103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2311

 

Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Celina Villanueva

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
730 ILCS 5/3-3-3  from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-3
730 ILCS 5/3-3-3.1 new
730 ILCS 5/3-5-1  from Ch. 38, par. 1003-5-1

    Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that notwithstanding to the contrary, any provision of the Code, the Post-Conviction Hearing Article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, or the Habeas Corpus Article or the relief from judgment provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, a person serving a term of imprisonment, including a term of natural life, in a Department of Corrections institution or facility is eligible for earned discretionary reentry if he or she has served a term of imprisonment of at least 20 years. Provides that petitions for earned discretionary reentry shall be administered by the Prisoner Review Board. Establishes procedures for the hearing. Removes provision that no person serving a term of natural life imprisonment may be paroled or released except through executive clemency. Provides that if any incarcerated person is released on earned discretionary reentry, his or her sentence shall be considered complete after the term of mandatory supervised release. Applies retroactively. Contains a severability provision.


LRB103 27259 RLC 53630 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2311LRB103 27259 RLC 53630 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. Purpose. In recognition of the historical
5harms of systemic racism and overly punitive sentencing, as
6well as concerns to address mass incarceration and safely
7reduce the prison population, this Act is needed to ensure
8that persons are not serving excessive sentences with no
9public benefit. By utilizing and extending existing review
10mechanisms, this Act will reduce unnecessary incarceration,
11reduce costs of incarceration, provide incentive to people
12with long sentences to prepare for productive lives, make
13prisons safer for incarcerated persons and prison staff, and
14help bring the State in compliance with Section 11 of Article I
15of the Illinois Constitution, which mandates that all
16penalties aim to restore incarcerated people to useful
17citizenship.
 
18    Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
19changing Sections 3-3-3 and 3-5-1 and by adding Section
203-3-3.1 as follows:
 
21    (730 ILCS 5/3-3-3)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-3)
22    Sec. 3-3-3. Eligibility for parole or release.

 

 

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1    (a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 3-3-3.1 and
2except Except for those offenders who accept the fixed release
3date established by the Prisoner Review Board under Section
43-3-2.1, every person serving a term of imprisonment under the
5law in effect prior to the effective date of this amendatory
6Act of 1977 shall be eligible for parole when he or she has
7served:
8        (1) the minimum term of an indeterminate sentence less
9    time credit for good behavior, or 20 years less time
10    credit for good behavior, whichever is less; or
11        (2) 20 years of a life sentence less time credit for
12    good behavior; or
13        (3) 20 years or one-third of a determinate sentence,
14    whichever is less, less time credit for good behavior.
15    (b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 3-3-3.1, no No
16person sentenced under this amendatory Act of 1977 or who
17accepts a release date under Section 3-3-2.1 shall be eligible
18for parole.
19    (c) Except as otherwise provided in Section 3-3-3.1, and
20except Except for those sentenced to a term of natural life
21imprisonment, every person sentenced to imprisonment under
22this amendatory Act of 1977 or given a release date under
23Section 3-3-2.1 of this Act shall serve the full term of a
24determinate sentence less time credit for good behavior and
25shall then be released under the mandatory supervised release
26provisions of paragraph (d) of Section 5-8-1 of this Code.

 

 

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1    (d) (Blank). No person serving a term of natural life
2imprisonment may be paroled or released except through
3executive clemency.
4    (e) Every person committed to the Department of Juvenile
5Justice under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and confined in
6the State correctional institutions or facilities if such
7juvenile has not been tried as an adult shall be eligible for
8aftercare release under Section 3-2.5-85 of this Code.
9However, if a juvenile has been tried as an adult he or she
10shall only be eligible for parole or mandatory supervised
11release as an adult under this Section.
12(Source: P.A. 98-558, eff. 1-1-14; 99-628, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
13    (730 ILCS 5/3-3-3.1 new)
14    Sec. 3-3-3.1. Earned discretionary reentry; earned
15discretionary reentry hearings; sentences of 20 years or
16longer; life imprisonment; reentry.
17    (a) Notwithstanding to the contrary, any provision of this
18Code, Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, or
19Article X or Section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a
20person serving a term of imprisonment, including a term of
21natural life, in a Department of Corrections institution or
22facility is eligible for earned discretionary reentry under
23this Article if he or she has served a term of imprisonment of
24at least 20 years. Petitions for earned discretionary reentry
25shall be administered by the Prisoner Review Board.

 

 

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1    (b) The Prisoner Review Board shall contact persons
2eligible for earned discretionary reentry and conduct hearings
3to determine whether they shall obtain earned discretionary
4reentry as provided by this Article and the Open Parole
5Hearings Act unless otherwise specified in this Section.
6    (c) Candidates who have been incarcerated for the longest
7time, beyond 20 years, shall be heard first.
8    (d) Victims and victims' families shall be notified in a
9timely manner and provided an opportunity to participate in
10the hearing in accordance with the Rights of Crime Victims and
11Witnesses Act, the Open Parole Hearings Act, and this Article.
12    (e) In determining whether a candidate should obtain
13earned discretionary reentry, the Prisoner Review Board shall
14consider the following factors:
15        (1) a statement, oral or written, by the candidate as
16    to the reasons why he or she should obtain earned
17    discretionary reentry;
18        (2) any of evidence of the candidate's rehabilitation
19    during the period of his or her incarceration, including
20    remorse for any criminal acts, if applicable;
21        (3) any evidence of the likelihood that the candidate
22    will not recidivate;
23        (4) any character references, letters of support from
24    family or community members, or references by staff,
25    volunteers, or incarcerated persons in the Department of
26    Corrections;

 

 

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1        (5) any evidence of the candidate's participation in
2    educational, vocational, substance abuse, behavior
3    modification, life skills, or reentry planning programs;
4        (6) the candidate's disciplinary record while
5    incarcerated;
6        (7) the candidate's employment history while
7    incarcerated;
8        (8) the candidate's criminal history; and
9        (9) the candidate's parole plan, including plans for
10    housing, employment, and community support upon release
11    from incarceration; and
12    (f) If the programs or employment opportunities described
13in this Section were not available to this candidate, the
14Board shall not penalize the candidate for failure to
15participate in them; nor shall the board penalize a candidate
16for choosing not to work for the Department of Corrections;
17nor shall the Board penalize a candidate for maintaining his
18or her claim of innocence.
19    (g) Hearings under this Section shall be conducted by a
20panel of at least 3 members of the Board. A majority vote of
21the members present and voting at the hearing is required to
22grant the petition and release the candidate.
23    (h) If earned discretionary reentry is denied under this
24Section, the Board shall provide a written statement to the
25candidate that shall include the reasons for the denial, what
26the candidate must accomplish to attain earned discretionary

 

 

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1reentry in the future; and when the candidate is eligible to
2reapply for earned discretionary reentry, which shall be no
3later than 2 years after the denial. The candidate may seek a
4continuance of up to 2 additional years.
5    (i) An incarcerated person described in this Section may
6not be barred from any programming because his or her maximum
7out date is not in the near future.
8    (j) Every incarcerated person described in this Section
9may bring legal counsel or an advocate of his or her choice to
10the earned discretionary reentry hearing.
11    (k) Every incarcerated person described in this Section
12may attend and testify at his or her earned discretionary
13reentry hearing in person or by video-conference or may have
14counsel or an advocate read a statement.
15    (l) Every incarcerated person described in this Section
16shall be provided full and complete access to his or her master
17record file, with the exception of the names of verified
18confidential informants, at least 60 days prior to any earned
19discretionary reentry hearing. The incarcerated person has a
20right to challenge any false, misleading, or otherwise
21inaccurate information contained therein. The Department of
22Corrections shall establish an expedited process for
23incarcerated persons to challenge such false, misleading, or
24otherwise inaccurate information so that it can be removed
25prior to any earned discretionary reentry hearing. Every
26incarcerated person described in this section may have counsel

 

 

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1assist them in challenging inaccurate information.
2    (m) If any incarcerated person is released on earned
3discretionary reentry, his or her sentence shall be considered
4complete after the term of mandatory supervised release.
5    (n) This Section applies retroactively to every person
6currently serving a term of imprisonment in a Department of
7Corrections institution or facility, which is necessary in
8order to serve the important objectives listed in the
9preamble, including that of restoring incarcerated individuals
10to useful citizenship, as required by Section 11 of Article 1
11of the Illinois Constitution.
12    (o) Nothing in this Section guarantees release. It only
13provides the opportunity for the incarcerated person to
14demonstrate his or her readiness to obtain earned
15discretionary reentry.
16    (p) At the conclusion of the second year after the
17effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
18Assembly, subsection (c) no longer applies, and all candidates
19who have been incarcerated at least 20 consecutive years shall
20have equal opportunity for hearings.
 
21    (730 ILCS 5/3-5-1)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-5-1)
22    Sec. 3-5-1. Master Record File.
23    (a) The Department of Corrections and the Department of
24Juvenile Justice shall maintain a master record file on each
25person committed to it, which shall contain the following

 

 

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1information:
2        (1) all information from the committing court;
3        (1.5) ethnic and racial background data collected in
4    accordance with Section 4.5 of the Criminal Identification
5    Act;
6        (2) reception summary;
7        (3) evaluation and assignment reports and
8    recommendations;
9        (4) reports as to program assignment and progress;
10        (5) reports of disciplinary infractions and
11    disposition, including tickets and Administrative Review
12    Board action;
13        (6) any parole or aftercare release plan;
14        (7) any parole or aftercare release reports;
15        (8) the date and circumstances of final discharge;
16        (9) criminal history;
17        (10) current and past gang affiliations and ranks;
18        (11) information regarding associations and family
19    relationships;
20        (12) any grievances filed and responses to those
21    grievances; and
22        (13) other information that the respective Department
23    determines is relevant to the secure confinement and
24    rehabilitation of the committed person.
25    (b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 3-3-3.1, all
26All files shall be confidential and access shall be limited to

 

 

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1authorized personnel of the respective Department or by
2disclosure in accordance with a court order or subpoena.
3Personnel of other correctional, welfare or law enforcement
4agencies may have access to files under rules and regulations
5of the respective Department. The respective Department shall
6keep a record of all outside personnel who have access to
7files, the files reviewed, any file material copied, and the
8purpose of access. If the respective Department or the
9Prisoner Review Board makes a determination under this Code
10which affects the length of the period of confinement or
11commitment, the committed person and his counsel shall be
12advised of factual information relied upon by the respective
13Department or Board to make the determination, provided that
14the Department or Board shall not be required to advise a
15person committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice any
16such information which in the opinion of the Department of
17Juvenile Justice or Board would be detrimental to his
18treatment or rehabilitation.
19    (c) The master file shall be maintained at a place
20convenient to its use by personnel of the respective
21Department in charge of the person. When custody of a person is
22transferred from the Department to another department or
23agency, a summary of the file shall be forwarded to the
24receiving agency with such other information required by law
25or requested by the agency under rules and regulations of the
26respective Department.

 

 

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1    (d) The master file of a person no longer in the custody of
2the respective Department shall be placed on inactive status
3and its use shall be restricted subject to rules and
4regulations of the Department.
5    (e) All public agencies may make available to the
6respective Department on request any factual data not
7otherwise privileged as a matter of law in their possession in
8respect to individuals committed to the respective Department.
9    (f) A committed person may request a summary of the
10committed person's master record file once per year and the
11committed person's attorney may request one summary of the
12committed person's master record file once per year. The
13Department shall create a form for requesting this summary,
14and shall make that form available to committed persons and to
15the public on its website. Upon receipt of the request form,
16the Department shall provide the summary within 15 days. The
17summary must contain, unless otherwise prohibited by law:
18        (1) the person's name, ethnic, racial, and other
19    identifying information;
20        (2) all digitally available information from the
21    committing court;
22        (3) all information in the Offender 360 system on the
23    person's criminal history;
24        (4) the person's complete assignment history in the
25    Department of Corrections;
26        (5) the person's disciplinary card;

 

 

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1        (6) additional records about up to 3 specific
2    disciplinary incidents as identified by the requester;
3        (7) any available records about up to 5 specific
4    grievances filed by the person, as identified by the
5    requester; and
6        (8) the records of all grievances filed on or after
7    January 1, 2023.
8    Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection (f) to
9the contrary, a committed person's master record file is not
10subject to disclosure and copying under the Freedom of
11Information Act.
12(Source: P.A. 102-776, eff. 1-1-23; 102-784, eff. 5-13-22;
13revised 12-14-22.)
 
14    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
15severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.