SB2129 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 28269 RLC 54648 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2129

Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Rachel Ventura

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

730 ILCS 5/3-3-3	from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-3
730 ILCS 5/3-3-3.1 new
730 ILCS 5/3-5-1	from Ch. 38, par. 1003-5-1

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in specified provisions of law, a person serving a term of imprisonment, including terms of natural life, in a Department of Corrections institution or facility is eligible for earned reentry. Provides that for the first year following the effective date of the amendatory Act, a person is eligible for earned reentry if he or she has served a term of imprisonment of at least 35 consecutive years. Provides that for the second year following the effective date of the amendatory Act, a person is eligible for earned reentry if he or she has served a term of imprisonment of at least 25 consecutive years. Provides that for the third year following the effective date of the amendatory Act and each year thereafter, a person is eligible for earned reentry if he or she has served a term of imprisonment of at least 20 consecutive years. Provides that hearings for earned reentry shall be administered by the Prisoner Review Board. Establishes procedures for the hearing. Removes provision that no person serving a term of natural life imprisonment may be paroled or released except through executive clemency. Provides that if any incarcerated person is released on earned reentry, his or her sentence shall be considered complete after the term of mandatory supervised release. Applies retroactively. Contains a severability provision. Defines "earned reentry". Effective January 1, 2024.

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. Purpose. In recognition of the historical harms of systemic racism and overly punitive sentencing, as well as concerns to address mass incarceration and safely reduce the prison population, this Act is needed to ensure that persons are not serving excessive sentences with no public benefit. By utilizing and extending existing review mechanisms, this Act will reduce unnecessary incarceration, reduce costs of incarceration, provide incentive to people with long sentences to prepare for productive lives, make prisons safer for incarcerated persons and prison staff, and help bring the State in compliance with Section 11 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution, which mandates that all penalties aim to restore incarcerated people to useful citizenship.

Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by changing Sections 3-3-3 and 3-5-1 and by adding Section 3-3-3.1 as follows:

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

Sec. 3-3-3. Eligibility for parole or release.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 3-3-3.1 and except Except for those offenders who accept the fixed release date established by the Prisoner Review Board under Section 3-3-2.1, every person serving a term of imprisonment under the law in effect prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1977 shall be eligible for parole when he or she has served:

(1) the minimum term of an indeterminate sentence less time credit for good behavior, or 20 years less time credit for good behavior, whichever is less; or

(2) 20 years of a life sentence less time credit for good behavior; or

(3) 20 years or one-third of a determinate sentence, whichever is less, less time credit for good behavior.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 3-3-3.1, no No person sentenced under this amendatory Act of 1977 or who accepts a release date under Section 3-3-2.1 shall be eligible for parole.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in Section 3-3-3.1, and except Except for those sentenced to a term of natural life imprisonment, every person sentenced to imprisonment under this amendatory Act of 1977 or given a release date under Section 3-3-2.1 of this Act shall serve the full term of a determinate sentence less time credit for good behavior and shall then be released under the mandatory supervised release provisions of paragraph (d) of Section 5-8-1 of this Code.

(d) (Blank). No person serving a term of natural life imprisonment may be paroled or released except through executive clemency.

(e) Every person committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and confined in the State correctional institutions or facilities if such juvenile has not been tried as an adult shall be eligible for aftercare release under Section 3-2.5-85 of this Code. However, if a juvenile has been tried as an adult he or she shall only be eligible for parole or mandatory supervised release as an adult under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 98-558, eff. 1-1-14; 99-628, eff. 1-1-17.)

(730 ILCS 5/3-3-3.1 new)

Sec. 3-3-3.1. Earned reentry; earned reentry hearings; sentences of 20 years or longer; life imprisonment; reentry.

(a) Definition. "Earned reentry" means the termination of an incarcerated person's sentence that he or she is granted by the Prisoner Review Board as provided in this Act. If an incarcerated person is granted earned reentry, his or her sentence shall be considered complete after the term of mandatory supervised release.

(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any provision of this Code, Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, or Article X or Section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a person serving terms of imprisonment, including terms of natural life, in a Department of Corrections institution or facility is eligible for earned reentry under this Section if he or she has served terms of imprisonment specified in subsection (d). Hearings for earned reentry shall be administered by the Prisoner Review Board.

(c) The Prisoner Review Board shall contact persons eligible for earned reentry and conduct hearings to determine whether they shall obtain earned reentry as provided by this Section and the Open Parole Hearings Act unless otherwise specified in this Section.

(d) Implementation schedule. For the first year following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, a person is eligible for earned reentry under this Section if he or she has served a term of imprisonment of at least 35 consecutive years. For the second year following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, a person is eligible for earned reentry under this Section if he or she has served a term of imprisonment of at least 25 consecutive years. For the third year following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly and each year thereafter, a person is eligible for earned reentry under this Act if he or she has served a term of imprisonment of at least 20 consecutive years.

(e) Victims and victims' families shall be notified in a timely manner and provided an opportunity to participate in the hearing in accordance with the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act, the Open Parole Hearings Act, and this Article.

(f) In determining whether a candidate should obtain earned reentry, the Prisoner Review Board shall consider the following factors:

(1) a statement, oral or written, by the candidate as to the reasons why he or she should obtain earned reentry;

(2) any evidence of the candidate's rehabilitation during the period of his or her incarceration, including remorse for any criminal acts, if applicable;

(3) any evidence of the likelihood that the candidate will not recidivate;

(4) any character references, letters of support from family or community members, or references by staff, volunteers, or incarcerated persons in the Department of Corrections;

(5) any evidence of the candidate's participation in educational, vocational, substance abuse, behavior modification, life skills, or reentry planning programs;

(6) the candidate's disciplinary record while incarcerated;

(7) the candidate's employment history while incarcerated;

(8) the candidate's criminal history; and

(9) the candidate's parole plan, including plans for housing, employment, and community support upon release from incarceration; and

(g) If the programs or employment opportunities described in this Section were not available to this candidate, the Board shall not penalize the candidate for failure to participate in them; nor shall the board penalize a candidate for choosing not to work for the Department of Corrections; nor shall the Board penalize a candidate for maintaining his or her claim of innocence.

(h) Notification. The Prisoner Review Board shall notify all persons who become eligible for earned reentry under subsection (d) within 2 months of their becoming eligible and inform them that the Prisoner Review Board will consider them for earned reentry.

(i) Hearings.

(1) Hearings under this Section shall be conducted by a panel of at least 3 members of the Board. A majority vote of the members present and voting at the hearing is required to grant the candidate earned reentry.

(2) In the first 2 years following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, hearings shall be held for each eligible person (who has not deferred) within one year of the person becoming eligible as specified in subsection (d). Beginning the third year following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly and every year thereafter, hearings shall be held for each eligible person (who has not deferred) within 8 months of the person becoming eligible as specified in subsection (d).

(j) Deferrals. Any person who is notified of the person's eligibility for earned reentry under this Section may defer the person's eligibility for 2 years by notifying the Prisoner Review Board within 3 months of receiving notification of eligibility.

(k) If earned reentry is denied under this Section, the Board shall provide a written statement to the candidate that shall include the reasons for the denial, what the candidate must accomplish to attain earned reentry in the future, and when the candidate is eligible to reapply for earned reentry, which shall be no later than 2 years after the denial. The candidate may seek a continuance of up to 2 additional years.

(l) An incarcerated person described in this Section may not be barred from any programming because his or her maximum out date is not in the near future.

(m) Every incarcerated person described in this Section may bring legal counsel or an advocate of his or her choice to the earned reentry hearing.

(n) Every incarcerated person described in this Section may attend and testify at his or her earned reentry hearing in person or by video-conference or may have counsel or an advocate read a statement.

(o) Every incarcerated person described in this Section shall be provided full and complete access to his or her master record file, with the exception of the names of verified confidential informants, at least 60 days prior to any earned reentry hearing. The incarcerated person has a right to challenge any false, misleading, or otherwise inaccurate information contained therein. The Department of Corrections shall establish an expedited process for incarcerated persons to challenge such false, misleading, or otherwise inaccurate information so that it can be removed prior to any earned reentry hearing. Every incarcerated person described in this Section may have counsel assist him or her in challenging inaccurate information.

(p) This Section applies retroactively to every person currently serving a term of imprisonment in a Department of Corrections institution or facility, which is necessary in order to serve the important objectives listed in the preamble, including that of restoring incarcerated individuals to useful citizenship, as required by Section 11 of Article 1 of the Illinois Constitution.

(q) Nothing in this Section guarantees release. It only provides the opportunity for the incarcerated person to demonstrate his or her readiness to obtain earned reentry.

(730 ILCS 5/3-5-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-5-1)

Sec. 3-5-1. Master Record File.

(a) The Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice shall maintain a master record file on each person committed to it, which shall contain the following information:

(1) all information from the committing court;

(1.5) ethnic and racial background data collected in accordance with Section 4.5 of the Criminal Identification Act;

(2) reception summary;

(3) evaluation and assignment reports and recommendations;

(4) reports as to program assignment and progress;

(5) reports of disciplinary infractions and disposition, including tickets and Administrative Review Board action;

(6) any parole or aftercare release plan;

(7) any parole or aftercare release reports;

(8) the date and circumstances of final discharge;

(9) criminal history;

(10) current and past gang affiliations and ranks;

(11) information regarding associations and family relationships;

(12) any grievances filed and responses to those grievances; and

(13) other information that the respective Department determines is relevant to the secure confinement and rehabilitation of the committed person.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 3-3-3.1, all All files shall be confidential and access shall be limited to authorized personnel of the respective Department or by disclosure in accordance with a court order or subpoena. Personnel of other correctional, welfare or law enforcement agencies may have access to files under rules and regulations of the respective Department. The respective Department shall keep a record of all outside personnel who have access to files, the files reviewed, any file material copied, and the purpose of access. If the respective Department or the Prisoner Review Board makes a determination under this Code which affects the length of the period of confinement or commitment, the committed person and his counsel shall be advised of factual information relied upon by the respective Department or Board to make the determination, provided that the Department or Board shall not be required to advise a person committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice any such information which in the opinion of the Department of Juvenile Justice or Board would be detrimental to his treatment or rehabilitation.

(c) The master file shall be maintained at a place convenient to its use by personnel of the respective Department in charge of the person. When custody of a person is transferred from the Department to another department or agency, a summary of the file shall be forwarded to the receiving agency with such other information required by law or requested by the agency under rules and regulations of the respective Department.

(d) The master file of a person no longer in the custody of the respective Department shall be placed on inactive status and its use shall be restricted subject to rules and regulations of the Department.

(e) All public agencies may make available to the respective Department on request any factual data not otherwise privileged as a matter of law in their possession in respect to individuals committed to the respective Department.

(f) A committed person may request a summary of the committed person's master record file once per year and the committed person's attorney may request one summary of the committed person's master record file once per year. The Department shall create a form for requesting this summary, and shall make that form available to committed persons and to the public on its website. Upon receipt of the request form, the Department shall provide the summary within 15 days. The summary must contain, unless otherwise prohibited by law:

(1) the person's name, ethnic, racial, and other identifying information;

(2) all digitally available information from the committing court;

(3) all information in the Offender 360 system on the person's criminal history;

(4) the person's complete assignment history in the Department of Corrections;

(5) the person's disciplinary card;

(6) additional records about up to 3 specific disciplinary incidents as identified by the requester;

(7) any available records about up to 5 specific grievances filed by the person, as identified by the requester; and

(8) the records of all grievances filed on or after January 1, 2023.

Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection (f) to the contrary, a committed person's master record file is not subject to disclosure and copying under the Freedom of Information Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-776, eff. 1-1-23; 102-784, eff. 5-13-22; revised 12-14-22.)

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2024.