Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB2515

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that at least 9 (rather than 6) members appointed to the Prisoner Review Board must have had at least 5 (rather than 3) years' experience in the field of juvenile matters including a post-graduate degree and a demonstrated competency in the field of adolescent development. Provides that no more than 3 members qualified in the field of juvenile matters may use their experience in law enforcement, the prosecution of juveniles, corrections, or their prior experience as a member of the Board prior to the effective date of the amendatory Act, towards their 5 years of actual experience in the field of juvenile matters. Provides that a person under 21 years of age at the time of the commission of a non-homicide offense or offenses, and who is not serving a sentence for a homicide offense, shall be eligible for parole review by the Prisoner Review Board after serving 10 years or more of his or her sentence. Provides that a person under 21 years of age at the time of the commission of a homicide offense or offenses shall be eligible for parole review by the Prisoner Review Board after serving 20 years or more of his or her sentence. Provides that 3 years prior to becoming eligible for parole review, the eligible person may file his or her petition for parole review with the Prisoner Review Board. Provides that the eligible person has a right to be physically present at the Prisoner Review Board hearing. Provides that the eligible person and his or her counsel have a right to present written documents and oral testimony at the Prisoner Review Board hearing. Provides that, unless denied parole, the eligible person shall be released on parole which shall operate to discharge the remaining term of years or natural life sentence imposed upon him or her, notwithstanding any required mandatory supervised release period the eligible person is required to serve.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts provisions of the bill. Provides that at least 9 members of the Prisoner Review Board must have a post-graduate degree. Deletes provision that those members must have demonstrated competency in the field of adolescent development. Substitutes first degree murder for homicide offense. Deletes provision that within 6 months of the Prisoner Review Board's determination that the petition was appropriately filed, the Department of Corrections shall prepare a written assessment of the needs of the eligible person and identify programming and services that would be appropriate to prepare the offender for return to the community, and provide a copy of that assessment to the Prisoner Review Board and the eligible person. The Department of Corrections shall make the programming and services available to the eligible person. Provides that if the Prisoner Review Board denies parole after conducting the hearing, it shall issue a written decision denying the parole and provide that decision to the eligible person and his or her counsel within 7 calendar days. Provides that this decision constitutes a final determination by the Board subject to review in the Appellate Court of the judicial district which encompasses the county in which the appellant was originally sentenced. Makes other technical changes in the bill.

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