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| 1 | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by changing | ||||||
| 5 | Section 32-8 as follows:
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| 6 | (720 ILCS 5/32-8) (from Ch. 38, par. 32-8)
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| 7 | Sec. 32-8. Tampering with public records.
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| 8 | (a) A person who knowingly and without lawful authority | ||||||
| 9 | alters, destroys,
defaces, removes or conceals any public | ||||||
| 10 | record commits a Class 4 felony. | ||||||
| 11 | (b) A public record, as so defined, expressly includes, but | ||||||
| 12 | is not limited to, court records pertaining to any civil or | ||||||
| 13 | criminal proceeding in any court. | ||||||
| 14 | (c) A judge, circuit clerk or clerk of any court, an | ||||||
| 15 | inspector general of any court, public official or employee, | ||||||
| 16 | court reporter, or any other person who knowingly and without | ||||||
| 17 | lawful authority alters, destroys, defaces, removes, or | ||||||
| 18 | conceals any public record received or held by any judge or by | ||||||
| 19 | a clerk of any court commits a Class 3 felony. | ||||||
| 20 | (d) Any person convicted under subsection (c) shall forfeit | ||||||
| 21 | his or her elected office or public employment, if any, | ||||||
| 22 | together with his or her entitlement to any and all public | ||||||
| 23 | pensions or other benefits payable by the State of Illinois or | ||||||
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| 1 | by any public entity created or organized under the laws of the | ||||||
| 2 | State of Illinois, if any. | ||||||
| 3 | (e) Any party having an interest in the protection and | ||||||
| 4 | integrity of any court record, whether such party be a public | ||||||
| 5 | official or a private individual, shall have the right to | ||||||
| 6 | request and, if necessary, to demand an investigation be opened | ||||||
| 7 | into the destruction, defacement, removal, or concealment of | ||||||
| 8 | any public record. Such request may be made to any law | ||||||
| 9 | enforcement agency, including, but not limited to, local law | ||||||
| 10 | enforcement and the State Police. | ||||||
| 11 | (f) When the local law enforcement agency having | ||||||
| 12 | jurisdiction declines to investigate, or inadequately | ||||||
| 13 | investigates, a violation of subsection (c), the State Police | ||||||
| 14 | shall have the authority to investigate, and shall investigate, | ||||||
| 15 | the same, without regard to whether such local law enforcement | ||||||
| 16 | agency has requested the State Police to do so. | ||||||
| 17 | (g) When the State's Attorney having jurisdiction declines | ||||||
| 18 | to prosecute a violation of subsection (c), the Attorney | ||||||
| 19 | General shall have the authority to prosecute the same, without | ||||||
| 20 | regard to whether such State's Attorney has requested the | ||||||
| 21 | Attorney General to do so. | ||||||
| 22 | (h) Prosecution of a violation of subsection (c) shall be | ||||||
| 23 | commenced within 3 years after the act constituting the | ||||||
| 24 | violation is discovered or reasonably should have been | ||||||
| 25 | discovered.
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| 26 | (Source: P.A. 77-2638.)
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