Public Act 095-1022
 
HB4613 Enrolled LRB095 16534 RLC 42565 b

    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Access
to Religious Ministry Act of 2008.
 
    Section 5. The County Jail Act is amended by adding Section
26 as follows:
 
    (730 ILCS 125/26 new)
    Sec. 26. Detainees in immigration custody; religious
worker access to jails.
    (a) Any county jail in the State of Illinois for which an
intergovernmental agreement has been entered into with United
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detention
of immigration-related detainees shall be required to provide
to religious workers reasonable access to such jail. Such
access shall be consistent with the safety, security, and the
orderly operation of the facility.
    (b) For purposes of this Section, "reasonable access" means
the ability of the religious worker to enter the jail facility
to be available to meet with immigration detainees who wish to
consult with the religious worker regarding their spiritual
needs. Such access shall be at times set by the sheriff or his
or her designee. The facility shall provide advance notice to
the immigration detainees of the times during which religious
workers shall be available for consultation under this Section,
and shall not limit the access of detainees to such religious
workers without good cause. Consultations with religious
workers under this Section shall not be counted against the
visitation time or number of visits to which a detainee is
otherwise entitled under the facility's visitation policies.
    (c) The sheriff or his or her designee shall have the right
to screen and approve individuals seeking access to immigration
detainees at the facility under this Act.
 
    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.