Full Text of SB0048 096th General Assembly
SB0048enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning torture.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 7 |
| (1) "Claim of torture" means a claim on behalf of a living
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| person convicted of a felony in Illinois asserting that he was
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| tortured into confessing to the crime for which the person was
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| convicted and the tortured confession was used to obtain the
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| conviction and for which there is some credible evidence
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| related to allegations of torture committed by Commander Jon
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| Burge or any officer under the supervision of Jon Burge. | 14 |
| (2) "Commission" means the Illinois Torture Inquiry and
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| Relief Commission established by this Act. | 16 |
| (3) "Convicted person" means the person making a claim of | 17 |
| torture under this Act. | 18 |
| (4) "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Torture
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| Inquiry and Relief Commission. | 20 |
| (5) "Victim" means the victim of the crime, or if the
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| victim of the crime is deceased, the next of kin of the victim, | 22 |
| which shall be the parent, spouse, child, or sibling of the | 23 |
| deceased victim. |
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| Section 10. Purpose of Act. This Act establishes an
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| extraordinary procedure to investigate and determine factual
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| claims of torture related to allegations of torture that shall
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| require an individual to voluntarily waive rights and
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| privileges as described in this Act.
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| Section 15. Commission established. | 7 |
| (a) There is established the Illinois Torture Inquiry and
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| Relief Commission. The Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief
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| Commission shall be an independent commission under the | 10 |
| Illinois Human Rights Commission for
administrative purposes. | 11 |
| (b) The Illinois Human Rights Commission shall
provide | 12 |
| administrative support to the Commission as needed. The
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| Executive Director of the Illinois Human Rights Commission | 14 |
| shall not reduce or modify the budget of the Commission or use
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| funds appropriated to the Commission without the approval of
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| the Commission.
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| Section 20. Membership; chair; meetings; quorum. | 18 |
| (a) The Commission shall consist of 8 voting members as
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| follows: | 20 |
| (1) One shall be a retired Circuit Court Judge.
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| (2) One shall be a former prosecuting attorney. | 22 |
| (3) One shall be a law school professor. | 23 |
| (4) One shall be engaged in the practice of criminal
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| defense law. | 2 |
| (5) Three shall be members of the public who are not
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| attorneys and who are not officers or employees of the
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| Judicial branch. | 5 |
| (6) One shall be a former public defender. | 6 |
| The members of the Commission shall be appointed by the | 7 |
| Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members | 8 |
| may be re-appointed for additional terms, as provided for under | 9 |
| Section 25. | 10 |
| (a-1) The Governor shall also appoint
alternate Commission | 11 |
| members for the Commission members he or
she has appointed to | 12 |
| serve in the event of scheduling
conflicts, conflicts of | 13 |
| interest, disability, or other
disqualification arising in a | 14 |
| particular case. Where an alternate member is called upon to | 15 |
| serve in a particular place, the alternate member shall vote in | 16 |
| the place of, and otherwise exercise the same powers as, the | 17 |
| member which he or she is replacing. The alternate
member shall | 18 |
| have the same qualifications for appointment as
the original | 19 |
| member. In making the appointments, the Governor shall make a | 20 |
| good faith effort to appoint members
with different | 21 |
| perspectives of the justice system. The
Governor shall also | 22 |
| consider geographical
location, gender, and racial diversity | 23 |
| in making the
appointments.
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| (b) The retired judge who is appointed as a member under | 25 |
| subsection
(a) shall serve as Chair of the Commission. The | 26 |
| Commission
shall have its initial meeting no later than one |
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| month after the appointment of a quorum of members of the | 2 |
| Commission,
at the call of the Chair. The Commission shall meet | 3 |
| a minimum
of once every 6 months and may also meet more often | 4 |
| at the call
of the Chair. The Commission shall meet at such | 5 |
| time and place
as designated by the Chair, in accordance with | 6 |
| the provisions of the Open Meetings Act. Notice of the meetings | 7 |
| shall be
given at such time and manner as provided by the rules | 8 |
| of the
Commission, in accordance with the provisions of the | 9 |
| Open Meetings Act. A majority of the voting members shall | 10 |
| constitute a
quorum. All Commission votes shall be by majority | 11 |
| vote of the voting members appointed.
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| Section 25. Terms of members; compensation; expenses. | 13 |
| (a) Of the initial members, the appointments under clauses | 14 |
| (a)(3) and (6) of Section 20 shall be for
one-year terms, the | 15 |
| appointments under clauses (a)(1), (2), and (4) of Section 20 | 16 |
| shall be for 2-year terms, and the
appointments under clause | 17 |
| (a)(5) of Section 20 shall be for 3-year terms. Thereafter, all | 18 |
| terms
shall be for 3 years. Members of the Commission shall | 19 |
| serve no
more than 2 consecutive 3-year terms plus any initial | 20 |
| term of
less than 3 years. Unless provided otherwise by this | 21 |
| Act, all
terms of members shall begin on January 1 and end on | 22 |
| December
31.
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| Members serving by virtue of elective or appointive office,
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| may serve only so long as the office holders hold those
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| respective offices. The Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit
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| Court may remove members for good cause shown. Vacancies | 2 |
| occurring
before the expiration of a term shall be filled in | 3 |
| the manner
provided for the members first appointed.
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| (b) The Commission members shall receive no salary for
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| serving, but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred | 6 |
| as a result of their duties as members of the Commission from | 7 |
| funds appropriated by the General Assembly for that purpose, or | 8 |
| from funds obtained from sources other than the General | 9 |
| Assembly. | 10 |
| Section 30. Director and other staff. The Commission shall
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| employ a Director. The Director shall be an attorney licensed
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| to practice in Illinois at the time of appointment and at all
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| times during service as Director. The Director shall assist the
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| Commission in developing rules and standards for cases accepted
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| for review, coordinate investigation of cases accepted for
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| review, maintain records for all case investigations, prepare
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| reports outlining Commission investigations and
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| recommendations to the trial court, and apply for and accept on
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| behalf of the Commission any funds that may become available
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| from government grants, private gifts, donations, or bequests
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| from any source. | 22 |
| Subject to the approval of the Chair, the Director shall
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| employ such other staff and shall contract for services as is
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| necessary to assist the Commission in the performance of its
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| duties, and as funds permit.
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| The Commission may meet in an area provided by the
Illinois | 2 |
| Human Rights Commission, or any other State agency. The
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| Illinois Human Rights Commission shall provide, directly or | 4 |
| through any other State agency,
office space for the Commission | 5 |
| and the Commission staff.
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| Section 35. Duties. The Commission shall have the | 7 |
| following
duties and powers:
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| (1) To establish the criteria and screening process to
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| used to determine which cases shall be accepted for
review.
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| (2) To conduct inquiries into claims of torture with
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| priority to be given to those cases in which the convicted
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| person is currently incarcerated solely for the crime to
which | 13 |
| he or she claims torture by Jon Burge or officers
under his | 14 |
| command, or both. | 15 |
| (3) To coordinate the investigation of cases accepted
for | 16 |
| review. | 17 |
| (4) To maintain records for all case investigations. | 18 |
| (5) To prepare written reports outlining Commission
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| investigations and recommendations to the trial court at
the | 20 |
| completion of each inquiry. | 21 |
| (6) To apply for and accept any funds that may become
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| available for the Commission's work from government
grants, | 23 |
| private gifts, donations, or bequests from any
source.
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| Section 40. Claims of torture; waiver of convicted person's
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| procedural safeguards and privileges; formal inquiry;
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| notification of the crime victim.
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| (a) A claim of torture may be referred to the Commission by
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| any court, person, or agency. The Commission shall not consider
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| a claim of torture if the convicted person is deceased. The
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| determination of whether to grant a formal inquiry regarding
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| any other claim of torture is in the discretion of the
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| Commission. The Commission may informally screen and dismiss a
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| case summarily at its discretion. | 10 |
| (b) No formal inquiry into a claim of torture shall be made
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| by the Commission unless the Director or the Director's
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| designee first obtains a signed agreement from the convicted
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| person in which the convicted person waives his or her
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| procedural safeguards and privileges including but not limited | 15 |
| to the right against self-incrimination under the United States | 16 |
| Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, | 17 |
| agrees to cooperate with
the Commission, and agrees to provide | 18 |
| full disclosure regarding
inquiry requirements of the | 19 |
| Commission. The waiver under this
subsection does not apply to | 20 |
| matters unrelated to a convicted
person's claim of torture. The | 21 |
| convicted person shall have the
right to advice of counsel | 22 |
| prior to the execution of the
agreement and, if a formal | 23 |
| inquiry is granted, throughout the
formal inquiry. If counsel | 24 |
| represents the convicted person,
then the convicted person's | 25 |
| counsel must be present at the
signing of the agreement. If | 26 |
| counsel does not represent the
convicted person, the Commission |
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| Chair shall determine the
convicted person's indigency status | 2 |
| and, if appropriate, enter
an order for the appointment of | 3 |
| counsel for the purpose of
advising on the agreement. | 4 |
| (c) If a formal inquiry regarding a claim of torture is
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| granted, the Director shall use all due diligence to notify the
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| victim in the case and explain the inquiry process. The
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| Commission shall give the victim notice that the victim has the
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| right to present his or her views and concerns throughout the
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| Commission's investigation. | 10 |
| (d) The Commission may use any measure provided in the Code
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| of Civil Procedure and the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963
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| to obtain information necessary to its inquiry. The Commission
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| may also do any of the following: issue subpoenas or other | 14 |
| process to compel the
attendance of witnesses and the | 15 |
| production of evidence,
administer oaths, petition the Circuit | 16 |
| Court of Cook County or
of the original jurisdiction for | 17 |
| enforcement of process or for
other relief, and prescribe its | 18 |
| own rules of procedure. All
challenges with regard to the | 19 |
| Commission's authority or the
Commission's access to evidence | 20 |
| shall be heard by the Circuit Court of Cook County, including
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| any in camera review.
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| (e) While performing duties for the Commission, the
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| Director or the Director's designee may serve subpoenas or
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| other process issued by the Commission throughout the State in
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| the same manner and with the same effect as an officer
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| authorized to serve process under the laws of this State.
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| (f) All State discovery and disclosure statutes in effect
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| at the time of formal inquiry shall be enforceable as if the
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| convicted person were currently being tried for the charge for
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| which the convicted person is claiming torture.
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| (g) If, at any point during an inquiry, the convicted
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| person refuses to comply with requests of the Commission or is
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| otherwise deemed to be uncooperative by the Commission, the
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| Commission shall discontinue the inquiry.
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| Section 45. Commission proceedings. | 10 |
| (a) At the completion of a formal inquiry, all relevant
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| evidence shall be presented to the full Commission. As part of
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| its proceedings, the Commission may conduct hearings.
The | 13 |
| determination as to whether to conduct hearings is
solely in | 14 |
| the discretion of the Commission. Any hearing
held in | 15 |
| accordance with this Section shall be a public hearing and | 16 |
| shall be held subject to the
Commission's rules of operation, | 17 |
| and
conducted pursuant to the Open Meetings Act. | 18 |
| (b) The Director shall use all due diligence to notify the
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| victim at least 30 days prior to any proceedings of the full
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| Commission held in regard to the victim's case. The Commission
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| shall notify the victim that the victim is permitted to attend
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| proceedings otherwise closed to the public, subject to any
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| limitations imposed by this Act, and
subject to Section | 24 |
| 2(c)(14) of the Open Meetings Act. If the victim plans to | 25 |
| attend
proceedings otherwise closed to the public, the victim |
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| shall
notify the Commission at least 10 days in advance of the
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| proceedings of his or her intent to attend. The Commission may | 3 |
| close any portion of the
proceedings to the victim, if the | 4 |
| victim is to testify and the Commission determines that the | 5 |
| victim's testimony would be materially affected if the victim | 6 |
| hears other testimony at the proceeding. | 7 |
| (c) After hearing the evidence, the full Commission shall
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| vote to establish further case disposition as provided by this
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| subsection. All 8 voting members of the Commission shall
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| participate in that vote.
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| If 5 or more of the 8 voting members of the Commission
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| conclude by a preponderance of the evidence that there is | 13 |
| sufficient evidence of torture to merit
judicial review, the | 14 |
| case shall be referred to the Chief Judge
of the Circuit Court | 15 |
| of Cook County by filing with the clerk of
court the opinion of | 16 |
| the Commission with supporting findings of
fact, as well as the | 17 |
| record in support of such opinion, with
service on the State's | 18 |
| Attorney in non-capital cases and
service on both the State's | 19 |
| Attorney and Attorney General in
capital cases.
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| If less than 5 of the 8 voting members of the Commission
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| conclude by a preponderance of the evidence that there is | 22 |
| sufficient evidence of torture to merit
judicial review, the | 23 |
| Commission shall conclude there is
insufficient evidence of | 24 |
| torture to merit judicial review. The
Commission shall document | 25 |
| that opinion, along with supporting
findings of fact, and file | 26 |
| those documents and supporting
materials with the court clerk |
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| in the circuit of original
jurisdiction, with a copy to the | 2 |
| State's Attorney and the chief
judge.
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| The Director of the Commission shall use all due diligence
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| to notify immediately the victim of the Commission's conclusion
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| in a case. | 6 |
| (d) Evidence of criminal acts, professional misconduct, or
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| other wrongdoing disclosed through formal inquiry or
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| Commission proceedings shall be referred to the appropriate
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| authority. Evidence favorable to the convicted person
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| disclosed through formal inquiry or Commission proceedings
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| shall be disclosed to the convicted person and the convicted
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| person's counsel, if the convicted person has counsel. The | 13 |
| Commission shall have the discretion to refer its findings | 14 |
| together with the supporting record and evidence, to such other | 15 |
| parties or entities as the Commission in its discretion shall | 16 |
| deem appropriate. | 17 |
| (e) All proceedings of the Commission shall be recorded and
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| transcribed as part of the record. All Commission member votes
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| shall be recorded in the record. All records of
the Commission | 20 |
| shall be confidential until the proceedings before the | 21 |
| Commission are concluded and a final decision has been made by | 22 |
| the Commission.
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| Section 50. Post-commission judicial review. | 24 |
| (a) If the Commission concludes there is sufficient
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| evidence of torture to merit judicial review, the Chair of the
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| Commission shall request the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court
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| of Cook County for assignment to a trial judge for
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| consideration. The court may receive proof by affidavits,
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| depositions, oral testimony, or other evidence. In its
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| discretion the court may order the petitioner brought before
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| the court for the hearing. Notwithstanding the status of any | 7 |
| other postconviction proceedings relating to the petitioner, | 8 |
| if the court finds in favor of the
petitioner, it shall enter | 9 |
| an appropriate order with respect to
the judgment or sentence | 10 |
| in the former proceedings and such
supplementary orders as to | 11 |
| rearraignment, retrial, custody,
bail or discharge, or for such | 12 |
| relief as may be granted under a petition for a certificate of | 13 |
| innocence, as may be necessary and proper. | 14 |
| (b) The State's Attorney, or the State's Attorney's
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| designee, shall represent the State at the hearing before the
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| assigned judge.
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| Section 55. No right to further review of decision by
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| Commission; convicted person retains right to other
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| postconviction relief.
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| (a) Unless otherwise authorized by this Act, the decisions
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| of the Commission are final and are subject to review as final | 22 |
| decisions under the provisions of the Administrative Review | 23 |
| Law, and shall only be overturned if the court finds that they | 24 |
| are against the manifest weight of the evidence. | 25 |
| (b) A claim of torture asserted through the Commission
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| shall not adversely affect the convicted person's rights to
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| other postconviction relief.
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| Section 60. Report. Beginning January 1, 2010, and annually
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| thereafter, the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission
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| shall report on its activities to the General Assembly and the
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| Governor. The report may contain recommendations of any needed
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| legislative changes related to the activities of the
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| Commission. The report shall recommend the funding needed by
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| the Commission, the State's Attorneys, and the Department of
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| State Police in order to meet their responsibilities under this
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| Act. Recommendations concerning the State's Attorneys or the
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| Department of State Police shall only be made after
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| consultations with the Illinois State's Attorneys Association, | 14 |
| the Department of State Police,
and the Attorney General.
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| Section 65. Appointment period. The initial members of the | 16 |
| Illinois Torture
Inquiry and Relief Commission shall be | 17 |
| appointed not later than
3 months after the effective date of | 18 |
| this Act. No claims of torture may be filed with the
Commission | 19 |
| until a quorum of members have been appointed.
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| Section 70. Filing of claims. This Act applies to claims of | 21 |
| torture filed not later than 5 years after the effective date | 22 |
| of this Act.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.
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