103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3771

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Sen. Ram Villivalam

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/62
735 ILCS 5/2-702

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to grants for exonerated persons. Provides that a grant applicant need not be a resident of this State at the time of enrollment. Provides that, beginning no later than the 2025-2026 academic year, if an exonerated person has been found by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to qualify for a grant and the exonerated person has not yet exhausted the benefits for which the exonerated person is eligible, the exonerated person may designate one or more dependents to use any unexpended portion of the benefits for which the exonerated person is eligible, up to the total benefit for which the exonerated person is eligible. Provides that the combined benefit used by the exonerated person and any designated dependents may not exceed the total benefit for which the exonerated person is eligible. Provides that if funding is insufficient to serve all applicants, the Commission may prioritize applicants who have been exonerated over applicants who are dependents of exonerated individuals. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. In provisions concerning a petition for a certificate of innocence, provides that the clerk of the circuit court shall provide to a person whose records were expunged and sealed information about grants for exonerated persons and their dependents under the Higher Education Student Assistance Act and the address of the Internet website of the Commission, where additional information about the grants may be obtained.


LRB103 36354 RJT 66453 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3771LRB103 36354 RJT 66453 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 62 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/62)
7    Sec. 62. Grants for exonerated persons and their
8dependents.
9    (a) In this Section:
10    "Dependent" means any spouse, natural child, legally
11adopted child, or child in the legal custody of an individual.
12    "Exonerated person" means an individual who has received a
13pardon from the Governor of the State of Illinois stating that
14such a pardon is issued on the grounds of innocence of the
15crime for which he or she was imprisoned or an individual who
16has received a certificate of innocence from a circuit court
17pursuant to Section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
18    "Satisfactory academic progress" means the qualified
19applicant's maintenance of minimum standards of academic
20performance, consistent with requirements for maintaining
21federal financial aid eligibility, as determined by the
22institution of higher learning.
23    (b) Subject to a separate appropriation for this purpose,

 

 

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1the Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
2applications for grant assistance under this Section.
3Recipients of grants issued by the Commission in accordance
4with this Section must be exonerated persons or, as provided
5in subsection (c-5) of this Section, their dependents.
6Provided that the recipient is maintaining satisfactory
7academic progress and subject to subsection (c-5) of this
8Section, the funds from the grant may be used to pay up to 8
9semesters or 12 quarters of full payment of tuition and
10mandatory fees at any public university or public community
11college located in this State for either full or part-time
12study. This benefit may be used for undergraduate or graduate
13study.
14    In addition, an exonerated person or, as provided in
15subsection (c-5) of this Section, a dependent who has not yet
16received a high school diploma or a State of Illinois High
17School Diploma and completes a high school equivalency
18preparation course through an Illinois Community College
19Board-approved provider may use grant funds to pay costs
20associated with obtaining a State of Illinois High School
21Diploma, including payment of the cost of the high school
22equivalency test and up to one retest on each test module, and
23any additional fees that may be required in order to obtain a
24State of Illinois High School Diploma or an official
25transcript of test scores after successful completion of the
26high school equivalency test.

 

 

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1    (c) An applicant for a grant under this Section need not
2demonstrate financial need to qualify for the benefits and
3need not be a resident of this State at the time of enrollment.
4    (c-5) Beginning no later than the 2025-2026 academic year,
5if an exonerated person has been found by the Commission to
6qualify for a grant under this Section and the exonerated
7person has not yet exhausted the benefit for which the
8exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b), the
9exonerated person may designate one or more dependents to use
10any unexpended portion of the benefit for which the exonerated
11person is eligible, up to the total benefit for which the
12exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b). The
13combined benefit used by the exonerated person and any
14designated dependents may not exceed the total benefit for
15which the exonerated person is eligible under subsection (b).
16If funding is insufficient to serve all applicants, the
17Commission may prioritize applicants who have been exonerated
18over applicants who are dependents of exonerated persons.
19    (d) The Commission may adopt any rules necessary to
20implement and administer this Section.
21(Source: P.A. 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23.)
 
22    Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
23changing Section 2-702 as follows:
 
24    (735 ILCS 5/2-702)

 

 

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1    Sec. 2-702. Petition for a certificate of innocence that
2the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she
3was incarcerated.
4    (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that innocent
5persons who have been wrongly convicted of crimes in Illinois
6and subsequently imprisoned have been frustrated in seeking
7legal redress due to a variety of substantive and technical
8obstacles in the law and that such persons should have an
9available avenue to obtain a finding of innocence so that they
10may obtain relief through a petition in the Court of Claims.
11The General Assembly further finds misleading the current
12legal nomenclature which compels an innocent person to seek a
13pardon for being wrongfully incarcerated. It is the intent of
14the General Assembly that the court, in exercising its
15discretion as permitted by law regarding the weight and
16admissibility of evidence submitted pursuant to this Section,
17shall, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to
18difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death
19or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or
20other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on
21their behalf.
22    (b) Any person convicted and subsequently imprisoned for
23one or more felonies by the State of Illinois which he or she
24did not commit may, under the conditions hereinafter provided,
25file a petition for certificate of innocence in the circuit
26court of the county in which the person was convicted. The

 

 

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1petition shall request a certificate of innocence finding that
2the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she
3was incarcerated.
4    (c) In order to present the claim for certificate of
5innocence of an unjust conviction and imprisonment, the
6petitioner must attach to his or her petition documentation
7demonstrating that:
8        (1) he or she has been convicted of one or more
9    felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently
10    sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or
11    any part of the sentence; and
12        (2) his or her judgment of conviction was reversed or
13    vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or,
14    if a new trial was ordered, either he or she was found not
15    guilty at the new trial or he or she was not retried and
16    the indictment or information dismissed; or the statute,
17    or application thereof, on which the indictment or
18    information was based violated the Constitution of the
19    United States or the State of Illinois; and
20        (3) his or her claim is not time barred by the
21    provisions of subsection (i) of this Section.
22    (d) The petition shall state facts in sufficient detail to
23permit the court to find that the petitioner is likely to
24succeed at trial in proving that the petitioner is innocent of
25the offenses charged in the indictment or information or his
26or her acts or omissions charged in the indictment or

 

 

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1information did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor against
2the State of Illinois, and the petitioner did not by his or her
3own conduct voluntarily cause or bring about his or her
4conviction. The petition shall be verified by the petitioner.
5    (e) A copy of the petition shall be served on the Attorney
6General and the State's Attorney of the county where the
7conviction was had. The Attorney General and the State's
8Attorney of the county where the conviction was had shall have
9the right to intervene as parties.
10    (f) In any hearing seeking a certificate of innocence, the
11court may take judicial notice of prior sworn testimony or
12evidence admitted in the criminal proceedings related to the
13convictions which resulted in the alleged wrongful
14incarceration, if the petitioner was either represented by
15counsel at such prior proceedings or the right to counsel was
16knowingly waived.
17    (g) In order to obtain a certificate of innocence the
18petitioner must prove by a preponderance of evidence that:
19        (1) the petitioner was convicted of one or more
20    felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently
21    sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or
22    any part of the sentence;
23        (2)(A) the judgment of conviction was reversed or
24    vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or,
25    if a new trial was ordered, either the petitioner was
26    found not guilty at the new trial or the petitioner was not

 

 

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1    retried and the indictment or information dismissed; or
2    (B) the statute, or application thereof, on which the
3    indictment or information was based violated the
4    Constitution of the United States or the State of
5    Illinois;
6        (3) the petitioner is innocent of the offenses charged
7    in the indictment or information or his or her acts or
8    omissions charged in the indictment or information did not
9    constitute a felony or misdemeanor against the State; and
10        (4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct
11    voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction.
12    (h) If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to a
13judgment, it shall enter a certificate of innocence finding
14that the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he
15or she was incarcerated. Upon entry of the certificate of
16innocence or pardon from the Governor stating that such pardon
17was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he
18or she was imprisoned, (1) the clerk of the court shall
19transmit a copy of the certificate of innocence to the clerk of
20the Court of Claims, together with the claimant's current
21address; and (2) the court shall enter an order expunging the
22record of arrest from the official records of the arresting
23authority and order that the records of the clerk of the
24circuit court and the Illinois State Police be sealed until
25further order of the court upon good cause shown or as
26otherwise provided herein, and the name of the defendant

 

 

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1obliterated from the official index requested to be kept by
2the circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks of
3Courts Act in connection with the arrest and conviction for
4the offense but the order shall not affect any index issued by
5the circuit court clerk before the entry of the order. The
6court shall enter the expungement order regardless of whether
7the petitioner has prior criminal convictions.
8    All records sealed by the Illinois State Police may be
9disseminated by the Department only as required by law or to
10the arresting authority, the State's Attorney, the court upon
11a later arrest for the same or similar offense, or for the
12purpose of sentencing for any subsequent felony. Upon
13conviction for any subsequent offense, the Department of
14Corrections shall have access to all sealed records of the
15Department pertaining to that individual.
16    Upon entry of the order of expungement, the clerk of the
17circuit court shall promptly mail a copy of the order to the
18person whose records were expunged and sealed. The clerk shall
19also provide to the person information about grants for
20exonerated persons and their dependents under Section 62 of
21the Higher Education Student Assistance Act and the address of
22the Internet website of the Illinois Student Assistance
23Commission, where additional information about the grants may
24be obtained.
25    (i) Any person seeking a certificate of innocence under
26this Section based on the dismissal of an indictment or

 

 

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1information or acquittal that occurred before the effective
2date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall
3file his or her petition within 2 years after the effective
4date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. Any
5person seeking a certificate of innocence under this Section
6based on the dismissal of an indictment or information or
7acquittal that occurred on or after the effective date of this
8amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall file his or
9her petition within 2 years after the dismissal.
10    (j) The decision to grant or deny a certificate of
11innocence shall be binding only with respect to claims filed
12in the Court of Claims and shall not have a res judicata effect
13on any other proceedings.
14(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)