HB4693eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4693 Engrossed LRB095 18424 RLC 44510 b

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

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

Section 5. The Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act is amended by changing Section 4.5 as follows:

(725 ILCS 120/4.5)

Sec. 4.5. Procedures to implement the rights of crime victims. To afford crime victims their rights, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and corrections will provide information, as appropriate of the following procedures:

(a) At the request of the crime victim, law enforcement authorities investigating the case shall provide notice of the status of the investigation, except where the State's Attorney determines that disclosure of such information would unreasonably interfere with the investigation, until such time as the alleged assailant is apprehended or the investigation is closed.

(b) The office of the State's Attorney:

(1) shall provide notice of the filing of information, the return of an indictment by which a prosecution for any violent crime is commenced, or the filing of a petition to adjudicate a minor as a delinquent for a violent crime;

(2) shall provide notice of the date, time, and place of trial;

(3) or victim advocate personnel shall provide information of social services and financial assistance available for victims of crime, including information of how to apply for these services and assistance;

(4) shall assist in having any stolen or other personal property held by law enforcement authorities for evidentiary or other purposes returned as expeditiously as possible, pursuant to the procedures set out in Section 115-9 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963;

(5) or victim advocate personnel shall provide appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that employers of victims will cooperate with the criminal justice system in order to minimize an employee's loss of pay and other benefits resulting from court appearances;

(6) shall provide information whenever possible, of a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does not require victims to be in close proximity to defendant or juveniles accused of a violent crime, and their families and friends;

(7) shall provide notice to the crime victim of the right to have a translator present at all court proceedings;

(8) in the case of the death of a person, which death occurred in the same transaction or occurrence in which acts occurred for which a defendant is charged with an offense, shall notify the spouse, parent, child or sibling of the decedent of the date of the trial of the person or persons allegedly responsible for the death;

(9) shall inform the victim of the right to have present at all court proceedings, subject to the rules of evidence, an advocate or other support person of the victim's choice, and the right to retain an attorney, at the victim's own expense, who, upon written notice filed with the clerk of the court and State's Attorney, is to receive copies of all notices, motions and court orders filed thereafter in the case, in the same manner as if the victim were a named party in the case; and

(10) at the sentencing hearing shall make a good faith attempt to explain the minimum amount of time during which the defendant may actually be physically imprisoned. The Office of the State's Attorney shall further notify the crime victim of the right to request from the Prisoner Review Board information concerning the release of the defendant under subparagraph (d)(1) of this Section; and

(11) shall request restitution at sentencing and shall consider restitution in any plea negotiation, as provided by law; and .

(12) shall provide notice to the crime victim about the Victims Notification Unit established by the Prisoner Review Board, the services offered to crime victims by the Unit, and how to register with the Unit.

(c) At the written request of the crime victim, the office of the State's Attorney shall:

(1) provide notice a reasonable time in advance of the following court proceedings: preliminary hearing, any hearing the effect of which may be the release of defendant from custody, or to alter the conditions of bond and the sentencing hearing. The crime victim shall also be notified of the cancellation of the court proceeding in sufficient time, wherever possible, to prevent an unnecessary appearance in court;

(2) provide notice within a reasonable time after receipt of notice from the custodian, of the release of the defendant on bail or personal recognizance or the release from detention of a minor who has been detained for a violent crime;

(3) explain in nontechnical language the details of any plea or verdict of a defendant, or any adjudication of a juvenile as a delinquent for a violent crime;

(4) where practical, consult with the crime victim before the Office of the State's Attorney makes an offer of a plea bargain to the defendant or enters into negotiations with the defendant concerning a possible plea agreement, and shall consider the written victim impact statement, if prepared prior to entering into a plea agreement;

(5) provide notice of the ultimate disposition of the cases arising from an indictment or an information, or a petition to have a juvenile adjudicated as a delinquent for a violent crime;

(6) provide notice of any appeal taken by the defendant and information on how to contact the appropriate agency handling the appeal;

(7) provide notice of any request for post-conviction review filed by the defendant under Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, and of the date, time and place of any hearing concerning the petition. Whenever possible, notice of the hearing shall be given in advance;

(8) forward a copy of any statement presented under Section 6 to the Prisoner Review Board to be considered by the Board in making its determination under subsection (b) of Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections.

(d) (1) The Prisoner Review Board shall inform a victim or any other concerned citizen, upon written request, of the prisoner's release on parole, mandatory supervised release, electronic detention, work release, international transfer or exchange, or by the custodian of the discharge of any individual who was adjudicated a delinquent for a violent crime from State custody and by the sheriff of the appropriate county of any such person's final discharge from county custody. The Prisoner Review Board, upon written request, shall provide to a victim or any other concerned citizen a recent photograph of any person convicted of a felony, upon his or her release from custody. The Prisoner Review Board, upon written request, shall inform a victim or any other concerned citizen when feasible at least 7 days prior to the prisoner's release on furlough of the times and dates of such furlough. Upon written request by the victim or any other concerned citizen, the State's Attorney shall notify the person once of the times and dates of release of a prisoner sentenced to periodic imprisonment. Notification shall be based on the most recent information as to victim's or other concerned citizen's residence or other location available to the notifying authority. For purposes of this paragraph (1) of subsection (d), "concerned citizen" includes relatives of the victim, friends of the victim, witnesses to the crime, or any other person associated with the victim or prisoner.

(2) When the defendant has been committed to the Department of Human Services pursuant to Section 5-2-4 or any other provision of the Unified Code of Corrections, the victim may request to be notified by the releasing authority of the defendant's discharge from State custody.

(3) In the event of an escape from State custody, the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice immediately shall notify the Prisoner Review Board of the escape and the Prisoner Review Board shall notify the victim. The notification shall be based upon the most recent information as to the victim's residence or other location available to the Board. When no such information is available, the Board shall make all reasonable efforts to obtain the information and make the notification. When the escapee is apprehended, the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice immediately shall notify the Prisoner Review Board and the Board shall notify the victim.

(4) The victim of the crime for which the prisoner has been sentenced shall receive reasonable written notice not less than 15 days prior to the parole hearing and may submit, in writing, on film, videotape or other electronic means or in the form of a recording or in person at the parole hearing or if a victim of a violent crime, by calling the toll-free number established in subsection (f) of this Section, information for consideration by the Prisoner Review Board. The victim shall be notified within 7 days after the prisoner has been granted parole and shall be informed of the right to inspect the registry of parole decisions, established under subsection (g) of Section 3-3-5 of the Unified Code of Corrections. The provisions of this paragraph (4) are subject to the Open Parole Hearings Act.

(5) If a statement is presented under Section 6, the Prisoner Review Board shall inform the victim of any order of discharge entered by the Board pursuant to Section 3-3-8 of the Unified Code of Corrections.

(6) At the written request of the victim of the crime for which the prisoner was sentenced, the Prisoner Review Board shall notify the victim of the death of the prisoner if the prisoner died while on parole or mandatory supervised release.

(7) When a defendant who has been committed to the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Department of Human Services is released or discharged and subsequently committed to the Department of Human Services as a sexually violent person and the victim had requested to be notified by the releasing authority of the defendant's discharge from State custody, the releasing authority shall provide to the Department of Human Services such information that would allow the Department of Human Services to contact the victim.

(e) The officials named in this Section may satisfy some or all of their obligations to provide notices and other information through participation in a statewide victim and witness notification system established by the Attorney General under Section 8.5 of this Act.

(f) To permit a victim of a violent crime to provide information to the Prisoner Review Board for consideration by the Board at a parole hearing of a person who committed the crime against the victim in accordance with clause (d)(4) of this Section or at a proceeding to determine the conditions of mandatory supervised release of a person sentenced to a determinate sentence or at a hearing on revocation of mandatory supervised release of a person sentenced to a determinate sentence, the Board shall establish a toll-free number that may be accessed by the victim of a violent crime to present that information to the Board.

(Source: P.A. 94-696, eff. 6-1-06; 95-317, eff. 8-21-07.)