is prohibited from having a relationship with the Department or a hub site operator under Section 60. Members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation except for reimbursement for expenses.

All members of the Task Force shall be appointed within 30 days of the appointment of the Director. The Task Force shall thereafter meet every other week to the extent and in the manner determined necessary by the Director. The Task Force shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly within one year after the last member's appointment and then shall be dissolved.

Section 70. Returning Residents Interagency Council. The Returning Residents Interagency Council is established to identify the manner in which State officials and agencies can designate, allocate, and coordinate the use of their resources to best support the needs of returning residents. The Director shall be the chair of the Council. Each of the following shall appoint a representative to the Council:

(1) The Attorney General.

(2) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

(3) The Department on Aging.

(4) The Department of Agriculture.

(5) The Department of Central Management Services.

(6) The Department of Children and Family Services.

(7) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

(8) The Department of Corrections.

(9) The Department of Employment Security.

(10) The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

(11) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

(12) The Department of Human Services.

(13) The Department of Innovation and Technology.

(14) The Department of Insurance.

(15) The Department of Labor.

(16) The Department of Public Health.

(17) The Department of Revenue.

(18) The Department of Transportation.

(19) The Department of Veterans' Affairs.

(20) The Governor's Office of Management and Budget.

(21) The Illinois Community College Board.

(22) The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

(23) The Illinois Finance Authority.

(24) The Illinois Housing Development Authority.

(25) The State Board of Higher Education.

(26) The Illinois State Police.

(27) The Secretary of State.

(28) The State Superintendent of Education.

(29) The State Treasurer.

The Director may appoint other persons to the Council as the Director determines necessary. The Council shall meet no less than quarterly in places determined by the Director. The Department shall provide the support and assistance needed by the Council.

Section 75. Provisions of Act mandatory. Subject only to appropriation, the provisions of this Act are mandatory and shall not be considered to be directory or discretionary.

Section 905. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by changing Section 7 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/7) (from Ch. 116, par. 207)

Sec. 7. Exemptions.

(1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public record that contains information that is exempt from disclosure under this Section, but also contains information that is not exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect to redact the information that is exempt. The public body shall make the remaining information available for inspection and copying. Subject to this requirement, the following shall be exempt from inspection and copying:

(a) Information specifically prohibited from disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations implementing federal or State law.

(b) Private information, unless disclosure is required by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or a court order.

(b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and specifically designed to provide information to one or more law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or mental status of one or more individual subjects.

(c) Personal information contained within public records, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual subjects of the information. "Unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of information that is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the information. The disclosure of information that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal privacy.

(d) Records in the possession of any public body created in the course of administrative enforcement proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that disclosure would:

(i) interfere with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by any law enforcement or correctional agency that is the recipient of the request;

(ii) interfere with active administrative enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body that is the recipient of the request;

(iii) create a substantial likelihood that a person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial hearing;

(iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a confidential source, confidential information furnished only by the confidential source, or persons who file complaints with or provide information to administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or penal agencies; except that the identities of witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident reports, and rescue reports shall be provided by agencies of local government, except when disclosure would interfere with an active criminal investigation conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the request;

(v) disclose unique or specialized investigative techniques other than those generally used and known or disclose internal documents of correctional agencies related to detection, observation or investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct, and disclosure would result in demonstrable harm to the agency or public body that is the recipient of the request;

(vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel or any other person; or

(vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation by the agency that is the recipient of the request.

(d-5) A law enforcement record created for law enforcement purposes and contained in a shared electronic record management system if the law enforcement agency that is the recipient of the request did not create the record, did not participate in or have a role in any of the events which are the subject of the record, and only has access to the record through the shared electronic record management system.

(d-6) Records contained in the Officer Professional Conduct Database under Section 9.2 9.4 of the Illinois Police Training Act, except to the extent authorized under that Section. This includes the documents supplied to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board from the Illinois State Police and Illinois State Police Merit Board.

(e) Records that relate to or affect the security of correctional institutions and detention facilities.

(e-5) Records requested by persons committed to the Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those materials are available in the library of the correctional institution or facility or jail where the inmate is confined.

(e-6) Records requested by persons committed to the Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those materials include records from staff members' personnel files, staff rosters, or other staffing assignment information.

(e-7) Records requested by persons committed to the Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health if those materials are available through an administrative request to the Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health.

(e-8) Records requested by a person committed to the Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, or a county jail, the disclosure of which would result in the risk of harm to any person or the risk of an escape from a jail or correctional institution or facility.

(e-9) Records requested by a person in a county jail or committed to the Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, containing personal information pertaining to the person's victim or the victim's family, including, but not limited to, a victim's home address, home telephone number, work or school address, work telephone number, social security number, or any other identifying information, except as may be relevant to a requester's current or potential case or claim.

(e-10) Law enforcement records of other persons requested by a person committed to the Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, or a county jail, including, but not limited to, arrest and booking records, mug shots, and crime scene photographs, except as these records may be relevant to the requester's current or potential case or claim.

(f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.

(g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person or business where the trade secrets or commercial or financial information are furnished under a claim that they are proprietary, privileged, or confidential, and that disclosure of the trade secrets or commercial or financial information would cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only insofar as the claim directly applies to the records requested.

The information included under this exemption includes all trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained by a public body, including a public pension fund, from a private equity fund or a privately held company within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating a potential investment of public funds in a private equity fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply to the aggregate financial performance information of a private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's managers or general partners. The exemption contained in this item does not apply to the identity of a privately held company within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a privately held company may cause competitive harm.

Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be construed to prevent a person or business from consenting to disclosure.

(h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or agreement, including information which if it were disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contractor agreement with the body, until an award or final selection is made. Information prepared by or for the body in preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an award or final selection is made.

(i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems, designs, drawings and research data obtained or produced by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be expected to produce private gain or public loss. The exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or legal rights of the general public.

(j) The following information pertaining to educational matters:

(i) test questions, scoring keys and other examination data used to administer an academic examination;

(ii) information received by a primary or secondary school, college, or university under its procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by their academic peers;

(iii) information concerning a school or university's adjudication of student disciplinary cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and

(iv) course materials or research materials used by faculty members.

(k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical submissions, and other construction related technical documents for projects not constructed or developed in whole or in part with public funds and the same for projects constructed or developed with public funds, including, but not limited to, power generating and distribution stations and other transmission and distribution facilities, water treatment facilities, airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings, but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise security.

(l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the public body makes the minutes available to the public under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.

(m) Communications between a public body and an attorney or auditor representing the public body that would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in anticipation of a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the public body, and materials prepared or compiled with respect to internal audits of public bodies.

(n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication of employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however, this exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of cases in which discipline is imposed.

(o) Administrative or technical information associated with automated data processing operations, including, but not limited to, software, operating protocols, computer program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object modules, load modules, user guides, documentation pertaining to all logical and physical design of computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the security of the system or its data or the security of materials exempt under this Section.

(p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters between public bodies and their employees or representatives, except that any final contract or agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.

(q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to determine the qualifications of an applicant for a license or employment.

(r) The records, documents, and information relating to real estate purchase negotiations until those negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents, and information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents, and information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt until a sale is consummated.

(s) Any and all proprietary information and records related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk management association or self-insurance pool or jointly self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool. Insurance or self insurance (including any intergovernmental risk management association or self insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management information, records, data, advice or communications.

(t) Information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions, insurance companies, or pharmacy benefit managers, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State law.

(u) Information that would disclose or might lead to the disclosure of secret or confidential information, codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to be used to create electronic signatures under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

(v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and response policies or plans that are designed to identify, prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community's population or systems, facilities, or installations, the destruction or contamination of which would constitute a clear and present danger to the health or safety of the community, but only to the extent that disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures or the safety of the personnel who implement them or the public. Information exempt under this item may include such things as details pertaining to the mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to the operation of communication systems or protocols, or to tactical operations.

(w) (Blank).

(x) Maps and other records regarding the location or security of generation, transmission, distribution, storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the Illinois Power Agency.

(y) Information contained in or related to proposals, bids, or negotiations related to electric power procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act that is determined to be confidential and proprietary by the Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

(z) Information about students exempted from disclosure under Sections 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the School Code, and information about undergraduate students enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit Card Marketing Act of 2009.

(aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009.

(bb) Records and information provided to a mortality review team and records maintained by a mortality review team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice Mortality Review Team Act.

(cc) Information regarding interments, entombments, or inurnments of human remains that are submitted to the Cemetery Oversight Database under the Cemetery Care Act or the Cemetery Oversight Act, whichever is applicable.

(dd) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Illinois Public Aid Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of the Illinois Public Aid Code.

(ee) The names, addresses, or other personal information of persons who are minors and are also participants and registrants in programs of park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation associations.

(ff) The names, addresses, or other personal information of participants and registrants in programs of park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation associations where such programs are targeted primarily to minors.

(gg) Confidential information described in Section 1-100 of the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal Act of 2012.

(hh) The report submitted to the State Board of Education by the School Security and Standards Task Force under item (8) of subsection (d) of Section 2-3.160 of the School Code and any information contained in that report.

(ii) Records requested by persons committed to or detained by the Department of Human Services under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act or committed to the Department of Corrections under the Sexually Dangerous Persons Act if those materials: (i) are available in the library of the facility where the individual is confined; (ii) include records from staff members' personnel files, staff rosters, or other staffing assignment information; or (iii) are available through an administrative request to the Department of Human Services or the Department of Corrections.

(jj) Confidential information described in Section 5-535 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.

(kk) The public body's credit card numbers, debit card numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords, and similar account information, the disclosure of which could result in identity theft or impression or defrauding of a governmental entity or a person.

(ll) Records concerning the work of the threat assessment team of a school district.

(mm) Records reflecting or otherwise pertaining to anything said or done by a returning resident (as that term is defined in the Department of Returning Resident Affairs Act) as part of, in anticipation of or as a follow-up to that returning resident's participation in the Second Chance State Program set forth in the Department of Returning Resident Affairs Act or any other program conducted by the Department of Returning Resident Affairs.

(1.5) Any information exempt from disclosure under the Judicial Privacy Act shall be redacted from public records prior to disclosure under this Act.

(2) A public record that is not in the possession of a public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body, for purposes of this Act.

(3) This Section does not authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of records to the public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 101-434, eff. 1-1-20; 101-452, eff. 1-1-20; 101-455, eff. 8-23-19; 101-652, eff. 1-1-22; 102-38, eff. 6-25-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; revised 11-22-21.)

Section 910. The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing Sections 5-15 and 5-20 and by adding Sections 5-172, 5-240, and 5-402 as follows:

(20 ILCS 5/5-15) (was 20 ILCS 5/3)

Sec. 5-15. Departments of State government. The Departments of State government are created as follows:

The Department on Aging.

The Department of Agriculture.

The Department of Central Management Services.

The Department of Children and Family Services.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The Department of Corrections.

The Department of Employment Security.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

The Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

The Department of Human Rights.

The Department of Human Services.

The Department of Innovation and Technology.

The Department of Insurance.

The Department of Juvenile Justice.

The Department of Labor.

The Department of the Lottery.

The Department of Natural Resources.

The Department of Public Health.

The Department of Returning Resident Affairs.

The Department of Revenue.

The Illinois State Police.

The Department of Transportation.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)

(20 ILCS 5/5-20) (was 20 ILCS 5/4)

Sec. 5-20. Heads of departments. Each department shall have an officer as its head who shall be known as director or secretary and who shall, subject to the provisions of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, execute the powers and discharge the duties vested by law in his or her respective department.

The following officers are hereby created:

Director of Aging, for the Department on Aging.

Director of Agriculture, for the Department of Agriculture.

Director of Central Management Services, for the Department of Central Management Services.

Director of Children and Family Services, for the Department of Children and Family Services.

Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Director of Corrections, for the Department of Corrections.

Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

Director of Employment Security, for the Department of Employment Security.

Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation, for the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Director of Healthcare and Family Services, for the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

Director of Human Rights, for the Department of Human Rights.

Secretary of Human Services, for the Department of Human Services.

Secretary of Innovation and Technology, for the Department of Innovation and Technology.

Director of Insurance, for the Department of Insurance.

Director of Juvenile Justice, for the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Director of Labor, for the Department of Labor.

Director of the Lottery, for the Department of the Lottery.

Director of Natural Resources, for the Department of Natural Resources.

Director of Public Health, for the Department of Public Health.

Director of Returning Resident Affairs, for the Department of Returning Resident Affairs.

Director of Revenue, for the Department of Revenue.

Director of the Illinois State Police, for the Illinois State Police.

Secretary of Transportation, for the Department of Transportation.

Director of Veterans' Affairs, for the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)

(20 ILCS 5/5-172 new)

Sec. 5-172. In the Department of Returning Resident Affairs. Assistant Director of Returning Resident Affairs and General Counsel of the Department of Returning Resident Affairs.

(20 ILCS 5/5-240 new)

Sec. 5-240. In the Department of Returning Resident Affairs.

(a) The Director of Returning Resident Affairs:

(1) shall have experience working with or for a community-based organization, as that term is defined in the Department of Returning Resident Affairs Act; and

(2) shall have been incarcerated in an Illinois Department of Corrections facility for not less than one year.

Notwithstanding any other law, the Director of Returning Resident Affairs shall serve for a 7-year period and shall be subject to removal only upon a finding by the Executive Inspector General for the agencies of the Illinois Governor that the Director has engaged in misconduct.

(b) The Assistant Director of Returning Resident Affairs and General Counsel of the Department of Returning Resident Affairs shall each be licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois. Notwithstanding any other law, the Assistant Director of Returning Resident Affairs and General Counsel of the Department of Returning Resident Affairs shall each serve for a 7-year period and shall be subject to removal only upon a finding by the Executive Inspector General for the agencies of the Governor that the Assistant Director of Returning Resident Affairs or General Counsel of the Department of Returning Resident Affairs has engaged in misconduct.

(20 ILCS 5/5-402 new)

Sec. 5-402. In the Department of Returning Resident Affairs.The Director of Returning Resident Affairs, Assistant Director of Returning Resident Affairs, and General Counsel of the Department of Returning Resident Affairs shall each receive an annual salary as set by law.

Section 915. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by changing Section 3-14-3 as follows:

(730 ILCS 5/3-14-3) (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-14-3)

Sec. 3-14-3. Parole services. To assist parolees or releasees, the Department shall provide them with information about and an opportunity to consent for referral to the Second Chance State Program. The Department shall provide parolees or releasees who do not consent to referral to the Second Chance State Program with employment counseling and job placement services, and may in addition to other services provide the following:

(1) assistance in residential placement;

(2) family and individual counseling and treatment placement;

(3) financial counseling;

(4) vocational and educational counseling and placement; and

(5) referral services to any other State or local agencies. The Department shall make information about the availability of these services known to a parolee or releasee prior to his or her release from the correctional facility where the parolee or releasee has been residing. The Department may purchase necessary services for a parolee or releasee if they are otherwise unavailable and the parolee or releasee is unable to pay for them. It may assess all or part of the costs of such services to a parolee or releasee in accordance with his ability to pay for them.

(Source: P.A. 102-478, eff. 8-20-21.)

Section 997. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.