Public Act 093-1005
 		





SB132 Enrolled
LRB093 04297 MKM 04343 b






    AN ACT in relation to county government. 

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 


 
    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended  by changing Section 
3-3013 as follows:
 



    (55 ILCS 5/3-3013)  (from Ch. 34, par. 3-3013)



    Sec. 3-3013. Preliminary investigations; blood and urine 
analysis;
summoning jury. Every coroner, whenever, as soon as 
he knows or is
informed that the dead body of any person is 
found, or lying within his
county, whose death is suspected of 
being:

    (a) A sudden or violent death, whether apparently suicidal,

homicidal or accidental, including but not limited to deaths 
apparently
caused or contributed to by thermal, traumatic, 
chemical, electrical or
radiational injury, or a complication 
of any of them, or by drowning or
suffocation, or as a result 
of domestic violence as defined in the Illinois
Domestic

Violence Act of 1986;

    (b) A maternal or fetal death due to abortion, or any death 
due to a
sex crime or a crime against nature;

    (c) A death where the circumstances are suspicious, 
obscure,
mysterious or otherwise unexplained or where, in the 
written opinion of
the attending physician, the cause of death 
is not determined;

    (d) A death where addiction to alcohol or to any drug may 
have been
a contributory cause; or

    (e) A death where the decedent was not attended by a 
licensed
physician;

shall go to the place where the dead body is, and take charge 
of the
same and shall make a preliminary investigation into the 
circumstances
of the death.  In the case of death without 
attendance by a licensed
physician the body may be moved with 
the coroner's consent from the
place of death to a mortuary in 
the same county.  Coroners in their
discretion shall notify such 
physician as is designated in accordance
with Section 3-3014 to 
attempt to ascertain the cause of death, either by
autopsy or 
otherwise.

    In cases of accidental death involving a motor vehicle in 
which the
decedent was (1) the operator or a suspected operator 
of a motor
vehicle, or (2) a pedestrian 16 years of age or 
older, the coroner shall
require that a blood specimen of at 
least 30 cc., and if medically
possible a urine specimen of at 
least 30 cc.  or as much as possible up
to 30 cc., be withdrawn 
from the body of the decedent in a timely fashion after
within  
6 hours of
the accident causing his death, by such physician as 
has been designated
in accordance with Section 3-3014, or by 
the coroner or deputy coroner or
a qualified person designated 
by
at the direction of such physician, coroner, or deputy 
coroner.  If the county
does not maintain laboratory facilities 
for making such analysis, the
blood and urine so drawn shall be 
sent to the Department of State Police or any other accredited 
or State-certified laboratory
for analysis, when necessary, of 
the alcohol, carbon monoxide, and dangerous or
narcotic drug 
content of such blood and urine specimens.  Each specimen

submitted shall be accompanied by pertinent information 
concerning the
decedent upon a form prescribed by such 
laboratory.
Department.  If the analysis is
performed in county 
laboratory facilities, the coroner shall forward the
results of 
each analysis and pertinent information concerning the

decedent to the Department of Public Health upon a form 
prescribed by
such Department.  The coroner causing the blood 
and urine to be
withdrawn shall be notified of the results of 
any analysis made by the
Department of State Police and the 
Department of Public Health shall
keep a record of the results 
of all such examinations to be used for
statistical purposes. 
The cumulative results of the
examinations, without 
identifying the individuals involved, shall be
disseminated 
and made public by the Department of Public Health.  Any
person 
drawing blood and urine and any person making any examination 
of
the blood and urine under the terms of this Division shall 
be immune from all
liability, civil or criminal, that might 
otherwise be incurred or
imposed.  The coroner shall be paid a 
fee of $10 by the Department of
Public Health for each 
acceptable set of blood and
urine specimens sent to the 
Department of State Police forensic science
laboratory 
accompanied by the required form or for each report of
analysis 
performed by a county laboratory furnished upon the required 
form.
Upon collection, the coroner shall pay the fee over to 
the county
treasurer for deposit in the general fund of the 
county.

    In all other cases coming within the jurisdiction of the 
coroner and
referred to in subparagraphs (a) through (e) above, 
blood, and whenever
possible, urine samples shall be analyzed 
for the presence of alcohol
and other drugs.  When the coroner 
suspects that drugs may have been
involved in the death, either 
directly or indirectly, a toxicological
examination shall be 
performed which may include analyses of blood, urine,
bile, 
gastric contents and other tissues. When the coroner suspects
a 
death is due to toxic substances, other than drugs, the coroner 
shall
consult with the toxicologist prior to collection of 
samples.  Information
submitted to the toxicologist shall 
include information as to height,
weight, age, sex and race of 
the decedent as well as medical history,
medications used by 
and the manner of death of decedent.

    Except in counties that have a jury commission, in cases of 
apparent
suicide, homicide, or accidental death or in other 
cases, within the
discretion of the coroner, the coroner shall 
summon 8 persons of lawful age
from those persons drawn for 
petit jurors in the county.  The summons shall
command these 
persons to present themselves personally at such a place and

time as the coroner shall determine, and may be in any form 
which the
coroner shall determine and may incorporate any 
reasonable form of request
for acknowledgement which the 
coroner deems practical and provides a
reliable proof of 
service.  The summons may be served by first class mail.
From 
the 8 persons so summoned, the coroner shall select 6 to serve 
as the
jury for the inquest.  Inquests may be continued from 
time
to time, as the coroner may deem necessary.  The 6 jurors 
selected in
a given case may view the body of the deceased.
If 
at any continuation of an inquest one or more of the original 
jurors
shall be unable to continue to serve, the coroner shall 
fill the vacancy or
vacancies. A juror serving pursuant to this 
paragraph shall receive
compensation from the county at the 
same rate as the rate of compensation
that is paid to petit or 
grand jurors in the county.  The coroner shall
furnish to each 
juror without fee at the time of his discharge a
certificate  of 
the number of days in attendance at an inquest, and, upon
being 
presented with such certificate, the county treasurer shall pay 
to
the juror the sum provided for his services.

    In counties which have a jury commission, in cases of 
apparent suicide or
homicide or of accidental death, the 
coroner shall, and in other cases in
his discretion may, 
conduct an inquest.  The jury commission shall provide
at least 
8 jurors to the coroner, from whom the coroner shall select any 
6
to serve as the jury for the inquest.  Inquests may be 
continued from time
to time as the coroner may deem necessary.  
The 6 jurors originally chosen
in a given case may view the 
body of the deceased.  If at any continuation
of an inquest one 
or more of the 6 jurors originally chosen shall be unable
to 
continue to serve, the coroner shall fill the vacancy or 
vacancies.  At
the coroner's discretion, additional jurors to 
fill such vacancies shall be
supplied by the jury commission.  A 
juror serving pursuant to this
paragraph in such county shall 
receive compensation from the county at the
same rate as the 
rate of compensation that is paid to petit or grand jurors
in 
the county.

    In addition, in every case in which domestic violence is 
determined to be
a
contributing factor in a death, the coroner 
shall report the death to the
Department of State Police.

    All deaths in State institutions and all deaths of wards of 
the State in
private care facilities or in programs funded by 
the Department of Human
Services under its powers relating to 
mental health and developmental
disabilities or alcoholism and 
substance
abuse or funded by the Department of Children and 
Family Services shall
be reported to the coroner of the county 
in which the facility is
located.  If the coroner has reason to 
believe that an investigation is
needed to determine whether 
the death was caused by maltreatment or
negligent care of the 
ward of the State, the coroner may conduct a
preliminary 
investigation of the circumstances of such death as in cases of

death under circumstances set forth in paragraphs (a) through 
(e) of this
Section.

(Source: P.A. 91-521, eff. 1-1-00.)





Effective Date:  1/1/2005