102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2399

 

Introduced 2/17/2021, by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
730 ILCS 5/3-3-3  from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-3
730 ILCS 5/3-3-5  from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-5
730 ILCS 5/3-3-14 new

    Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Deletes provision that no person serving a term of natural life imprisonment may be paroled or released except through executive clemency. Provides that a person serving a term of natural life imprisonment is eligible for parole or mandatory supervised release. Provides that a committed person who has attained the age of 60 years and served at least 20 consecutive years of imprisonment or a committed person who has served 25 consecutive years of imprisonment may submit a petition to the Prisoner Review Board seeking parole. Provides for the requirements of the petition. Provides that victims' families shall be notified in a timely manner and provided opportunity to participate at the parole hearing concerning the petitioner's application for parole under this provision in accordance with the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act, the Open Parole Hearings Act, and this Code. Provides that Prisoner Review Board hearings under this provision shall be conducted by a panel of at least 8 members of the Board and a majority vote of the panel is required to grant the petition and release the petitioner on parole. Provides that if parole is denied, the petitioner shall be eligible to reapply for parole no later than 3 years after denial. Effective immediately.


LRB102 13538 RLC 18885 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2399LRB102 13538 RLC 18885 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
5changing Sections 3-3-3 and 3-3-5 and adding Section 3-3-14 as
6follows:
 
7    (730 ILCS 5/3-3-3)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-3)
8    Sec. 3-3-3. Eligibility for parole or release.
9    (a) Except for those offenders who accept the fixed
10release date established by the Prisoner Review Board under
11Section 3-3-2.1, every person serving a term of imprisonment
12under the law in effect prior to the effective date of this
13amendatory Act of 1977 shall be eligible for parole when he or
14she has served:
15        (1) the minimum term of an indeterminate sentence less
16    time credit for good behavior, or 20 years less time
17    credit for good behavior, whichever is less; or
18        (2) 20 years of a life sentence less time credit for
19    good behavior; or
20        (3) 20 years or one-third of a determinate sentence,
21    whichever is less, less time credit for good behavior.
22    (b) No person sentenced under this amendatory Act of 1977
23or who accepts a release date under Section 3-3-2.1 shall be

 

 

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1eligible for parole.
2    (c) Every Except for those sentenced to a term of natural
3life imprisonment, every person sentenced to imprisonment
4under this amendatory Act of 1977 or given a release date under
5Section 3-3-2.1 of this Act shall serve the full term of a
6determinate sentence less time credit for good behavior and
7shall then be released under the mandatory supervised release
8provisions of paragraph (d) of Section 5-8-1 of this Code.
9    (d) (Blank). No person serving a term of natural life
10imprisonment may be paroled or released except through
11executive clemency.
12    (d-5) A person serving a term of natural life imprisonment
13is eligible for parole or mandatory supervised release under
14subsection (d) of Section 5-8-1.
15    (e) Every person committed to the Department of Juvenile
16Justice under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and confined in
17the State correctional institutions or facilities if such
18juvenile has not been tried as an adult shall be eligible for
19aftercare release under Section 3-2.5-85 of this Code.
20However, if a juvenile has been tried as an adult he or she
21shall only be eligible for parole or mandatory supervised
22release as an adult under this Section.
23(Source: P.A. 98-558, eff. 1-1-14; 99-628, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
24    (730 ILCS 5/3-3-5)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-5)
25    Sec. 3-3-5. Hearing and determination.

 

 

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1    (a) The Prisoner Review Board shall meet as often as need
2requires to consider the cases of persons eligible for parole.
3Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of subsection
4(a) of Section 3-3-2 or Section 3-3-14 of this Act, the
5Prisoner Review Board may meet and order its actions in panels
6of 3 or more members. The action of a majority of the panel
7shall be the action of the Board.
8    (b) If the person under consideration for parole is in the
9custody of the Department, at least one member of the Board
10shall interview him or her, and a report of that interview
11shall be available for the Board's consideration. However, in
12the discretion of the Board, the interview need not be
13conducted if a psychiatric examination determines that the
14person could not meaningfully contribute to the Board's
15consideration. The Board may in its discretion parole a person
16who is then outside the jurisdiction on his or her record
17without an interview. The Board need not hold a hearing or
18interview a person who is paroled under paragraphs (d) or (e)
19of this Section or released on Mandatory release under Section
203-3-10.
21    (c) The Board shall not parole a person eligible for
22parole if it determines that:
23        (1) there is a substantial risk that he or she will not
24    conform to reasonable conditions of parole or aftercare
25    release; or
26        (2) his or her release at that time would deprecate

 

 

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1    the seriousness of his or her offense or promote
2    disrespect for the law; or
3        (3) his or her release would have a substantially
4    adverse effect on institutional discipline.
5    (d) (Blank).
6    (e) A person who has served the maximum term of
7imprisonment imposed at the time of sentencing less time
8credit for good behavior shall be released on parole to serve a
9period of parole under Section 5-8-1.
10    (f) The Board shall render its decision within a
11reasonable time after hearing and shall state the basis
12therefor both in the records of the Board and in written notice
13to the person on whose application it has acted. In its
14decision, the Board shall set the person's time for parole, or
15if it denies parole it shall provide for a rehearing not less
16frequently than once every year, except that the Board may,
17after denying parole, schedule a rehearing no later than 5
18years from the date of the parole denial, if the Board finds
19that it is not reasonable to expect that parole would be
20granted at a hearing prior to the scheduled rehearing date. If
21the Board shall parole a person, and, if he or she is not
22released within 90 days from the effective date of the order
23granting parole, the matter shall be returned to the Board for
24review.
25    (f-1) If the Board paroles a person who is eligible for
26commitment as a sexually violent person, the effective date of

 

 

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1the Board's order shall be stayed for 90 days for the purpose
2of evaluation and proceedings under the Sexually Violent
3Persons Commitment Act.
4    (g) The Board shall maintain a registry of decisions in
5which parole has been granted, which shall include the name
6and case number of the prisoner, the highest charge for which
7the prisoner was sentenced, the length of sentence imposed,
8the date of the sentence, the date of the parole, and the basis
9for the decision of the Board to grant parole and the vote of
10the Board on any such decisions. The registry shall be made
11available for public inspection and copying during business
12hours and shall be a public record pursuant to the provisions
13of the Freedom of Information Act.
14    (h) The Board shall promulgate rules regarding the
15exercise of its discretion under this Section.
16(Source: P.A. 98-558, eff. 1-1-14; 99-268, eff. 1-1-16;
1799-628, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
18    (730 ILCS 5/3-3-14 new)
19    Sec. 3-3-14. Long term imprisonment; petition for parole.
20    (a) A committed person who has attained the age of 60 years
21and served at least 20 consecutive years of imprisonment or a
22committed person who has served 25 consecutive years of
23imprisonment may submit a petition to the Prisoner Review
24Board seeking parole.
25    (b) The petition shall contain:

 

 

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1        (1) a statement by the petitioner as to the reasons
2    why the petitioner believes he or she should be paroled,
3    including estimated costs of continuing imprisonment;
4        (2) documentation of the petitioner's rehabilitation
5    during the period of the petitioner's incarceration,
6    including remorse for his or her criminal behavior, if
7    applicable, and his or her commitment not to recidivate;
8        (3) character references and community support for the
9    petitioner's release;
10        (4) evidence of the petitioner's participation in
11    educational, vocational, substance abuse, behavior
12    modification programs, life skills courses, re-entry
13    planning, or correctional industry programs and
14    independent efforts at rehabilitation;
15        (5) evidence of the petitioner's employment history in
16    the correctional institution;
17        (6) the petitioner's criminal history;
18        (7) the petitioner's disciplinary history while
19    incarcerated in the correctional institution; and
20        (8) the petitioner's plans for housing upon release
21    from incarceration.
22    If the programs described in paragraph (4) of this
23subsection (b) or employment opportunities were not available
24in the correctional institution, the Board shall not penalize
25the committed person in his or her petition for parole under
26this Section.

 

 

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1    (c) Victims' families shall be notified in a timely manner
2and provided opportunity to participate at the parole hearing
3concerning the petitioner's application for parole under this
4Section in accordance with the Rights of Crime Victims and
5Witnesses Act, the Open Parole Hearings Act, and this Article.
6    (d) Prisoner Review Board hearings under this Section
7shall be conducted by a panel of at least 8 members of the
8Board and a majority vote of the panel is required to grant the
9petition and release the petitioner on parole.
10    (e) When parole is denied under this Section a written
11statement shall be submitted by the Board that shall include
12when the petitioner is eligible to reapply for parole under
13this Section; which hearing shall be held no later than 3 years
14after denial of parole.
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.