Full Text of HB5273 102nd General Assembly
HB5273 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 HB5273 Introduced 1/31/2022, by Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-1 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-5 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-10 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-20 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-25 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-30 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-35 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-40 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-50 | | 730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-55 | |
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Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Department of Juvenile Justice Office of Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall be ombudsman for the Department of Juvenile Justice and county-operated juvenile detention centers. Provides that the Office of Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall secure the rights of youth committed to the Department of Juvenile justice and county-operated juvenile detention centers. Provides that with respect to county-operated juvenile detention centers, the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall provide data responsive to: (1) the work of the Ombudsman;
(2) the status of any review or investigation
undertaken by the Ombudsman; and
(3) any recommendations that the Independent Juvenile
Ombudsman has relating to a systemic issue in the Department of Juvenile Justice's or a county-operated juvenile detention center's provision of services and any other matters for consideration by the General Assembly and the Governor to a commission established by ordinance of the county board of the applicable county in which the county-operated juvenile detention center is located. The commission shall at a minimum be comprised of the chief judge, the State's Attorney, the Public Defender, a correctional administrator, and an advocate for justice system impacted families and individuals. Provides that to the extent that any county-operated juvenile detention center provides services to counties beyond the one in which it is located, the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall also provide a copy of the data to the county boards of the counties where the center is not located.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by | 5 | | changing Sections 3-2.7-1, 3-2.7-5, 3-2.7-10, 3-2.7-20, | 6 | | 3-2.7-25, 3-2.7-30, 3-2.7-35, 3-2.7-40, 3-2.7-50, and 3-2.7-55 | 7 | | as follows: | 8 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-1) | 9 | | Sec. 3-2.7-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as | 10 | | the Department of Juvenile Justice and County Juvenile | 11 | | Detention Centers Independent Juvenile Ombudsman Law.
| 12 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14.) | 13 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-5) | 14 | | Sec. 3-2.7-5. Purpose. The purpose of this Article is to | 15 | | create within the Department of Juvenile Justice and | 16 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers the Office of | 17 | | Independent Juvenile Ombudsman for the purpose of securing the | 18 | | rights of youth committed to the Department of Juvenile | 19 | | Justice or a county-operated juvenile detention center , | 20 | | including youth released on aftercare before final discharge.
| 21 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14.) |
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| 1 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-10) | 2 | | Sec. 3-2.7-10. Definitions. In this Article, unless the | 3 | | context requires otherwise: | 4 | | "County-operated juvenile detention center" means any | 5 | | facility as defined in subsection (12.3) of Section 1-3 of the | 6 | | Juvenile Court Act of 1987 as a residential treatment center | 7 | | or any other facility that detains youth in the juvenile | 8 | | justice system. | 9 | | "Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice. | 10 | | "Immediate family or household member" means the spouse, | 11 | | child, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild, | 12 | | whether of the whole blood or half blood or by adoption, or a | 13 | | person who shares a common dwelling. | 14 | | "Juvenile justice system" means all activities by public | 15 | | or private agencies or persons pertaining to youth involved in | 16 | | or having contact with the police, courts, or corrections. | 17 | | "Office" means the Office of the Independent Juvenile | 18 | | Ombudsman. | 19 | | "Ombudsman" means the Department of Juvenile Justice and | 20 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers Independent | 21 | | Juvenile Ombudsman. | 22 | | "Youth" means any person committed by court order to the | 23 | | custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice or a | 24 | | county-operated juvenile detention center , including youth | 25 | | released on aftercare before final discharge.
| 26 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14.) |
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| 1 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-20) | 2 | | Sec. 3-2.7-20. Conflicts of interest. A person may not | 3 | | serve as Ombudsman or as a deputy if the person or the person's | 4 | | immediate family or household member: | 5 | | (1) is or has been employed by the Department of | 6 | | Juvenile Justice , or Department of Corrections , or | 7 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers within one year | 8 | | prior to appointment, other than as Ombudsman or Deputy | 9 | | Ombudsman; | 10 | | (2) participates in the management of a business | 11 | | entity or other organization receiving funds from the | 12 | | Department of Juvenile Justice or county-operated juvenile | 13 | | detention centers ; | 14 | | (3) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, any | 15 | | interest in a business entity or other organization | 16 | | receiving funds from the Department of Juvenile Justice or | 17 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers ; | 18 | | (4) uses or receives any amount of tangible goods, | 19 | | services, or funds from the Department of Juvenile Justice | 20 | | or county-operated juvenile detention centers , other than | 21 | | as Ombudsman or Deputy Ombudsman; or | 22 | | (5) is required to register as a lobbyist for an | 23 | | organization that interacts with the juvenile justice | 24 | | system.
| 25 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14.) |
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| 1 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-25) | 2 | | Sec. 3-2.7-25. Duties and powers. | 3 | | (a) The Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall function | 4 | | independently within the Department of Juvenile Justice or | 5 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers with respect to the | 6 | | operations of the Office in performance of his or her duties | 7 | | under this Article and shall report to the Governor. The | 8 | | Ombudsman shall adopt rules and standards as may be
necessary | 9 | | or desirable to carry out his or her duties. Funding
for the | 10 | | Office shall be designated separately within
Department funds | 11 | | and shall include funds for operations at the county-operated | 12 | | juvenile detention centers . The Department shall provide | 13 | | necessary administrative services and facilities to the Office | 14 | | of the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman and at county-operated | 15 | | juvenile detention centers. County-operated juvenile detention | 16 | | centers shall provide necessary administrative services and | 17 | | facilities to the Office of the Independent Juvenile | 18 | | Ombudsman . | 19 | | (b) The Office of Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall | 20 | | have
the following duties: | 21 | | (1) review and monitor the implementation of the rules
| 22 | | and standards established by the Department of Juvenile
| 23 | | Justice or county-operated juvenile detention centers and | 24 | | evaluate the delivery of services to youth to
ensure that | 25 | | the rights of youth are fully observed; |
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| 1 | | (2) provide assistance to a youth or family whom the
| 2 | | Ombudsman determines is in need of assistance, including
| 3 | | advocating with an agency, provider, or other person in | 4 | | the
best interests of the youth; | 5 | | (3) investigate and attempt to resolve complaints made | 6 | | by or on behalf of youth, other than
complaints alleging | 7 | | criminal behavior or violations of the State Officials and | 8 | | Employees Ethics Act, if the Office
determines that the | 9 | | investigation and resolution would further the purpose of | 10 | | the Office, and: | 11 | | (A) a youth committed to the Department of | 12 | | Juvenile
Justice or a county-operated juvenile | 13 | | detention center or the youth's family is in need of
| 14 | | assistance from the Office; or | 15 | | (B) a systemic issue in the Department of Juvenile
| 16 | | Justice's or county-operated juvenile detention | 17 | | center's provision of services is raised by a
| 18 | | complaint; | 19 | | (4) review or inspect periodically the facilities and
| 20 | | procedures of any facility in which a youth has been | 21 | | placed
by the Department of Juvenile Justice or a | 22 | | county-operated juvenile detention center to ensure that | 23 | | the
rights of youth are fully observed; and | 24 | | (5) be accessible to and meet confidentially and
| 25 | | regularly with youth committed to the Department and | 26 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers and serve
as a |
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| 1 | | resource by informing them of pertinent laws,
rules, and | 2 | | policies, and their rights thereunder. | 3 | | (c) The following cases shall be reported immediately to
| 4 | | the Director of Juvenile Justice and the Governor: | 5 | | (1) cases of severe abuse or injury of a youth; | 6 | | (2) serious misconduct, misfeasance, malfeasance, or
| 7 | | serious violations of policies and procedures concerning
| 8 | | the administration of a Department of Juvenile Justice or | 9 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers
program or | 10 | | operation; | 11 | | (3) serious problems concerning the delivery of | 12 | | services in a facility operated by or under contract with
| 13 | | the Department of Juvenile Justice or county-operated | 14 | | juvenile detention centers ; | 15 | | (4) interference by the Department of Juvenile Justice | 16 | | or county-operated juvenile detention centers
with an | 17 | | investigation conducted by the Office; and | 18 | | (5) other cases as deemed necessary by the Ombudsman. | 19 | | (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
| 20 | | Ombudsman may not investigate alleged criminal behavior or | 21 | | violations of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. If | 22 | | the
Ombudsman determines that a possible criminal act has been
| 23 | | committed, or that special expertise is required in the
| 24 | | investigation, he or she shall immediately notify the
Illinois | 25 | | State Police. If the Ombudsman determines that a possible | 26 | | violation of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act has |
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| 1 | | occurred, he or she shall immediately refer the incident to | 2 | | the Office of the Governor's Executive Inspector General for | 3 | | investigation. If the Ombudsman receives a complaint from a | 4 | | youth or third party regarding suspected abuse or neglect of a | 5 | | child, the Ombudsman shall refer the incident to the Child | 6 | | Abuse and Neglect Hotline or to the Illinois State Police as | 7 | | mandated by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Any | 8 | | investigation conducted by the
Ombudsman shall not be | 9 | | duplicative and shall be separate from
any investigation | 10 | | mandated by the Abused and Neglected Child
Reporting Act.
All | 11 | | investigations conducted by the Ombudsman shall be
conducted | 12 | | in a manner designed to ensure the preservation of
evidence | 13 | | for possible use in a criminal prosecution. | 14 | | (e) In performance of his or her duties, the
Ombudsman | 15 | | may: | 16 | | (1) review court files of youth; | 17 | | (2) recommend policies, rules, and legislation
| 18 | | designed to protect youth; | 19 | | (3) make appropriate referrals under any of the duties
| 20 | | and powers listed in this Section; | 21 | | (4) attend internal administrative and disciplinary | 22 | | hearings to ensure the rights of youth are fully observed
| 23 | | and advocate for the best interest of youth when deemed
| 24 | | necessary; and | 25 | | (5) perform other acts, otherwise permitted or | 26 | | required by law, in furtherance of the purpose of the |
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| 1 | | Office. | 2 | | (f) To assess if a youth's rights have been violated, the
| 3 | | Ombudsman may, in any matter that does not involve alleged
| 4 | | criminal behavior, contact or consult with an administrator,
| 5 | | employee, youth, parent, expert, or any other individual in | 6 | | the
course of his or her investigation or to secure | 7 | | information as
necessary to fulfill his or her duties.
| 8 | | (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.) | 9 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-30) | 10 | | Sec. 3-2.7-30. Duties of the Department of Juvenile | 11 | | Justice or county-operated juvenile detention centers . | 12 | | (a) The Department of Juvenile Justice or county-operated | 13 | | juvenile detention centers shall allow any youth to | 14 | | communicate with the Ombudsman or a deputy at any time. The | 15 | | communication: | 16 | | (1) may be in person, by phone, by mail, or by any | 17 | | other means deemed appropriate in light of security | 18 | | concerns; and | 19 | | (2) is confidential and privileged. | 20 | | (b) The Department and county-operated juvenile detention | 21 | | centers shall allow the Ombudsman and deputies full and | 22 | | unannounced access to youth and Department facilities and | 23 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers at any time. The | 24 | | Department and county-operated juvenile detention centers | 25 | | shall furnish the Ombudsman and deputies with appropriate |
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| 1 | | meeting space in each facility in order to preserve | 2 | | confidentiality. | 3 | | (c) The Department and county-operated juvenile detention | 4 | | centers shall allow the Ombudsman and deputies to participate | 5 | | in professional development opportunities provided by the | 6 | | Department of Juvenile Justice and county-operated juvenile | 7 | | detention centers as practical and to attend appropriate | 8 | | professional training when requested by the Ombudsman. | 9 | | (d) The Department and county-operated juvenile detention | 10 | | centers shall provide the Ombudsman copies of critical | 11 | | incident reports involving a youth residing in a facility | 12 | | operated by the Department and county-operated juvenile | 13 | | detention centers . Critical incidents include, but are not | 14 | | limited to, severe injuries that result in hospitalization, | 15 | | suicide attempts that require medical intervention, sexual | 16 | | abuse, and escapes. | 17 | | (e) The Department and county-operated juvenile detention | 18 | | centers shall provide the Ombudsman with reasonable advance | 19 | | notice of all internal administrative and disciplinary | 20 | | hearings regarding a youth residing in a facility operated by | 21 | | the Department and county-operated juvenile detention centers . | 22 | | (f) The Department of Juvenile Justice and county-operated | 23 | | juvenile detention centers may not discharge, demote, | 24 | | discipline, or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against | 25 | | a youth or an employee who in good faith makes a complaint to | 26 | | the Office of the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman or cooperates |
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| 1 | | with the Office.
| 2 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14.) | 3 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-35) | 4 | | Sec. 3-2.7-35. Reports. The Independent Juvenile Ombudsman | 5 | | shall provide to the General Assembly and the Governor, no | 6 | | later than January 1 of each year, a summary of activities done | 7 | | in furtherance of the purpose of
the Office for the prior | 8 | | fiscal year. The summaries shall contain data both aggregated | 9 | | and disaggregated by individual facility and describe: | 10 | | (1) the work of the Ombudsman; | 11 | | (2) the status of any review or investigation | 12 | | undertaken by
the Ombudsman, but
may not contain any | 13 | | confidential or identifying information
concerning the | 14 | | subjects of the reports and investigations; and | 15 | | (3) any recommendations that the Independent Juvenile
| 16 | | Ombudsman has relating to a systemic issue in the | 17 | | Department of Juvenile Justice's or a county-operated | 18 | | juvenile detention center's provision of services and any
| 19 | | other matters for consideration by the General Assembly | 20 | | and the Governor. | 21 | | With respect to county-operated juvenile detention | 22 | | centers, the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall provide data | 23 | | responsive to paragraphs (1) through (3) to a commission | 24 | | established by ordinance of the county board of the applicable | 25 | | county in which the county-operated juvenile detention center |
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| 1 | | is located. The commission shall at a minimum be comprised of | 2 | | the chief judge, the State's Attorney, the Public Defender, a | 3 | | correctional administrator, and an advocate for justice system | 4 | | impacted families and individuals. To the extent that any | 5 | | county-operated juvenile detention center provides services to | 6 | | counties beyond the one in which it is located, the | 7 | | Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall also provide a copy of | 8 | | the data described in paragraphs (1) through (3) to the county | 9 | | boards of the counties where the center is not located.
| 10 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14.) | 11 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-40) | 12 | | Sec. 3-2.7-40. Complaints. The Office of Independent | 13 | | Juvenile Ombudsman shall promptly and efficiently act on | 14 | | complaints made by or on behalf of youth filed with the Office | 15 | | that relate to the operations or staff of the Department of | 16 | | Juvenile Justice or county-operated juvenile detention | 17 | | centers . The Office shall maintain information about parties | 18 | | to the complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a | 19 | | summary of the results of the review or investigation of the | 20 | | complaint, including any resolution of or recommendations made | 21 | | as a result of the complaint. The Office shall make | 22 | | information available describing its procedures for complaint | 23 | | investigation and resolution. When applicable, the Office | 24 | | shall notify the complaining youth that an investigation and | 25 | | resolution may result in or will require disclosure of the |
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| 1 | | complaining youth's identity. The Office shall periodically | 2 | | notify the complaint parties of the status of the complaint | 3 | | until final disposition.
| 4 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14.) | 5 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-50) | 6 | | Sec. 3-2.7-50. Promotion and awareness of Office. The | 7 | | Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall promote awareness among | 8 | | the public and youth of: | 9 | | (1) the rights of youth committed to the Department | 10 | | and county-operated juvenile detention centers ; | 11 | | (2) the purpose of the Office; | 12 | | (3) how the Office may be contacted; | 13 | | (4) the confidential nature of communications; and | 14 | | (5) the services the Office provides.
| 15 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.) | 16 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-55) | 17 | | Sec. 3-2.7-55. Access to information of governmental | 18 | | entities. The Department of Juvenile Justice and | 19 | | county-operated juvenile detention centers shall provide the | 20 | | Independent Juvenile Ombudsman unrestricted access to all | 21 | | master record files of youth under Section 3-5-1 of this Code. | 22 | | Access to educational, social, psychological, mental health, | 23 | | substance abuse, and medical records shall not be disclosed | 24 | | except as provided in Section 5-910 of the Juvenile Court Act |
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| 1 | | of 1987, the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities | 2 | | Confidentiality Act, the School Code, and any applicable | 3 | | federal laws that govern access to those records.
| 4 | | (Source: P.A. 98-1032, eff. 8-25-14.)
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