103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1210

 

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Rep. Kam Buckner

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
20 ILCS 3930/7  from Ch. 38, par. 210-7

    Creates the Homicide Victims' Families' Rights Act. Provides for the review of the case file of a first degree or second degree murder committed more than 3 years prior to the date of the application, for which all probative investigative leads have been exhausted, and for which no likely perpetrator has been identified, upon written application by an immediate family member to determine whether a full reinvestigation would result in probative investigative leads. Provides that the person or persons performing the review shall not have previously investigated the murder at issue. Provides that only one case review shall be undertaken at any one time with respect to the same murder victim. Provides that each law enforcement agency shall develop a written application to be used for persons to request a case file review. Provides that the applicable agency shall conduct a full reinvestigation of the murder at issue if the review of the case file concludes that a full reinvestigation of the murder would result in probative investigative leads. Provides for the compilation and publication of specified information and statistics regarding cold case murders by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Amends the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Act to make conforming changes.


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STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1210LRB103 05831 RLC 50851 b

1    AN ACT concerning homicide victims.
 
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
5Homicide Victims' Families' Rights Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Agency" means a law enforcement entity of this State or a
8unit of local government that is vested by law or ordinance
9with the duty to maintain public order and to enforce criminal
10laws or ordinances.
11    "Applicable agency" means a law enforcement agency that is
12investigating or has investigated the murder of the victim in
13issue.
14    "Cold case murder" means a murder committed more than 3
15years prior to the date of the application under subsection
16(a) of Section 10, for which all probative investigative leads
17have been exhausted, and for which no likely perpetrator has
18been identified.
19    "Designated person" means (i) an immediate family member
20or (ii) a similarly situated person as the Attorney General
21shall by rule define.
22    "Immediate family member" means a parent, parent-in-law,
23grandparent, grandparent-in-law, sibling, spouse, child, or

 

 

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1stepchild of a murder victim.
2    "Murder" means first degree murder or second degree murder
3as defined in Section 9-1 and 9-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
4    "Victim" means the victim of a murder.
 
5    Section 10. Case file review.
6    (a) An applicable agency shall review the case file
7regarding a cold case murder upon written application by a
8designated person to determine if a full reinvestigation would
9result in probative investigative leads.
10    (b) The case file review shall include, but is not limited
11to:
12        (1) an analysis of what investigative steps or
13    follow-up steps may have been missed in the initial
14    investigation;
15        (2) an assessment of whether witnesses should be
16    interviewed or re-interviewed;
17        (3) an examination of physical evidence to see if all
18    appropriate forensic testing and analysis was performed in
19    the first instance or if additional testing might produce
20    information relevant to the investigation; and
21        (4) a modernization of the file to bring it up to
22    current investigative standards to the extent it would
23    help develop probative leads.
24    (c) The person or persons performing the review required
25by subsection (a) shall not have previously investigated the

 

 

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1murder at issue.
2    (d) The applicable agency shall confirm in writing receipt
3of a request made under subsection (a).
4    (e) Only one case review shall be undertaken at any one
5time with respect to the same cold case murder victim.
6    (f) No later than 6 months after the receipt of the written
7application submitted pursuant to subsection (a), the
8applicable agency shall conclude its case file review and
9reach a conclusion whether a full reinvestigation under
10Section 25 is warranted.
11    (g) The applicable agency may extend the limit in
12subsection (f) for periods not to exceed 6 months if the agency
13makes a finding that the number of case files to be reviewed
14make it impracticable to comply with said limit without
15unreasonably taking resources from other law enforcement
16activities.
17    For cases for which the time limit in subsection (f) is
18extended, the applicable agency shall provide notice and an
19explanation of its reasoning to the designated person who
20filed the written application under this Section.
 
21    Section 15. Application. Each agency shall develop a
22written application to be used for designated persons to
23request a case file review under Section 10.
 
24    Section 20. Notice. Each agency shall provide notice of

 

 

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1the rights under this Act to designated persons as soon as is
2practicable after being made aware of a murder.
 
3    Section 25. Full reinvestigation.
4    (a) The applicable agency shall conduct a full
5reinvestigation of the cold case murder at issue if the review
6of the case file required by Section 10 concludes that a full
7reinvestigation of the cold case murder would result in
8probative investigative leads.
9    (b) A full reinvestigation shall include analyzing all
10evidence regarding the cold case murder at issue for the
11purpose of developing probative investigative leads as to the
12perpetrator.
13    (c) The person or persons performing the full
14reinvestigation required by subsection (a) shall not have
15previously investigated the murder at issue, except for the
16case file review pursuant to Section 10.
17    (d) Only one full reinvestigation shall be undertaken at
18any one time with respect to the same cold case murder victim.
 
19    Section 30. Consultation and updates.
20    (a) The applicable agency shall consult with the
21designated person who filed the written application under
22Section 10 and provide him or her with periodic updates during
23the case file review and full reinvestigation.
24    (b) The applicable agency shall meet with the designated

 

 

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1person and discuss the evidence to explain to the designated
2person who filed the written application under Section 10 its
3decision whether to engage in the full reinvestigation
4provided for under Section 25 at the conclusion of the case
5file review.
 
6    Section 35. Subsequent reviews.
7    (a) If a case file review is completed and a conclusion is
8reached not to conduct a full reinvestigation, no additional
9case file review shall be undertaken for a period of 5 years,
10unless there is newly discovered, materially significant
11evidence.
12    (b) If a full reinvestigation is done and a suspect is not
13identified at its conclusion, no additional case file review
14or full reinvestigation shall be undertaken for a period of 5
15years, unless there is newly discovered, materially
16significant new evidence.
 
17    Section 40. Data collection; annual report.
18    (a) Beginning 3 years after the effective date of this
19Act, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
20annually shall publish statistics regarding the number of cold
21cases. The statistics published under this subsection at a
22minimum shall be broken down by the degree of murder and by
23agency, in addition to the criteria set forth in subsection
24(b).

 

 

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1    (b) Each applicable agency annually shall submit data to
2the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority regarding
3the cold case murders within its jurisdiction, including, but
4not limited to, the number of requests received under
5subsection (a) of Section 10, the number of extensions granted
6and an explanation of reasons provided under subsection (g) of
7Section 10, the number of full reinvestigations initiated and
8closed under Section 25, and the number of suspects
9identified, arrested, charged, and convicted for each cold
10case murder investigated by the applicable agency under this
11Act during the year reported.
12    (c) The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
13shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly and the
14Governor compiling the information received by the Authority
15under subsection (b).
 
16    Section 45. Procedures to promote compliance.
17    (a) Not later than one year after the effective date of
18this Act, the head of each agency shall adopt rules to enforce
19the rights of designated persons and to ensure compliance by
20responsible officials with the obligations described in this
21Act.
22    (b) The rules adopted under subsection (a) shall:
23        (1) designate an administrative authority within the
24    agency to receive and investigate complaints relating to
25    the provision or violation of the rights of designated

 

 

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1    persons;
2        (2) require a course of training for employees of the
3    agency regarding the rights provided under this Act;
4        (3) contain disciplinary sanctions, including
5    suspension or termination from employment, for employees
6    of the agency who willfully or wantonly fail to comply
7    with this Act;
8        (4) establish a process for investigations into the
9    conduct of persons no longer employed by a law enforcement
10    agency when a complaint is filed and a process for
11    referrals for prosecution to the appropriate State's
12    Attorney; and
13        (5) provide that the head of the agency, or the
14    designee of the head of the agency, shall be the final
15    arbiter of the complaint, and that there shall be no
16    judicial review of the final decision of the head of the
17    agency by a complainant.
 
18    Section 50. Withholding information. Nothing in this Act
19shall require an agency to provide information that would
20endanger the safety of any person, unreasonably impede an
21ongoing investigation, violate a court order, or violate legal
22obligations regarding privacy.
 
23    Section 55. Multiple agencies.
24    (a) If there is more than one possible applicable agency,

 

 

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1each applicable agency shall coordinate its case file review
2or full reinvestigation such that there is only one joint case
3file review or full reinvestigation occurring at a time in
4compliance with subsection (e) of Section 10 or subsection (d)
5of Section 25, as applicable.
6    (b) If an immediate family member believes there was bias
7demonstrated in the handling of the initial case, any case
8file review, or any full reinvestigation by any of the
9possible applicable agencies, the family member may
10communicate that concern to the Attorney General. The Attorney
11General shall review the allegations made by the immediate
12family member to determine whether, in the interest of
13justice, another law enforcement agency should conduct the
14case file review or the full reinvestigation, as applicable.
 
15    Section 60. Applicability. This Act applies to murders
16occurring on or after January 1, 1970.
 
17    Section 100. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Act
18is amended by changing Section 7 as follows:
 
19    (20 ILCS 3930/7)  (from Ch. 38, par. 210-7)
20    Sec. 7. Powers and duties. The Authority shall have the
21following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
22        (a) To develop and operate comprehensive information
23    systems for the improvement and coordination of all

 

 

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1    aspects of law enforcement, prosecution, and corrections;
2        (b) To define, develop, evaluate, and correlate State
3    and local programs and projects associated with the
4    improvement of law enforcement and the administration of
5    criminal justice;
6        (c) To act as a central repository and clearing house
7    for federal, state, and local research studies, plans,
8    projects, proposals, and other information relating to all
9    aspects of criminal justice system improvement and to
10    encourage educational programs for citizen support of
11    State and local efforts to make such improvements;
12        (d) To undertake research studies to aid in
13    accomplishing its purposes;
14        (e) To monitor the operation of existing criminal
15    justice information systems in order to protect the
16    constitutional rights and privacy of individuals about
17    whom criminal history record information has been
18    collected;
19        (f) To provide an effective administrative forum for
20    the protection of the rights of individuals concerning
21    criminal history record information;
22        (g) To issue regulations, guidelines, and procedures
23    which ensure the privacy and security of criminal history
24    record information consistent with State and federal laws;
25        (h) To act as the sole administrative appeal body in
26    the State of Illinois to conduct hearings and make final

 

 

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1    determinations concerning individual challenges to the
2    completeness and accuracy of criminal history record
3    information;
4        (i) To act as the sole, official, criminal justice
5    body in the State of Illinois to conduct annual and
6    periodic audits of the procedures, policies, and practices
7    of the State central repositories for criminal history
8    record information to verify compliance with federal and
9    state laws and regulations governing such information;
10        (j) To advise the Authority's Statistical Analysis
11    Center;
12        (k) To apply for, receive, establish priorities for,
13    allocate, disburse, and spend grants of funds that are
14    made available by and received on or after January 1, 1983
15    from private sources or from the United States pursuant to
16    the federal Crime Control Act of 1973, as amended, and
17    similar federal legislation, and to enter into agreements
18    with the United States government to further the purposes
19    of this Act, or as may be required as a condition of
20    obtaining federal funds;
21        (l) To receive, expend, and account for such funds of
22    the State of Illinois as may be made available to further
23    the purposes of this Act;
24        (m) To enter into contracts and to cooperate with
25    units of general local government or combinations of such
26    units, State agencies, and criminal justice system

 

 

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1    agencies of other states for the purpose of carrying out
2    the duties of the Authority imposed by this Act or by the
3    federal Crime Control Act of 1973, as amended;
4        (n) To enter into contracts and cooperate with units
5    of general local government outside of Illinois, other
6    states' agencies, and private organizations outside of
7    Illinois to provide computer software or design that has
8    been developed for the Illinois criminal justice system,
9    or to participate in the cooperative development or design
10    of new software or systems to be used by the Illinois
11    criminal justice system;
12        (o) To establish general policies concerning criminal
13    justice information systems and to promulgate such rules,
14    regulations, and procedures as are necessary to the
15    operation of the Authority and to the uniform
16    consideration of appeals and audits;
17        (p) To advise and to make recommendations to the
18    Governor and the General Assembly on policies relating to
19    criminal justice information systems;
20        (q) To direct all other agencies under the
21    jurisdiction of the Governor to provide whatever
22    assistance and information the Authority may lawfully
23    require to carry out its functions;
24        (r) To exercise any other powers that are reasonable
25    and necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the
26    Authority under this Act and to comply with the

 

 

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1    requirements of applicable federal law or regulation;
2        (s) To exercise the rights, powers, and duties which
3    have been vested in the Authority by the Illinois Uniform
4    Conviction Information Act;
5        (t) (Blank);
6        (u) To exercise the rights, powers, and duties vested
7    in the Authority by the Illinois Public Safety Agency
8    Network Act;
9        (v) To provide technical assistance in the form of
10    training to local governmental entities within Illinois
11    requesting such assistance for the purposes of procuring
12    grants for gang intervention and gang prevention programs
13    or other criminal justice programs from the United States
14    Department of Justice;
15        (w) To conduct strategic planning and provide
16    technical assistance to implement comprehensive trauma
17    recovery services for violent crime victims in underserved
18    communities with high levels of violent crime, with the
19    goal of providing a safe, community-based, culturally
20    competent environment in which to access services
21    necessary to facilitate recovery from the effects of
22    chronic and repeat exposure to trauma. Services may
23    include, but are not limited to, behavioral health
24    treatment, financial recovery, family support and
25    relocation assistance, and support in navigating the legal
26    system; and

 

 

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1        (x) To coordinate statewide violence prevention
2    efforts and assist in the implementation of trauma
3    recovery centers and analyze trauma recovery services. The
4    Authority shall develop, publish, and facilitate the
5    implementation of a 4-year statewide violence prevention
6    plan, which shall incorporate public health, public
7    safety, victim services, and trauma recovery centers and
8    services; and
9        (y) To compile and publish information regarding cold
10    case murders as provided in Section 40 of the Homicide
11    Victims' Families' Rights Act.
12    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly
13shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report as required
14by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and
15filing such additional copies with the State Government Report
16Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is required
17under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.
18(Source: P.A. 99-938, eff. 1-1-18; 100-373, eff. 1-1-18;
19100-575, eff. 1-8-18; 100-621, eff. 7-20-18; 100-1148, eff.
2012-10-18.)