96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB5920

 

Introduced 2/10/2010, by Rep. Lisa M. Dugan

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
705 ILCS 405/1-7   from Ch. 37, par. 801-7

    Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that law enforcement agencies may release law enforcement records, when a minor's parent or legal guardian has signed a release and waiver of confidentiality, for the sole purpose of releasing those records to a teen court, peer court, or other juvenile division program as authorized by the Act. Provides that the program that receives such confidential records shall use those records only for the operation of the program and shall otherwise keep all such records confidential.


LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5920 LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

1     AN ACT concerning courts.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
5 changing Section 1-7 as follows:
 
6     (705 ILCS 405/1-7)  (from Ch. 37, par. 801-7)
7     Sec. 1-7. Confidentiality of law enforcement records.
8     (A) Inspection and copying of law enforcement records
9 maintained by law enforcement agencies that relate to a minor
10 who has been arrested or taken into custody before his or her
11 17th birthday shall be restricted to the following:
12         (1) Any local, State or federal law enforcement
13     officers of any jurisdiction or agency when necessary for
14     the discharge of their official duties during the
15     investigation or prosecution of a crime or relating to a
16     minor who has been adjudicated delinquent and there has
17     been a previous finding that the act which constitutes the
18     previous offense was committed in furtherance of criminal
19     activities by a criminal street gang, or, when necessary
20     for the discharge of its official duties in connection with
21     a particular investigation of the conduct of a law
22     enforcement officer, an independent agency or its staff
23     created by ordinance and charged by a unit of local

 

 

HB5920 - 2 - LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

1     government with the duty of investigating the conduct of
2     law enforcement officers. For purposes of this Section,
3     "criminal street gang" has the meaning ascribed to it in
4     Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus
5     Prevention Act.
6         (2) Prosecutors, probation officers, social workers,
7     or other individuals assigned by the court to conduct a
8     pre-adjudication or pre-disposition investigation, and
9     individuals responsible for supervising or providing
10     temporary or permanent care and custody for minors pursuant
11     to the order of the juvenile court, when essential to
12     performing their responsibilities.
13         (3) Prosecutors and probation officers:
14             (a) in the course of a trial when institution of
15         criminal proceedings has been permitted or required
16         under Section 5-805; or
17             (b) when institution of criminal proceedings has
18         been permitted or required under Section 5-805 and such
19         minor is the subject of a proceeding to determine the
20         amount of bail; or
21             (c) when criminal proceedings have been permitted
22         or required under Section 5-805 and such minor is the
23         subject of a pre-trial investigation, pre-sentence
24         investigation, fitness hearing, or proceedings on an
25         application for probation.
26         (4) Adult and Juvenile Prisoner Review Board.

 

 

HB5920 - 3 - LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

1         (5) Authorized military personnel.
2         (6) Persons engaged in bona fide research, with the
3     permission of the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court and
4     the chief executive of the respective law enforcement
5     agency; provided that publication of such research results
6     in no disclosure of a minor's identity and protects the
7     confidentiality of the minor's record.
8         (7) Department of Children and Family Services child
9     protection investigators acting in their official
10     capacity.
11         (8) The appropriate school official. Inspection and
12     copying shall be limited to law enforcement records
13     transmitted to the appropriate school official by a local
14     law enforcement agency under a reciprocal reporting system
15     established and maintained between the school district and
16     the local law enforcement agency under Section 10-20.14 of
17     the School Code concerning a minor enrolled in a school
18     within the school district who has been arrested or taken
19     into custody for any of the following offenses:
20             (i) unlawful use of weapons under Section 24-1 of
21         the Criminal Code of 1961;
22             (ii) a violation of the Illinois Controlled
23         Substances Act;
24             (iii) a violation of the Cannabis Control Act;
25             (iv) a forcible felony as defined in Section 2-8 of
26         the Criminal Code of 1961; or

 

 

HB5920 - 4 - LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

1             (v) a violation of the Methamphetamine Control and
2         Community Protection Act.
3         (9) Mental health professionals on behalf of the
4     Illinois Department of Corrections or the Department of
5     Human Services or prosecutors who are evaluating,
6     prosecuting, or investigating a potential or actual
7     petition brought under the Sexually Violent Persons
8     Commitment Act relating to a person who is the subject of
9     juvenile law enforcement records or the respondent to a
10     petition brought under the Sexually Violent Persons
11     Commitment Act who is the subject of the juvenile law
12     enforcement records sought. Any records and any
13     information obtained from those records under this
14     paragraph (9) may be used only in sexually violent persons
15     commitment proceedings.
16     (B) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no law
17     enforcement officer or other person or agency may knowingly
18     transmit to the Department of Corrections, Adult Division
19     or the Department of State Police or to the Federal Bureau
20     of Investigation any fingerprint or photograph relating to
21     a minor who has been arrested or taken into custody before
22     his or her 17th birthday, unless the court in proceedings
23     under this Act authorizes the transmission or enters an
24     order under Section 5-805 permitting or requiring the
25     institution of criminal proceedings.
26         (2) Law enforcement officers or other persons or

 

 

HB5920 - 5 - LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

1     agencies shall transmit to the Department of State Police
2     copies of fingerprints and descriptions of all minors who
3     have been arrested or taken into custody before their 17th
4     birthday for the offense of unlawful use of weapons under
5     Article 24 of the Criminal Code of 1961, a Class X or Class
6     1 felony, a forcible felony as defined in Section 2-8 of
7     the Criminal Code of 1961, or a Class 2 or greater felony
8     under the Cannabis Control Act, the Illinois Controlled
9     Substances Act, the Methamphetamine Control and Community
10     Protection Act, or Chapter 4 of the Illinois Vehicle Code,
11     pursuant to Section 5 of the Criminal Identification Act.
12     Information reported to the Department pursuant to this
13     Section may be maintained with records that the Department
14     files pursuant to Section 2.1 of the Criminal
15     Identification Act. Nothing in this Act prohibits a law
16     enforcement agency from fingerprinting a minor taken into
17     custody or arrested before his or her 17th birthday for an
18     offense other than those listed in this paragraph (2).
19     (C) The records of law enforcement officers, or of an
20 independent agency created by ordinance and charged by a unit
21 of local government with the duty of investigating the conduct
22 of law enforcement officers, concerning all minors under 17
23 years of age must be maintained separate from the records of
24 arrests and may not be open to public inspection or their
25 contents disclosed to the public except by order of the court
26 presiding over matters pursuant to this Act or when the

 

 

HB5920 - 6 - LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

1 institution of criminal proceedings has been permitted or
2 required under Section 5-805 or such a person has been
3 convicted of a crime and is the subject of pre-sentence
4 investigation or proceedings on an application for probation or
5 when provided by law. For purposes of obtaining documents
6 pursuant to this Section, a civil subpoena is not an order of
7 the court.
8         (1) In cases where the law enforcement, or independent
9     agency, records concern a pending juvenile court case, the
10     party seeking to inspect the records shall provide actual
11     notice to the attorney or guardian ad litem of the minor
12     whose records are sought.
13         (2) In cases where the records concern a juvenile court
14     case that is no longer pending, the party seeking to
15     inspect the records shall provide actual notice to the
16     minor or the minor's parent or legal guardian, and the
17     matter shall be referred to the chief judge presiding over
18     matters pursuant to this Act.
19         (3) In determining whether the records should be
20     available for inspection, the court shall consider the
21     minor's interest in confidentiality and rehabilitation
22     over the moving party's interest in obtaining the
23     information. Any records obtained in violation of this
24     subsection (C) shall not be admissible in any criminal or
25     civil proceeding, or operate to disqualify a minor from
26     subsequently holding public office or securing employment,

 

 

HB5920 - 7 - LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

1     or operate as a forfeiture of any public benefit, right,
2     privilege, or right to receive any license granted by
3     public authority.
4     (D) Nothing contained in subsection (C) of this Section
5 shall prohibit the inspection or disclosure to victims and
6 witnesses of photographs contained in the records of law
7 enforcement agencies when the inspection and disclosure is
8 conducted in the presence of a law enforcement officer for the
9 purpose of the identification or apprehension of any person
10 subject to the provisions of this Act or for the investigation
11 or prosecution of any crime.
12     (E) Law enforcement officers, and personnel of an
13 independent agency created by ordinance and charged by a unit
14 of local government with the duty of investigating the conduct
15 of law enforcement officers, may not disclose the identity of
16 any minor in releasing information to the general public as to
17 the arrest, investigation or disposition of any case involving
18 a minor.
19     (F) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit law
20 enforcement agencies from communicating with each other by
21 letter, memorandum, teletype or intelligence alert bulletin or
22 other means the identity or other relevant information
23 pertaining to a person under 17 years of age if there are
24 reasonable grounds to believe that the person poses a real and
25 present danger to the safety of the public or law enforcement
26 officers. The information provided under this subsection (F)

 

 

HB5920 - 8 - LRB096 20256 RLC 35846 b

1 shall remain confidential and shall not be publicly disclosed,
2 except as otherwise allowed by law.
3     (G) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the right of a
4 Civil Service Commission or appointing authority of any state,
5 county or municipality examining the character and fitness of
6 an applicant for employment with a law enforcement agency,
7 correctional institution, or fire department from obtaining
8 and examining the records of any law enforcement agency
9 relating to any record of the applicant having been arrested or
10 taken into custody before the applicant's 17th birthday.
11     (H) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit law enforcement
12 agencies from releasing law enforcement records, when a minor's
13 parent or legal guardian has signed a release and waiver of
14 confidentiality, for the sole purpose of releasing those
15 records to a teen court, peer court, or other juvenile division
16 program as authorized by Section 5-315 of this Act. The program
17 that receives such confidential records shall use those records
18 only for the operation of the program and shall otherwise keep
19 all such records confidential pursuant to this Section.
20 (Source: P.A. 95-123, eff. 8-13-07; 96-419, eff. 8-13-09.)