102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5455

 

Introduced 1/31/2022, by Rep. Theresa Mah

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
730 ILCS 5/3-7-2  from Ch. 38, par. 1003-7-2

    Creates the Faith Behind Bars Act. Provides that a person committed to a correctional institution or facility has a constitutional right to practice his or her faith in the correctional institution or facility absent harm and without undue burden to the State's correctional system. Provides that a committed person belonging to a faith group in a correctional institution or facility shall have access to pastoral and spiritual care absent harm and without undue burden to the State's correctional system. Provides that a correctional institution or facility shall provide reading materials for diverse faith groups, including, but not limited to, spiritual, religious texts, prayer manuals, prayer mats, and other requested material from committed persons. Provides that all correctional institutions and facilities in the State shall provide committed persons the ability to pray by facilitating time and clean location, fast by allowing a committed person abstain from food when appropriate, and respect for dietary restrictions absent harm and without undue burden to the State's correctional system. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections to making a conforming change.


LRB102 25408 RLC 34693 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5455LRB102 25408 RLC 34693 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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Faith
5Behind Bars Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings and declaration of policy.
7    (a) The General Assembly hereby finds, determines, and
8declares the following that:
9        (1) Chaplains play a key role in helping persons
10    committed to correctional institutions and facilities
11    transform their understanding of responsibility, choices,
12    and possibilities and that behavior only changes when
13    hearts change.
14        (2) Without a spiritual-based transformation there is
15    little hope for sincere, lasting change in any of us.
16    Without a faith-based after-care living situation an
17    ex-offender has little chance of succeeding on the street.
18        (3) That the chaplain's personal contact is crucial. A
19    chaplain ministers through relationship. Being accepting,
20    nonjudgmental, and working toward self esteem issues is
21    important.
22        (4) According to a Pew Research Center 2012 Study,
23    Religion in Prisons, 50 state survey of Prison Chaplains,

 

 

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1    about 71% of chaplains identify as Protestants, 13% as
2    Catholics, 7% as Muslims, and the remainder identify with
3    other religions, including Judaism and Native American
4    spirituality. A plurality of the chaplains 44% consider
5    their faith to be part of the evangelical Protestant
6    tradition while 15% come from a mainline Protestant
7    tradition and 7% are from a historically black Protestant
8    tradition.
9        (5) A Pew Forum survey ranked the top 3 activities of
10    chaplains that are most important, personally leading
11    worship services, religious instruction sessions, or
12    spiritual counseling sessions. About 75% of the chaplains
13    surveyed consider this to be among their most important
14    functions, including 57% who ranked it as their number one
15    priority.
16        (6) The Pew Forum survey found that most prison
17    chaplains say there are too few religious volunteers to
18    meet the needs of all inmates. About 69% of prison
19    chaplains surveyed say there are some religious groups for
20    which there are too few volunteers in the prisons where
21    they work.
22        (7) A 2020 Audit of federal prisons found that the
23    Federal Bureau of Prisons chaplaincy services departments
24    are not staffed according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons
25    guidelines at many institutions. The Federal Bureau of
26    Prisons current policy states that, at a minimum, each

 

 

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1    chaplaincy services department should be staffed with at
2    least one chaplain and one religious services assistant.
3    This standard translates to a minimum need for 122
4    chaplains and 122 religious services assistants throughout
5    the Federal Bureau of Prisons. However, as of March 2020,
6    nearly half of the Federal Bureau of Prisons institutions
7    had no religious services assistant, 3 institutions had no
8    chaplain at all, 21 institutions employed a single
9    chaplain, and 2 institutions had only recently filled
10    their only chaplain position after long vacancies. In
11    addition to the minimum staffing level, Federal Bureau of
12    Prisons guidelines also suggest that institutions
13    supplement the minimum requirement with additional
14    chaplains based on inmate population (one chaplain per 500
15    inmates) and specific characteristics of the institution,
16    such as being a major medical center, having 2 or more
17    satellite facilities, or the inclusion of a special unit,
18    each of which should have one additional chaplain.
19    Therefore, the Federal Bureau of Prisons' chaplaincy
20    services staffing and supplemental guidelines suggest that
21    a fully staffed chaplaincy would include 357 chaplains and
22    122 religious services assistants. As of March 2020, the
23    Federal Bureau of Prisons' chaplaincy staff included only
24    236 chaplains and 64 religious services assistants, which
25    is approximately 30% below what the Federal Bureau of
26    Prisons' guidelines consider to be a fully staffed

 

 

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1    chaplaincy for the inmate population. The 2020 audit of
2    federal prisons reports that some Federal Bureau of
3    Prisons institutions were without any chaplaincy staff.
4    During the audit, there was a peak of at least 3
5    institutions that were without a chaplain. The audit found
6    that critical tasks may not be accomplished, including
7    purchasing and reviewing library materials and conducting
8    certain faith-based programming.
9    (b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to rectify in
10this State the deficiencies that occur in prison ministries of
11other states and the federal prison system by enacting the
12Faith Behind Bars Act.
 
13    Section 10. Definitions.
14    (a) In this Act:
15    "Chaplain" means a cleric, such as a minister, priest,
16pastor, rabbi, or imam, or a lay representative of a religious
17tradition, attached to a correctional institution or facility.
18    "Chaplaincy" means the general activity performed by a
19chaplain, which may include crisis ministry, counseling,
20sacraments, worship, education, help in ethical
21decision-making, staff support, clergy contact, and community
22or church coordination.
23    "Chaplaincy services" means services offered by a chaplain
24or lay person who has been commissioned by a faith group or an
25organization to provide pastoral services to the correctional

 

 

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1institution or facility.
2    "Committed person" has the meaning ascribed to it in
3Section 1-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
4    "Correctional institution or facility" has the meaning
5ascribed to it in Section 1-2 of the Unified Code of
6Corrections.
7    "Undue burden" means significant difficulty or expense.
 
8    Section 15. Right to practice faith in a correctional
9institution or facility.
10    (a) A committed person has a constitutional right to
11practice his or her faith in a correctional institution or
12facility absent harm and without undue burden to the State's
13correctional system.
14    (b) A committed person belonging to a faith group in a
15correctional institution or facility shall have access to
16pastoral and spiritual care absent harm and without undue
17burden to the State's correctional system.
18    (c) A correctional institution or facility shall provide
19reading materials for diverse faith groups, including, but not
20limited to, spiritual, religious texts, prayer manuals, prayer
21mats, and other requested material from committed persons.
22    (d) All correctional institutions and facilities in this
23State shall provide committed persons the ability to pray by
24facilitating time and clean location, fast by allowing a
25committed person abstain from food when appropriate, and

 

 

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1respect for dietary restrictions absent harm and without undue
2burden to the State's correctional system.
3    (e) All correctional institutions and facilities in this
4State shall hold a training seminar administered by chaplains
5of the leading faith groups representing the State's
6correctional institutions and facilities population every 5
7years for wardens and chief administrative officers of
8correctional institutions and facilities to familiarize
9themselves with the foundations of each faith group.
10    (f) All correctional institutions and facilities in this
11State shall maintain a chaplain database of chaplains
12representing the percentage of the correctional institutions
13and facilities populations' various faith groups.
14    (g) All correctional institutions and facilities in this
15State shall provide access to chaplains in the State's
16correctional system as requested by a committed person
17belonging to a specific faith group cross referenced by the
18correctional institutions and facilities chaplain database.
19    (h) All correctional institutions and facilities in this
20State shall not bar chaplains from access to committed persons
21absent evidence of potential harm and probable cause of threat
22to the security of the State's correctional system.
23    (i) All correctional institutions and facilities in this
24State shall grant requests of religious observance gatherings,
25including, but not limited to, mass, weekly congregations,
26sermons, and pastoral meetings absent harm and undue burden to

 

 

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1the State's correctional system.
2    (j) In determining whether an action would result in an
3undue burden under this Section, factors to be considered by
4the warden or chief administrative officer of the correctional
5institution or facility include:
6        (1) the nature and cost of the action needed under
7    this Section;
8        (2) the overall financial resources of the
9    correctional institution or facility involved in the
10    action;
11        (3) the number of persons employed at the correctional
12    institution or facility;
13        (4) the effect on expenses and resources of the
14    correctional institution or facility; and
15        (5) legitimate safety requirements that are necessary
16    for safe operation of the correctional institution or
17    facility, including crime prevention measures.
 
18    Section 90. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
19changing Section 3-7-2 as follows:
 
20    (730 ILCS 5/3-7-2)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-7-2)
21    Sec. 3-7-2. Facilities.
22    (a) All institutions and facilities of the Department
23shall provide every committed person with access to toilet
24facilities, barber facilities, bathing facilities at least

 

 

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1once each week, a library of legal materials and published
2materials including newspapers and magazines approved by the
3Director. A committed person may not receive any materials
4that the Director deems pornographic.
5    (b) (Blank).
6    (c) All institutions and facilities of the Department
7shall provide facilities for every committed person to leave
8his cell for at least one hour each day unless the chief
9administrative officer determines that it would be harmful or
10dangerous to the security or safety of the institution or
11facility.
12    (d) All institutions and facilities of the Department
13shall provide every committed person with a wholesome and
14nutritional diet at regularly scheduled hours, drinking water,
15clothing adequate for the season, bedding, soap and towels and
16medical and dental care.
17    (e) All institutions and facilities of the Department
18shall permit every committed person to send and receive an
19unlimited number of uncensored letters, provided, however,
20that the Director may order that mail be inspected and read for
21reasons of the security, safety or morale of the institution
22or facility.
23    (f) All of the institutions and facilities of the
24Department shall permit every committed person to receive
25in-person visitors and video contact, if available, except in
26case of abuse of the visiting privilege or when the chief

 

 

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1administrative officer determines that such visiting would be
2harmful or dangerous to the security, safety or morale of the
3institution or facility. Each committed person is entitled to
47 visits per month. Every committed person may submit a list of
5at least 30 persons to the Department that are authorized to
6visit the committed person. The list shall be kept in an
7electronic format by the Department beginning on August 1,
82019, as well as available in paper form for Department
9employees. The chief administrative officer shall have the
10right to restrict visitation to non-contact visits, video, or
11other forms of non-contact visits for reasons of safety,
12security, and order, including, but not limited to,
13restricting contact visits for committed persons engaged in
14gang activity. No committed person in a super maximum security
15facility or on disciplinary segregation is allowed contact
16visits. Any committed person found in possession of illegal
17drugs or who fails a drug test shall not be permitted contact
18visits for a period of at least 6 months. Any committed person
19involved in gang activities or found guilty of assault
20committed against a Department employee shall not be permitted
21contact visits for a period of at least 6 months. The
22Department shall offer every visitor appropriate written
23information concerning HIV and AIDS, including information
24concerning how to contact the Illinois Department of Public
25Health for counseling information. The Department shall
26develop the written materials in consultation with the

 

 

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1Department of Public Health. The Department shall ensure that
2all such information and materials are culturally sensitive
3and reflect cultural diversity as appropriate. Implementation
4of the changes made to this Section by Public Act 94-629 is
5subject to appropriation. The Department shall seek the lowest
6possible cost to provide video calling and shall charge to the
7extent of recovering any demonstrated costs of providing video
8calling. The Department shall not make a commission or profit
9from video calling services. Nothing in this Section shall be
10construed to permit video calling instead of in-person
11visitation.
12    (f-5) (Blank).
13    (f-10) The Department may not restrict or limit in-person
14visits to committed persons due to the availability of
15interactive video conferences.
16    (f-15)(1) The Department shall issue a standard written
17policy for each institution and facility of the Department
18that provides for:
19        (A) the number of in-person visits each committed
20    person is entitled to per week and per month including the
21    requirements of subsection (f) of this Section;
22        (B) the hours of in-person visits;
23        (C) the type of identification required for visitors
24    at least 18 years of age; and
25        (D) the type of identification, if any, required for
26    visitors under 18 years of age.

 

 

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1    (2) This policy shall be posted on the Department website
2and at each facility.
3    (3) The Department shall post on its website daily any
4restrictions or denials of visitation for that day and the
5succeeding 5 calendar days, including those based on a
6lockdown of the facility, to inform family members and other
7visitors.
8    (g) All institutions and facilities of the Department
9shall permit religious ministrations and sacraments to be
10available to every committed person, but attendance at
11religious services shall not be required. This subsection (g)
12is subject to the provisions of the Faith Behind Bars Act.
13    (h) Within 90 days after December 31, 1996, the Department
14shall prohibit the use of curtains, cell-coverings, or any
15other matter or object that obstructs or otherwise impairs the
16line of vision into a committed person's cell.
17(Source: P.A. 99-933, eff. 1-27-17; 100-30, eff. 1-1-18;
18100-142, eff. 1-1-18; 100-677, eff. 1-1-19; 100-863, eff.
198-14-18.)