Public Act 096-0924
 
HB5214 Enrolled LRB096 18368 RLC 33745 b

    AN ACT concerning courts.
 
    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
Veterans and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act.
 
    Section 5. Purposes. The General Assembly recognizes that
veterans and active, Reserve and National Guard servicemembers
have provided or are currently providing an invaluable service
to our country. In so doing, some may suffer the effects of,
including but not limited to, post traumatic stress disorder,
traumatic brain injury, depression and may also suffer drug and
alcohol dependency or addiction and co-occurring mental
illness and substance abuse problems. As a result of this, some
veterans or active duty servicemembers come into contact with
the criminal justice system and are charged with felony or
misdemeanor offenses. There is a critical need for the criminal
justice system to recognize these veterans, provide
accountability for their wrongdoing, provide for the safety of
the public and provide for the treatment of our veterans. It is
the intent of the General Assembly to create specialized
veteran and servicemember courts or programs with the necessary
flexibility to meet the specialized problems faced by these
veteran and servicemember defendants.
 
    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Combination Veterans and Servicemembers Court program"
means a court program that includes a pre-adjudicatory and a
post-adjudicatory Veterans and Servicemembers court program.
    "Court" means Veterans and Servicemembers Court.
    "IDVA" means the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.
    "Post-adjudicatory Veterans and Servicemembers Court
Program" means a program in which the defendant has admitted
guilt or has been found guilty and agrees, along with the
prosecution, to enter a Veterans and Servicemembers Court
program as part of the defendant's sentence.
    "Pre-adjudicatory Veterans and Servicemembers Court
Program" means a program that allows the defendant with the
consent of the prosecution, to expedite the defendant's
criminal case before conviction or before filing of a criminal
case and requires successful completion of the Veterans and
Servicemembers Court programs as part of the agreement.
    "Servicemember" means a person who is currently serving in
the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard on active
duty, reserve status or in the National Guard.
    "VA" means the United States Department of Veterans'
Affairs.
    "Veteran" means a person who served in the active military,
naval, or air service and who was discharged or released
therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.
    "Veterans and Servicemembers Court professional" means a
judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, probation officer, or
treatment provider involved with the Court program.
    "Veterans and Servicemembers Court" means a court or
program with an immediate and highly structured judicial
intervention process for substance abuse treatment, mental
health, or other assessed treatment needs of eligible veteran
and servicemember defendants that brings together substance
abuse professionals, mental health professionals, VA
professionals, local social programs and intensive judicial
monitoring in accordance with the nationally recommended 10 key
components of drug courts.
 
    Section 15. Authorization. The Chief Judge of each judicial
circuit may establish a Veterans and Servicemembers Court
program including a format under which it operates under this
Act. The Veterans and Servicemembers Court may, at the
discretion of the Chief Judge, be a separate court or a program
of a drug court within the Circuit. At the discretion of the
Chief Judge, the Veterans and Servicemembers Court program may
be operated in one county in the Circuit, and allow veteran and
servicemember defendants from all counties within the Circuit
to participate.
 
    Section 20. Eligibility. Veterans and Servicemembers are
eligible for Veterans and Servicemembers Courts, provided the
following:
    (a) A defendant may be admitted into a Veterans and
Servicemembers Court program only upon the agreement of the
prosecutor and the defendant and with the approval of the
Court.
    (b) A defendant shall be excluded from Veterans and
Servicemembers Court program if any of one of the following
applies:
        (1) The crime is a crime of violence as set forth in
    clause (3) of this subsection (b).
        (2) The defendant does not demonstrate a willingness to
    participate in a treatment program.
        (3) The defendant has been convicted of a crime of
    violence within the past 10 years excluding incarceration
    time, including but not limited to: first degree murder,
    second degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of
    a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal
    sexual assault, armed robbery, aggravated arson, arson,
    aggravated kidnapping and kidnapping, aggravated battery
    resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability,
    stalking, aggravated stalking, or any offense involving
    the discharge of a firearm or where occurred serious bodily
    injury or death to any person.
        (4) The defendant has previously completed or has been
    discharged from a Veterans and Servicemembers Court
    program within three years of that completion or discharge.
 
    Section 25. Procedure.
    (a) The Court shall order the defendant to submit to an
eligibility screening and an assessment through the VA and/or
the IDVA to provide information on the defendant's veteran or
servicemember status.
    (b) The Court shall order the defendant to submit to an
eligibility screening and mental health and drug/alcohol
screening and assessment of the defendant by the VA or by the
IDVA to provide assessment services for Illinois Courts. The
assessment shall include a risks assessment and be based, in
part, upon the known availability of treatment resources
available to the Veterans and Servicemembers Court. The
assessment shall also include recommendations for treatment of
the conditions which are indicating a need for treatment under
the monitoring of the Court and be reflective of a level of
risk assessed for the individual seeking admission. An
assessment need not be ordered if the Court finds a valid
screening and/or assessment related to the present charge
pending against the defendant has been completed within the
previous 60 days.
    (c) The judge shall inform the defendant that if the
defendant fails to meet the conditions of the Veterans and
Servicemembers Court program, eligibility to participate in
the program may be revoked and the defendant may be sentenced
or the prosecution continued as provided in the Unified Code of
Corrections for the crime charged.
    (d) The defendant shall execute a written agreement with
the Court as to his or her participation in the program and
shall agree to all of the terms and conditions of the program,
including but not limited to the possibility of sanctions or
incarceration for failing to abide or comply with the terms of
the program.
    (e) In addition to any conditions authorized under the
Pretrial Services Act and Section 5-6-3 of the Unified Code of
Corrections, the Court may order the defendant to complete
substance abuse treatment in an outpatient, inpatient,
residential, or jail-based custodial treatment program, order
the defendant to complete mental health counseling in an
inpatient or outpatient basis, comply with physicians'
recommendation regarding medications and all follow up
treatment. This treatment may include but is not limited to
post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and
depression.
 
    Section 30. Mental health and substance abuse treatment.
    (a) The Veterans and Servicemembers Court program may
maintain a network of substance abuse treatment programs
representing a continuum of graduated substance abuse
treatment options commensurate with the needs of defendants;
these shall include programs with the VA, IDVA, the State of
Illinois and community-based programs supported and sanctioned
by either or both.
    (b) Any substance abuse treatment program to which
defendants are referred must meet all of the rules and
governing programs in Parts 2030 and 2060 of Title 77 of the
Illinois Administrative Code.
    (c) The Veterans and Servicemembers Court program may, in
its discretion, employ additional services or interventions,
as it deems necessary on a case by case basis.
    (d) The Veterans and Servicemembers Court program may
maintain or collaborate with a network of mental health
treatment programs and, if it is a co-occurring mental health
and substance abuse court program, a network of substance abuse
treatment programs representing a continuum of treatment
options commensurate with the needs of the defendant and
available resources including programs with the VA, the IDVA
and the State of Illinois.
 
    Section 35. Violation; termination; discharge.
    (a) If the Court finds from the evidence presented
including but not limited to the reports or proffers of proof
from the Veterans and Servicemembers Court professionals that:
        (1) the defendant is not performing satisfactorily in
    the assigned program;
        (2) the defendant is not benefitting from education,
    treatment, or rehabilitation;
        (3) the defendant has engaged in criminal conduct
    rendering him or her unsuitable for the program; or
        (4) the defendant has otherwise violated the terms and
    conditions of the program or his or her sentence or is for
    any reason unable to participate; the Court may impose
    reasonable sanctions under prior written agreement of the
    defendant, including but not limited to imprisonment or
    dismissal of the defendant from the program and the Court
    may reinstate criminal proceedings against him or her or
    proceed under Section 5-6-4 of the Unified Code of
    Corrections for a violation of probation, conditional
    discharge, or supervision hearing.
    (b) Upon successful completion of the terms and conditions
of the program, the Court may dismiss the original charges
against the defendant or successfully terminate the
defendant's sentence or otherwise discharge him or her from any
further proceedings against him or her in the original
prosecution.
 
    Section 90. The Counties Code is amended by changing
Section 5-1101 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-1101)  (from Ch. 34, par. 5-1101)
    Sec. 5-1101. Additional fees to finance court system. A
county board may enact by ordinance or resolution the following
fees:
    (a) A $5 fee to be paid by the defendant on a judgment of
guilty or a grant of supervision for violation of the Illinois
Vehicle Code other than Section 11-501 or violations of similar
provisions contained in county or municipal ordinances
committed in the county, and up to a $30 fee to be paid by the
defendant on a judgment of guilty or a grant of supervision for
violation of Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code or a
violation of a similar provision contained in county or
municipal ordinances committed in the county.
    (b) In the case of a county having a population of
1,000,000 or less, a $5 fee to be collected in all civil cases
by the clerk of the circuit court.
    (c) A fee to be paid by the defendant on a judgment of
guilty or a grant of supervision, as follows:
        (1) for a felony, $50;
        (2) for a class A misdemeanor, $25;
        (3) for a class B or class C misdemeanor, $15;
        (4) for a petty offense, $10;
        (5) for a business offense, $10.
    (d) A $100 fee for the second and subsequent violations of
Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code or violations of
similar provisions contained in county or municipal ordinances
committed in the county. The proceeds of this fee shall be
placed in the county general fund and used to finance education
programs related to driving under the influence of alcohol or
drugs.
    (d-5) A $10 fee to be paid by the defendant on a judgment
of guilty or a grant of supervision under Section 5-9-1 of the
Unified Code of Corrections to be placed in the county general
fund and used to finance the county mental health court, the
county drug court, the Veterans and Servicemembers Court, or
any or all of the above or both.
    (e) In each county in which a teen court, peer court, peer
jury, youth court, or other youth diversion program has been
created, a county may adopt a mandatory fee of up to $5 to be
assessed as provided in this subsection. Assessments collected
by the clerk of the circuit court pursuant to this subsection
must be deposited into an account specifically for the
operation and administration of a teen court, peer court, peer
jury, youth court, or other youth diversion program. The clerk
of the circuit court shall collect the fees established in this
subsection and must remit the fees to the teen court, peer
court, peer jury, youth court, or other youth diversion program
monthly, less 5%, which is to be retained as fee income to the
office of the clerk of the circuit court. The fees are to be
paid as follows:
        (1) a fee of up to $5 paid by the defendant on a
    judgment of guilty or grant of supervision for violation of
    the Illinois Vehicle Code or violations of similar
    provisions contained in county or municipal ordinances
    committed in the county;
        (2) a fee of up to $5 paid by the defendant on a
    judgment of guilty or grant of supervision under Section
    5-9-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections for a felony; for
    a Class A, Class B, or Class C misdemeanor; for a petty
    offense; and for a business offense.
    (f) In each county in which a drug court has been created,
the county may adopt a mandatory fee of up to $5 to be assessed
as provided in this subsection. Assessments collected by the
clerk of the circuit court pursuant to this subsection must be
deposited into an account specifically for the operation and
administration of the drug court. The clerk of the circuit
court shall collect the fees established in this subsection and
must remit the fees to the drug court, less 5%, which is to be
retained as fee income to the office of the clerk of the
circuit court. The fees are to be paid as follows:
        (1) a fee of up to $5 paid by the defendant on a
    judgment of guilty or grant of supervision for a violation
    of the Illinois Vehicle Code or a violation of a similar
    provision contained in a county or municipal ordinance
    committed in the county; or
        (2) a fee of up to $5 paid by the defendant on a
    judgment of guilty or a grant of supervision under Section
    5-9-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections for a felony; for
    a Class A, Class B, or Class C misdemeanor; for a petty
    offense; and for a business offense.
     The clerk of the circuit court shall deposit the 5%
retained under this subsection into the Circuit Court Clerk
Operation and Administrative Fund to be used to defray the
costs of collection and disbursement of the drug court fee.
    (f-5) In each county in which a Children's Advocacy Center
provides services, the county board may adopt a mandatory fee
of between $5 and $30 to be paid by the defendant on a judgment
of guilty or a grant of supervision under Section 5-9-1 of the
Unified Code of Corrections for a felony; for a Class A, Class
B, or Class C misdemeanor; for a petty offense; and for a
business offense. Assessments shall be collected by the clerk
of the circuit court and must be deposited into an account
specifically for the operation and administration of the
Children's Advocacy Center. The clerk of the circuit court
shall collect the fees as provided in this subsection, and must
remit the fees to the Children's Advocacy Center.
    (g) The proceeds of all fees enacted under this Section
must, except as provided in subsections (d), (d-5), (e), and
(f), be placed in the county general fund and used to finance
the court system in the county, unless the fee is subject to
disbursement by the circuit clerk as provided under Section
27.5 of the Clerks of Courts Act.
(Source: P.A. 95-103, eff. 1-1-08; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07;
96-328, eff. 8-11-09.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.