HB3596 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 27123 LNS 53491 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3596

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

See Index

Amends the Crimes Victim Compensation Act. Includes additional expenses and costs in the definition of "pecuniary loss". Removes language providing that: no compensation may be granted while the applicant or victim is held in a correctional institution; and a victim who has been convicted of a felony may apply for assistance at any time but no award of compensation may be considered until the applicant meets certain requirements. Requires the Attorney General to: provide an applicant with written notification of a drafted award determination; present the drafted award determination to the Court of Claims within 90 days of the application being submitted; make all applications and forms available electronically; translate all paper and electronic forms and applications into the 5 most common non-English languages in the State; maintain an online application system; and maintain a case-tracking system to track the status of an application. Allows a victim or applicant to obtain a law enforcement report and provide it to the Attorney General under certain circumstances. Removes time limit and law enforcement notification requirements for submitting an application for compensation. Provides that a victim of a crime who has presented oneself to a hospital for medical care or sexual assault evidence collection is not required to reveal the cause of the injuries or health needs. Provides that a victim of crime is not required to present oneself to a hospital for medical care or sexual assault evidence collection within a specified period of time. Provides that when submitting an application for compensation, the victim or applicant must provide to the Attorney General a sworn statement of the victim or applicant that attests to the victim's or applicant's experience of a crime of violence. Provides that cooperation with law enforcement is not required for a victim of certain offenses to submit an application. Provides that it is presumed that a crime victim or applicant did not provoke, incite, assist, attempt, or commit the criminal act that led to the victim's injury or death. Requires the Attorney General to create a process with forms and applications for applying for emergency awards, create a process for determining emergency awards within 48 hours of the filing of the application, and publicize the process on the Attorney General's website.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Crime Victims Compensation Act is amended by changing Sections 2, 2.5, 4.1, 4.2, 6.1, 10.1, and 10.2 as follows:

(740 ILCS 45/2)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-982)

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Applicant" means any person who applies for compensation under this Act or any person the Court of Claims or the Attorney General finds is entitled to compensation, including the guardian of a minor or of a person under legal disability. It includes any person who was a dependent of a deceased victim of a crime of violence for his or her support at the time of the death of that victim.

The changes made to this subsection by Public Act 101-652 this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly apply to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2022.

(b) "Court of Claims" means the Court of Claims created by the Court of Claims Act.

(c) "Crime of violence" means and includes any offense defined in Sections 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 10-1, 10-2, 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-11, 11-19.2, 11-20.1, 11-20.1B, 11-20.3, 11-23, 11-23.5, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-3.1, 12-3.2, 12-3.3, 12-3.4, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-5, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-20.5, 12-30, 20-1 or 20-1.1, or Section 12-3.05 except for subdivision (a)(4) or (g)(1), or subdivision (a)(4) of Section 11-14.4, of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, Sections 1(a) and 1(a-5) of the Cemetery Protection Act, Section 125 of the Stalking No Contact Order Act, Section 219 of the Civil No Contact Order Act, driving under the influence as defined in Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, a violation of Section 11-401 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, provided the victim was a pedestrian or was operating a vehicle moved solely by human power or a mobility device at the time of contact, and a violation of Section 11-204.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code; so long as the offense did not occur during a civil riot, insurrection or rebellion. "Crime of violence" does not include any other offense or accident involving a motor vehicle except those vehicle offenses specifically provided for in this paragraph. "Crime of violence" does include all of the offenses specifically provided for in this paragraph that occur within this State but are subject to federal jurisdiction and crimes involving terrorism as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2331.

(d) "Victim" means (1) a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence perpetrated or attempted against him or her, (2) the spouse, parent, or child of a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence perpetrated or attempted against the person, or anyone living in the household of a person killed or injured in a relationship that is substantially similar to that of a parent, spouse, or child, (3) a person killed or injured in this State while attempting to assist a person against whom a crime of violence is being perpetrated or attempted, if that attempt of assistance would be expected of a reasonable person under the circumstances, (4) a person killed or injured in this State while assisting a law enforcement official apprehend a person who has perpetrated a crime of violence or prevent the perpetration of any such crime if that assistance was in response to the express request of the law enforcement official, (5) a person who personally witnessed a violent crime, (5.05) a person who will be called as a witness by the prosecution to establish a necessary nexus between the offender and the violent crime, (5.1) solely for the purpose of compensating for pecuniary loss incurred for psychological treatment of a mental or emotional condition caused or aggravated by the crime, any other person under the age of 18 who is the brother, sister, half brother, or half sister of a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence, (6) an Illinois resident who is a victim of a "crime of violence" as defined in this Act except, if the crime occurred outside this State, the resident has the same rights under this Act as if the crime had occurred in this State upon a showing that the state, territory, country, or political subdivision of a country in which the crime occurred does not have a compensation of victims of crimes law for which that Illinois resident is eligible, (7) a deceased person whose body is dismembered or whose remains are desecrated as the result of a crime of violence, or (8) solely for the purpose of compensating for pecuniary loss incurred for psychological treatment of a mental or emotional condition caused or aggravated by the crime, any parent, spouse, or child under the age of 18 of a deceased person whose body is dismembered or whose remains are desecrated as the result of a crime of violence.

(e) "Dependent" means a relative of a deceased victim who was wholly or partially dependent upon the victim's income at the time of his or her death and shall include the child of a victim born after his or her death.

(f) "Relative" means a spouse, parent, grandparent, stepfather, stepmother, child, grandchild, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, half brother, half sister, spouse's parent, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, or anyone living in the household of a person killed or injured in a relationship that is substantially similar to that of a parent, spouse, or child.

(g) "Child" means a son or daughter and includes a stepchild, an adopted child or a child born out of wedlock.

(h) "Pecuniary loss" means, in the case of injury, appropriate medical expenses and hospital expenses including expenses of medical examinations, rehabilitation, medically required nursing care expenses, appropriate psychiatric care or psychiatric counseling expenses, appropriate expenses for care or counseling by a licensed clinical psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, or licensed clinical professional counselor and expenses for treatment by Christian Science practitioners and nursing care appropriate thereto; transportation expenses to and from medical and counseling treatment facilities; prosthetic appliances, eyeglasses, and hearing aids necessary or damaged as a result of the crime; expenses incurred for the towing and storage of a victim's vehicle in connection with a crime of violence, to a maximum of $1,000; costs associated with trafficking tattoo removal by a person authorized or licensed to perform the specific removal procedure; replacement costs for clothing and bedding used as evidence; costs associated with temporary lodging or relocation necessary as a result of the crime, including, but not limited to, the first month's rent and security deposit of the dwelling that the claimant relocated to and other reasonable relocation expenses incurred as a result of the violent crime; locks or windows necessary or damaged as a result of the crime; the purchase, lease, or rental of equipment necessary to create usability of and accessibility to the victim's real and personal property, or the real and personal property which is used by the victim, necessary as a result of the crime; the costs of appropriate crime scene clean-up; replacement services loss, to a maximum of $1,250 per month; dependents replacement services loss, to a maximum of $1,250 per month; loss of tuition paid to attend grammar school or high school when the victim had been enrolled as a student prior to the injury, or college or graduate school when the victim had been enrolled as a day or night student prior to the injury when the victim becomes unable to continue attendance at school as a result of the crime of violence perpetrated against him or her; loss of earnings, loss of future earnings because of disability resulting from the injury, and, in addition, in the case of death, expenses for funeral, burial, and travel and transport for survivors of homicide victims to secure bodies of deceased victims and to transport bodies for burial all of which may be awarded up to a maximum of $10,000 and loss of support of the dependents of the victim; in the case of dismemberment or desecration of a body, expenses for funeral and burial, all of which may be awarded up to a maximum of $10,000. Loss of future earnings shall be reduced by any income from substitute work actually performed by the victim or by income he or she would have earned in available appropriate substitute work he or she was capable of performing but unreasonably failed to undertake. Loss of earnings, loss of future earnings and loss of support shall be determined on the basis of the victim's average net monthly earnings for the 6 months immediately preceding the date of the injury or on $2,400 per month, whichever is less or, in cases where the absences commenced more than 3 years from the date of the crime, on the basis of the net monthly earnings for the 6 months immediately preceding the date of the first absence, not to exceed $2,400 per month. If a divorced or legally separated applicant is claiming loss of support for a minor child of the deceased, the amount of support for each child shall be based either on the amount of support pursuant to the judgment prior to the date of the deceased victim's injury or death, or, if the subject of pending litigation filed by or on behalf of the divorced or legally separated applicant prior to the injury or death, on the result of that litigation. Real and personal property includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, houses, apartments, town houses, or condominiums. Pecuniary loss does not include pain and suffering or property loss or damage.

The changes made to this subsection by Public Act 101-652 this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly apply to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2022.

(i) "Replacement services loss" means expenses reasonably incurred in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those the injured person would have performed, not for income, but for the benefit of himself or herself or his or her family, if he or she had not been injured.

(j) "Dependents replacement services loss" means loss reasonably incurred by dependents or private legal guardians of minor dependents after a victim's death in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those the victim would have performed, not for income, but for their benefit, if he or she had not been fatally injured.

(k) "Survivor" means immediate family including a parent, stepfather, stepmother, child, brother, sister, or spouse.

(l) "Parent" means a natural parent, adopted parent, stepparent, or permanent legal guardian of another person.

(m) "Trafficking tattoo" is a tattoo which is applied to a victim in connection with the commission of a violation of Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-27, eff. 6-25-21; 102-905, eff. 1-1-23; revised 12-14-22.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-982)

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Applicant" means any person who applies for compensation under this Act or any person the Court of Claims or the Attorney General finds is entitled to compensation, including the guardian of a minor or of a person under legal disability. It includes any person who was a dependent of a deceased victim of a crime of violence for his or her support at the time of the death of that victim.

The changes made to this subsection by Public Act 101-652 this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly apply to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2022.

(b) "Court of Claims" means the Court of Claims created by the Court of Claims Act.

(c) "Crime of violence" means and includes any offense defined in Sections 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 10-1, 10-2, 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-11, 11-19.2, 11-20.1, 11-20.1B, 11-20.3, 11-23, 11-23.5, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-3.1, 12-3.2, 12-3.3, 12-3.4, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-5, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-20.5, 12-30, 20-1 or 20-1.1, or Section 12-3.05 except for subdivision (a)(4) or (g)(1), or subdivision (a)(4) of Section 11-14.4, of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, Sections 1(a) and 1(a-5) of the Cemetery Protection Act, Section 125 of the Stalking No Contact Order Act, Section 219 of the Civil No Contact Order Act, driving under the influence as defined in Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, a violation of Section 11-401 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, provided the victim was a pedestrian or was operating a vehicle moved solely by human power or a mobility device at the time of contact, and a violation of Section 11-204.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code; so long as the offense did not occur during a civil riot, insurrection or rebellion. "Crime of violence" does not include any other offense or crash involving a motor vehicle except those vehicle offenses specifically provided for in this paragraph. "Crime of violence" does include all of the offenses specifically provided for in this paragraph that occur within this State but are subject to federal jurisdiction and crimes involving terrorism as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2331.

(d) "Victim" means (1) a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence perpetrated or attempted against him or her, (2) the spouse, parent, or child of a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence perpetrated or attempted against the person, or anyone living in the household of a person killed or injured in a relationship that is substantially similar to that of a parent, spouse, or child, (3) a person killed or injured in this State while attempting to assist a person against whom a crime of violence is being perpetrated or attempted, if that attempt of assistance would be expected of a reasonable person under the circumstances, (4) a person killed or injured in this State while assisting a law enforcement official apprehend a person who has perpetrated a crime of violence or prevent the perpetration of any such crime if that assistance was in response to the express request of the law enforcement official, (5) a person who personally witnessed a violent crime, (5.05) a person who will be called as a witness by the prosecution to establish a necessary nexus between the offender and the violent crime, (5.1) solely for the purpose of compensating for pecuniary loss incurred for psychological treatment of a mental or emotional condition caused or aggravated by the crime, any other person under the age of 18 who is the brother, sister, half brother, or half sister of a person killed or injured in this State as a result of a crime of violence, (6) an Illinois resident who is a victim of a "crime of violence" as defined in this Act except, if the crime occurred outside this State, the resident has the same rights under this Act as if the crime had occurred in this State upon a showing that the state, territory, country, or political subdivision of a country in which the crime occurred does not have a compensation of victims of crimes law for which that Illinois resident is eligible, (7) a deceased person whose body is dismembered or whose remains are desecrated as the result of a crime of violence, or (8) solely for the purpose of compensating for pecuniary loss incurred for psychological treatment of a mental or emotional condition caused or aggravated by the crime, any parent, spouse, or child under the age of 18 of a deceased person whose body is dismembered or whose remains are desecrated as the result of a crime of violence.

(e) "Dependent" means a relative of a deceased victim who was wholly or partially dependent upon the victim's income at the time of his or her death and shall include the child of a victim born after his or her death.

(f) "Relative" means a spouse, parent, grandparent, stepfather, stepmother, child, grandchild, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, half brother, half sister, spouse's parent, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, or anyone living in the household of a person killed or injured in a relationship that is substantially similar to that of a parent, spouse, or child.

(g) "Child" means a son or daughter and includes a stepchild, an adopted child or a child born out of wedlock.

(h) "Pecuniary loss" means, in the case of injury, appropriate medical expenses and hospital expenses including expenses of medical examinations, rehabilitation, medically required nursing care expenses, appropriate psychiatric care or psychiatric counseling expenses, appropriate expenses for care or counseling by a licensed clinical psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, or licensed clinical professional counselor and expenses for treatment by Christian Science practitioners and nursing care appropriate thereto; transportation expenses to and from medical and counseling treatment facilities; prosthetic appliances, eyeglasses, and hearing aids necessary or damaged as a result of the crime; expenses incurred for the towing and storage of a victim's vehicle in connection with a crime of violence, to a maximum of $1,000; costs associated with trafficking tattoo removal by a person authorized or licensed to perform the specific removal procedure; replacement costs for clothing and bedding used as evidence; replacement costs for personal belongings and essential items damaged or destroyed in the commission of or as a result of the violent crime; replacement costs for personal belongings or essential items left behind by victims of offenses defined in Sections 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; costs associated with temporary lodging or relocation necessary as a result of the crime, including, but not limited to, the first month's rent and security deposit of the dwelling that the claimant relocated to and other reasonable relocation expenses incurred as a result of the violent crime; locks, doors, or windows necessary or damaged as a result of the crime; the purchase, lease, or rental of equipment necessary to create usability of and accessibility to the victim's real and personal property, or the real and personal property which is used by the victim, necessary as a result of the crime; the costs of appropriate crime scene clean-up; replacement services loss, to a maximum of $1,250 per month; dependents replacement services loss, to a maximum of $1,250 per month; loss of tuition paid to attend grammar school or high school when the victim had been enrolled as a student prior to the injury, or college or graduate school when the victim had been enrolled as a day or night student prior to the injury when the victim becomes unable to continue attendance at school as a result of the crime of violence perpetrated against him or her; attorney's fees for legal proceedings related to the victim's or applicant's victimization but not related to applications under this Act; expenses and loss as a result of economic abuse as defined by paragraph (49) of Section 2 of the federal Violence Against Women Act in connection with a crime of violence under this Act; loss of earnings, including, but not limited to, the victim or the victim's family or household member taking leave from work as a result of experiencing a crime of violence or to address the crime of violence by seeking medical attention for, or recovery from, physical or psychological injuries caused by the crime of violence to the victim or the victim's family or household member; obtaining services from a victim services organization for the victim or the victim's family or household member; obtaining psychological or other counseling for the victim or the victim's family or household member; participating in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocating, or taking other actions to increase the safety of the victim or the victim's family or household member from future crimes of violence or ensure economic security; seeking legal assistance or remedies to ensure the health and safety of the victim or the victim's family or household member, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or derived from the crime of violence; loss of earnings, loss of future earnings because of disability resulting from the injury, and, in addition, in the case of death, expenses for funeral, burial, headstone, and travel and transport for survivors of homicide victims to secure bodies of deceased victims and to transport bodies for burial all of which may be awarded up to a maximum of $10,000 and loss of support of the dependents of the victim; in the case of dismemberment or desecration of a body, expenses for funeral, and burial, and headstone, all of which may be awarded up to a maximum of $10,000. Loss of future earnings shall be reduced by any income from substitute work actually performed by the victim or by income he or she would have earned in available appropriate substitute work he or she was capable of performing but unreasonably failed to undertake. Loss of earnings, loss of future earnings and loss of support shall be determined on the basis of the victim's average net monthly earnings for the 6 months immediately preceding the date of the injury or on $2,400 per month, whichever is less or, in cases where the absences commenced more than 3 years from the date of the crime, on the basis of the net monthly earnings for the 6 months immediately preceding the date of the first absence, not to exceed $2,400 per month. If a divorced or legally separated applicant is claiming loss of support for a minor child of the deceased, the amount of support for each child shall be based either on the amount of support pursuant to the judgment prior to the date of the deceased victim's injury or death, or, if the subject of pending litigation filed by or on behalf of the divorced or legally separated applicant prior to the injury or death, on the result of that litigation. Real and personal property includes, but is not limited to, vehicles and all parts of vehicles, houses, apartments, town houses, or condominiums. Pecuniary loss does not include pain and suffering or property loss or damage.

The changes made to this subsection by Public Act 101-652 this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly apply to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2022.

(i) "Replacement services loss" means expenses reasonably incurred in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those the injured person would have performed, not for income, but for the benefit of himself or herself or his or her family, if he or she had not been injured.

(j) "Dependents replacement services loss" means loss reasonably incurred by dependents or private legal guardians of minor dependents after a victim's death in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those the victim would have performed, not for income, but for their benefit, if he or she had not been fatally injured.

(k) "Survivor" means immediate family including a parent, stepfather, stepmother, child, brother, sister, or spouse.

(l) "Parent" means a natural parent, adopted parent, stepparent, or permanent legal guardian of another person.

(m) "Trafficking tattoo" is a tattoo which is applied to a victim in connection with the commission of a violation of Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-27, eff. 6-25-21; 102-905, eff. 1-1-23; 102-982, eff. 7-1-23; revised 12-14-22.)

(740 ILCS 45/2.5)

Sec. 2.5. Felon as victim. A victim's criminal history or felony status shall not automatically prevent compensation to that victim or the victim's family. However, no compensation may be granted to a victim or applicant under this Act while the applicant or victim is held in a correctional institution. For purposes of this Section, the death of a felon who is serving a term of parole, probation, or mandatory supervised release shall be considered a discharge from that sentence.

A victim who has been convicted of a felony may apply for assistance under this Act at any time but no award of compensation may be considered until the applicant meets the requirements of this Section.

The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly apply to actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 7-1-21.)

(740 ILCS 45/4.1) (from Ch. 70, par. 74.1)

Sec. 4.1. In addition to other powers and duties set forth in this Act and other powers exercised by the Attorney General, the Attorney General shall:

(1) investigate all claims, and prepare and present an investigatory report, and a draft an award determination, provide the applicant with written notification of the drafted award determination, and within 90 days of the applicant submitting a complete application present the drafted award determination to the Court of Claims for a review period of 28 business days;

(2) upon conclusion of the review by the Court of Claims, provide the applicant with a compensation determination letter;

(3) prescribe and furnish all applications and other forms required to be filed in the office of the Attorney General by the terms of this Act, make all applications and forms available electronically through the Attorney General's website, translate all paper and electronic forms and applications into the 5 most common non-English languages in this State, maintain an online application system that enables an applicant to resume filing applications, and maintain a case-tracking system for an applicant to track the status of the application; and

(4) represent the interests of the State of Illinois in any hearing before the Court of Claims.

The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly apply to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2022.

(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-27, eff. 6-25-21.)

(740 ILCS 45/4.2)

Sec. 4.2. Cooperation in review of crime victims compensation applications. A law enforcement agency in this State shall, within 15 days of receipt of a written request for a police report made to verify that the requirements of a crime victims compensation application under Section 6.1 of this Act have been met, provide the Attorney General's office with the law enforcement agency's full written report of the investigation of the crime for which an application for compensation has been filed. If the law enforcement agency does not provide the Attorney General's office with the law enforcement agency's full written report of the investigation of the crime for which an application for compensation has been filed within 15 days of receipt of the written request, the victim or applicant may obtain and provide a law enforcement report to the Attorney General and the Attorney General shall proceed with the review of the application. The law enforcement agency may redact the following from the report: names of confidential sources and informants; locations from which law enforcement conduct surveillance; and information related to issues of national security the law enforcement agency provided to or received from the United States Department of Homeland Security or another federal law enforcement agency. The Attorney General's office and a law enforcement agency may agree to the redaction of other information in the report or to the provision of necessary information in another format. Within 15 days of receipt of the request, a law enforcement agency shall respond to a written request from the Attorney General's office for additional information necessary to assist the Attorney General's office in making a recommendation for compensation.

Records that are obtained by the Attorney General's office from a law enforcement agency under this Section for purposes of investigating an application for crime victim compensation shall not be disclosed to the public, including the applicant, by the Attorney General's office. The records, while in the possession of the Attorney General's office, shall be exempt from disclosure by the Attorney General's office under the Freedom of Information Act.

(Source: P.A. 100-690, eff. 1-1-19.)

(740 ILCS 45/6.1) (from Ch. 70, par. 76.1)

Sec. 6.1. Right to compensation. A person is entitled to compensation under this Act if:

(a) The Within 5 years of the occurrence of the crime, or within one year after a criminal charge of a person for an offense, upon which the claim is based, the applicant presents an application, under oath, to the Attorney General that is filed with the Court of Claims and on a form prescribed in accordance with Section 7.1 furnished by the Attorney General. If the person entitled to compensation is under 18 years of age or under other legal disability at the time of the occurrence or is determined by a court to be under a legal disability as a result of the occurrence, he or she may present the application required by this subsection within 3 years after he or she attains the age of 18 years or the disability is removed, as the case may be. Legal disability includes a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder.

(a-1) (Blank). The Attorney General and the Court of Claims may accept an application presented after the period provided in subsection (a) if the Attorney General determines that the applicant had good cause for a delay.

(b) (Blank). For all crimes of violence, except those listed in subsection (b-1) of this Section, the appropriate law enforcement officials were notified within 72 hours of the perpetration of the crime allegedly causing the death or injury to the victim or, in the event such notification was made more than 72 hours after the perpetration of the crime, the applicant establishes that such notice was timely under the circumstances.

(b-1) For victims of offenses defined in Sections 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, the appropriate law enforcement officials were notified within 7 days of the perpetration of the crime allegedly causing death or injury to the victim or, in the event that the notification was made more than 7 days after the perpetration of the crime, the applicant establishes that the notice was timely under the circumstances. If the applicant or victim has obtained an order of protection, a civil no contact order, or a stalking no contact order, has presented himself or herself to a hospital for medical care or sexual assault evidence collection, or is engaged in a legal proceeding involving a claim that the applicant or victim is a victim of human trafficking, such action shall constitute appropriate notification under this subsection (b-1) or subsection (b) of this Section. A victim of crime who has presented himself or herself to a hospital for medical care or sexual assault evidence collection is not required to reveal the cause of his or her injuries or health needs. A victim of crime is not required to present himself or herself to a hospital for medical care or sexual assault evidence collection within a specified time.

(b-2) For all crimes of violence, the victim or applicant provides to the Attorney General a sworn statement of the victim or applicant that attests to the victim's or applicant's experience of a crime or crimes of violence, and if the victim or applicant has possession of corroborating evidence, the victim or applicant may provide one of the following documents: law enforcement report; medical records; confirmation of sexual assault evidence collection; order of protection; civil no contact order; stalking no contact order; photographs; letter from a service provider who serves victims of crime; affidavit from a witness of the crime of violence; court or legal proceeding record; military record; or other corroborating evidence.

(c) The applicant has cooperated with law enforcement officials in the apprehension and prosecution of the assailant. Cooperation with law enforcement is not required for a victim of an offense defined in Sections 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012. A victim of an offense defined in Sections 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 shall not be determined to have failed to cooperate based on the victim's conduct with law enforcement at the scene of the crime. Lack of cooperation shall not be found solely because the victim delayed reporting the qualifying crime. If the applicant or victim has obtained an order of protection, a civil no contact order, or a stalking no contact order, has presented himself or herself to a hospital for medical care or sexual assault evidence collection, or is engaged in a legal proceeding involving a claim that the applicant or victim is a victim of human trafficking, such action shall constitute cooperation under this subsection (c). If the victim is under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, the following shall constitute cooperation under this subsection (c):

(1) the applicant or the victim files a police report with a law enforcement agency;

(2) a mandated reporter reports the crime to law enforcement; or

(3) a person with firsthand knowledge of the crime reports the crime to law enforcement.

(d) The applicant is not the offender or an accomplice of the offender and the award would not unjustly benefit the offender or his accomplice.

(e) (Blank).

(f) For victims of offenses defined in Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012, the victim submits a statement under oath on a form prescribed by the Attorney General attesting that the removed tattoo was applied in connection with the commission of the offense.

(g) In determining whether cooperation has been reasonable, the Attorney General and Court of Claims may consider the victim's age, physical condition, psychological state, cultural or linguistic barriers, and compelling health and safety concerns, including, but not limited to, a reasonable fear of retaliation or harm that would jeopardize the well-being of the victim or the victim's family, and giving due consideration to the degree of cooperation that the victim or derivative victim is capable of in light of the presence of any of these factors, or any other factor the Attorney General considers relevant.

The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly apply to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2022.

(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-27, eff. 6-25-21.)

(740 ILCS 45/10.1) (from Ch. 70, par. 80.1)

Sec. 10.1. Amount of compensation. The amount of compensation to which an applicant and other persons are entitled shall be based on the following factors:

(a) A victim may be compensated for his or her pecuniary loss.

(b) A dependent may be compensated for loss of support.

(c) Any person, even though not dependent upon the victim for his or her support, may be compensated for reasonable expenses of the victim to the extent to which he or she has paid or become obligated to pay such expenses and only after compensation for reasonable funeral, medical and hospital expenses of the victim have been awarded may compensation be made for reasonable expenses of the victim incurred for psychological treatment of a mental or emotional condition caused or aggravated by the crime.

(d) An award shall be reduced or denied according to the extent to which the victim's injury or death was caused by provocation or incitement by the victim or the victim assisting, attempting, or committing a criminal act. It is presumed that a crime victim or applicant did not provoke, incite, assist, attempt, or commit the criminal act that led to the victim's injury or death unless clear and convincing evidence exists that relief under this Act would lead to unjust enrichment. A denial or reduction shall not automatically bar the survivors of homicide victims from receiving compensation for counseling, crime scene cleanup, relocation, funeral or burial costs, and loss of support if the survivor's actions have not initiated, provoked, or aggravated the suspect into initiating the qualifying crime.

(e) An award shall be reduced by the amount of benefits, payments or awards payable under those sources which are required to be listed under item (7) of Section 7.1(a) and any other sources except annuities, pension plans, Federal Social Security payments payable to dependents of the victim and the net proceeds of the first $25,000 of life insurance that would inure to the benefit of the applicant, which the applicant or any other person dependent for the support of a deceased victim, as the case may be, has received or to which he or she is entitled as a result of injury to or death of the victim.

(f) A final award shall not exceed $10,000 for a crime committed prior to September 22, 1979, $15,000 for a crime committed on or after September 22, 1979 and prior to January 1, 1986, $25,000 for a crime committed on or after January 1, 1986 and prior to August 7, 1998, $27,000 for a crime committed on or after August 7, 1998 and prior to August 7, 2022, or $45,000 for a crime committed on or after August 7, 2022. If the total pecuniary loss is greater than the maximum amount allowed, the award shall be divided in proportion to the amount of actual loss among those entitled to compensation.

(g) Compensation under this Act is a secondary source of compensation and the applicant must show that he or she has exhausted the benefits reasonably available under the Criminal Victims' Escrow Account Act or any governmental or medical or health insurance programs, including, but not limited to, Workers' Compensation, the Federal Medicare program, the State Public Aid program, Social Security Administration burial benefits, and Veterans Administration burial benefits, and life, health, accident, full vehicle coverage (including towing insurance, if available), or liability insurance.

(Source: P.A. 102-27, eff. 1-1-22; 102-905, eff. 1-1-23.)

(740 ILCS 45/10.2)

Sec. 10.2. Emergency awards.

(a) If it appears, prior to taking action on an application, that the claim is one for which compensation is probable, and undue hardship will result to the applicant if immediate payment is not made, the Attorney General may recommend and the Court may make an emergency award of compensation to the applicant, pending a final decision in the case. Emergency awards may be issued to the applicant for the purpose of paying funeral and burial expenses directly to a funeral home and for relocation expenses incurred by an applicant. The amount of emergency compensation shall be deducted from any final award made as a result of the claim. The full amount of the emergency award if no final award is made shall be repaid by the applicant to the State of Illinois. The Attorney General must create a process with forms and applications for applying for emergency awards, create a process for determining emergency awards within 48 hours of the filing of the application, and publicize this process on the Attorney General's website.

(b) Emergency award applicants must satisfy all requirements under Section 6.1 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-27, eff. 1-1-22.)

Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other Public Act.