Full Text of HB4942 103rd General Assembly
HB4942eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HB4942 Engrossed | | LRB103 38417 AWJ 68552 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning local government. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 3-3013 as follows: | 6 | | (55 ILCS 5/3-3013) (from Ch. 34, par. 3-3013) | 7 | | Sec. 3-3013. Preliminary investigations; blood and urine | 8 | | analysis; summoning jury; reports. Every coroner, whenever, | 9 | | as soon as he knows or is informed that the dead body of any | 10 | | person is found, or lying within his county, whose death is | 11 | | suspected of being: | 12 | | (a) A sudden or violent death, whether apparently | 13 | | suicidal, homicidal, or accidental, including, but not | 14 | | limited to, deaths apparently caused or contributed to by | 15 | | thermal, traumatic, chemical, electrical, or radiational | 16 | | injury, or a complication of any of them, or by drowning or | 17 | | suffocation, or as a result of domestic violence as | 18 | | defined in the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; | 19 | | (b) A death due to a sex crime; | 20 | | (c) A death where the circumstances are suspicious, | 21 | | obscure, mysterious, or otherwise unexplained or where, in | 22 | | the written opinion of the attending physician, the cause | 23 | | of death is not determined; |
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| 1 | | (d) A death where addiction to alcohol or to any drug | 2 | | may have been a contributory cause; or | 3 | | (e) A death where the decedent was not attended by a | 4 | | licensed physician; | 5 | | shall go to the place where the dead body is and take charge of | 6 | | the same and shall make a preliminary investigation into the | 7 | | circumstances of the death. In the case of death without | 8 | | attendance by a licensed physician, the body may be moved with | 9 | | the coroner's consent from the place of death to a mortuary in | 10 | | the same county. Coroners in their discretion shall notify | 11 | | such physician as is designated in accordance with Section | 12 | | 3-3014 to attempt to ascertain the cause of death, either by | 13 | | autopsy or otherwise. | 14 | | In cases of accidental death involving a motor vehicle in | 15 | | which the decedent was (1) the operator or a suspected | 16 | | operator of a motor vehicle, or (2) a pedestrian 16 years of | 17 | | age or older, the coroner shall require that a blood specimen | 18 | | of at least 30 cc., and if medically possible a urine specimen | 19 | | of at least 30 cc. or as much as possible up to 30 cc., be | 20 | | withdrawn from the body of the decedent in a timely fashion | 21 | | after the crash causing his death, by such physician as has | 22 | | been designated in accordance with Section 3-3014, or by the | 23 | | coroner or deputy coroner or a qualified person designated by | 24 | | such physician, coroner, or deputy coroner. If the county does | 25 | | not maintain laboratory facilities for making such analysis, | 26 | | the blood and urine so drawn shall be sent to the Illinois |
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| 1 | | State Police or any other accredited or State-certified | 2 | | laboratory for analysis of the alcohol, carbon monoxide, and | 3 | | dangerous or narcotic drug content of such blood and urine | 4 | | specimens. Each specimen submitted shall be accompanied by | 5 | | pertinent information concerning the decedent upon a form | 6 | | prescribed by such laboratory. Any person drawing blood and | 7 | | urine and any person making any examination of the blood and | 8 | | urine under the terms of this Division shall be immune from all | 9 | | liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred | 10 | | or imposed. | 11 | | In all other cases coming within the jurisdiction of the | 12 | | coroner and referred to in subparagraphs (a) through (e) | 13 | | above, blood, and, whenever possible, urine samples shall be | 14 | | analyzed for the presence of alcohol and other drugs. When the | 15 | | coroner suspects that drugs may have been involved in the | 16 | | death, either directly or indirectly, a toxicological | 17 | | examination shall be performed which may include analyses of | 18 | | blood, urine, bile, gastric contents, and other tissues. When | 19 | | the coroner suspects a death is due to toxic substances, other | 20 | | than drugs, the coroner shall consult with the toxicologist | 21 | | prior to collection of samples. Information submitted to the | 22 | | toxicologist shall include information as to height, weight, | 23 | | age, sex, and race of the decedent as well as medical history, | 24 | | medications used by, and the manner of death of the decedent. | 25 | | When the coroner or medical examiner finds that the cause | 26 | | of death is due to homicidal means, the coroner or medical |
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| 1 | | examiner shall cause blood and buccal specimens (tissue may be | 2 | | submitted if no uncontaminated blood or buccal specimen can be | 3 | | obtained), whenever possible, to be withdrawn from the body of | 4 | | the decedent in a timely fashion. For proper preservation of | 5 | | the specimens, collected blood and buccal specimens shall be | 6 | | dried and tissue specimens shall be frozen if available | 7 | | equipment exists. As soon as possible, but no later than 30 | 8 | | days after the collection of the specimens, the coroner or | 9 | | medical examiner shall release those specimens to the police | 10 | | agency responsible for investigating the death. As soon as | 11 | | possible, but no later than 30 days after the receipt from the | 12 | | coroner or medical examiner, the police agency shall submit | 13 | | the specimens using the agency case number to a National DNA | 14 | | Index System (NDIS) participating laboratory within this | 15 | | State, such as the Illinois State Police, Division of Forensic | 16 | | Services, for analysis and categorizing into genetic marker | 17 | | groupings. The results of the analysis and categorizing into | 18 | | genetic marker groupings shall be provided to the Illinois | 19 | | State Police and shall be maintained by the Illinois State | 20 | | Police in the State central repository in the same manner, and | 21 | | subject to the same conditions, as provided in Section 5-4-3 | 22 | | of the Unified Code of Corrections. The requirements of this | 23 | | paragraph are in addition to any other findings, specimens, or | 24 | | information that the coroner or medical examiner is required | 25 | | to provide during the conduct of a criminal investigation. | 26 | | In all counties, in cases of apparent suicide, homicide, |
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| 1 | | or accidental death or in other cases, within the discretion | 2 | | of the coroner, the coroner may summon 8 persons of lawful age | 3 | | from those persons drawn for petit jurors in the county. The | 4 | | summons shall command these persons to present themselves | 5 | | personally at such a place and time as the coroner shall | 6 | | determine, and may be in any form which the coroner shall | 7 | | determine and may incorporate any reasonable form of request | 8 | | for acknowledgment which the coroner deems practical and | 9 | | provides a reliable proof of service. The summons may be | 10 | | served by first class mail. From the 8 persons so summoned, the | 11 | | coroner shall select 6 to serve as the jury for the inquest. | 12 | | Inquests may be continued from time to time, as the coroner may | 13 | | deem necessary. The 6 jurors selected in a given case may view | 14 | | the body of the deceased. If at any continuation of an inquest | 15 | | one or more of the original jurors shall be unable to continue | 16 | | to serve, the coroner shall fill the vacancy or vacancies. A | 17 | | juror serving pursuant to this paragraph shall receive | 18 | | compensation from the county at the same rate as the rate of | 19 | | compensation that is paid to petit or grand jurors in the | 20 | | county. The coroner shall furnish to each juror without fee at | 21 | | the time of his discharge a certificate of the number of days | 22 | | in attendance at an inquest, and, upon being presented with | 23 | | such certificate, the county treasurer shall pay to the juror | 24 | | the sum provided for his services. | 25 | | In counties which have a jury commission, in cases of | 26 | | apparent suicide or homicide or of accidental death, the |
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| 1 | | coroner may conduct an inquest. The jury commission shall | 2 | | provide at least 8 jurors to the coroner, from whom the coroner | 3 | | shall select any 6 to serve as the jury for the inquest. | 4 | | Inquests may be continued from time to time as the coroner may | 5 | | deem necessary. The 6 jurors originally chosen in a given case | 6 | | may view the body of the deceased. If at any continuation of an | 7 | | inquest one or more of the 6 jurors originally chosen shall be | 8 | | unable to continue to serve, the coroner shall fill the | 9 | | vacancy or vacancies. At the coroner's discretion, additional | 10 | | jurors to fill such vacancies shall be supplied by the jury | 11 | | commission. A juror serving pursuant to this paragraph in such | 12 | | county shall receive compensation from the county at the same | 13 | | rate as the rate of compensation that is paid to petit or grand | 14 | | jurors in the county. | 15 | | In every case in which a fire is determined to be a | 16 | | contributing factor in a death, the coroner shall report the | 17 | | death to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The coroner | 18 | | shall provide a copy of the death certificate (i) within 30 | 19 | | days after filing the permanent death certificate and (ii) in | 20 | | a manner that is agreed upon by the coroner and the State Fire | 21 | | Marshal. | 22 | | In every case in which a drug overdose is determined to be | 23 | | the cause or a contributing factor in the death, the coroner or | 24 | | medical examiner shall report the death to the Department of | 25 | | Public Health. The Department of Public Health shall adopt | 26 | | rules regarding specific information that must be reported in |
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| 1 | | the event of such a death , including, at a minimum, the | 2 | | following information: (i) if known or knowable, . If possible, | 3 | | the coroner shall report the cause of the overdose ; (ii) | 4 | | whether or not fentanyl was part or all of the consumed | 5 | | substance; (iii) if fentanyl is part of the consumed | 6 | | substance, what other substances were consumed, if known or | 7 | | knowable; and (iv) if fentanyl is part of the consumed | 8 | | substance, in what proportion was fentanyl consumed to other | 9 | | substance or substances, if known or knowable. The coroner | 10 | | must also communicate whether there was a suspicious level of | 11 | | fentanyl in combination with other controlled substances | 12 | | present to all law enforcement agencies in whose jurisdiction | 13 | | the deceased's body was found within 24 hours after receipt of | 14 | | the toxicology results whether or not a cause of death has been | 15 | | determined . As used in this paragraph Section , "overdose" has | 16 | | the same meaning as it does in Section 414 of the Illinois | 17 | | Controlled Substances Act. The Department of Public Health | 18 | | shall issue a semiannual report to the General Assembly | 19 | | summarizing the reports received. The Department shall also | 20 | | provide on its website a monthly report of overdose death | 21 | | figures organized by location, age, and any other factors the | 22 | | Department deems appropriate. | 23 | | In addition, in every case in which domestic violence is | 24 | | determined to be a contributing factor in a death, the coroner | 25 | | shall report the death to the Illinois State Police. | 26 | | All deaths in State institutions and all deaths of wards |
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| 1 | | of the State or youth in care as defined in Section 4d of the | 2 | | Children and Family Services Act in private care facilities or | 3 | | in programs funded by the Department of Human Services under | 4 | | its powers relating to mental health and developmental | 5 | | disabilities or alcoholism and substance abuse or funded by | 6 | | the Department of Children and Family Services shall be | 7 | | reported to the coroner of the county in which the facility is | 8 | | located. If the coroner has reason to believe that an | 9 | | investigation is needed to determine whether the death was | 10 | | caused by maltreatment or negligent care of the ward of the | 11 | | State or youth in care as defined in Section 4d of the Children | 12 | | and Family Services Act, the coroner may conduct a preliminary | 13 | | investigation of the circumstances of such death as in cases | 14 | | of death under circumstances set forth in subparagraphs (a) | 15 | | through (e) of this Section. | 16 | | (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-982, eff. 7-1-23; | 17 | | 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.) |
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