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Public Act 097-0660 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning corrections.
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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 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section | ||||
3-15003.6 as follows:
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(55 ILCS 5/3-15003.6)
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Sec. 3-15003.6. Pregnant female prisoners. | ||||
(a) Definitions. For the purpose of this Section: | ||||
(1) "Restraints" means any physical restraint or | ||||
mechanical device used to control the movement of a | ||||
prisoner's body or limbs, or both, including, but not | ||||
limited to, flex cuffs, soft restraints, hard metal | ||||
handcuffs, a black box, Chubb cuffs, leg irons, belly | ||||
chains, a security (tether) chain, or a convex shield, or | ||||
shackles of any kind. | ||||
(2) "Labor" means the period of time before a birth and | ||||
shall include any medical condition in which a woman is | ||||
sent or brought to the hospital for the purpose of | ||||
delivering her baby. These situations include: induction | ||||
of labor, prodromal labor, pre-term labor, prelabor | ||||
rupture of membranes, the 3 stages of active labor, uterine | ||||
hemorrhage during the third trimester of pregnancy, and | ||||
caesarian delivery including pre-operative preparation. |
(3) "Post-partum" means, as determined by her | ||
physician, the period immediately following delivery, | ||
including the entire period a woman is in the hospital or | ||
infirmary after birth. | ||
(4) "Correctional institution" means any entity under | ||
the authority of a county law enforcement division of a | ||
county of more than 3,000,000 inhabitants that has the | ||
power to detain or restrain, or both, a person under the | ||
laws of the State. | ||
(5) "Corrections official" means the official that is | ||
responsible for oversight of a correctional institution, | ||
or his or her designee. | ||
(6) "Prisoner" means any person incarcerated or | ||
detained in any facility who is accused of, convicted of, | ||
sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations | ||
of criminal law or the terms and conditions of parole, | ||
probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program, and | ||
any person detained under the immigration laws of the | ||
United States at any correctional facility. | ||
(7) "Extraordinary circumstance" means an | ||
extraordinary medical or security circumstance, including | ||
a substantial flight risk, that dictates restraints be used | ||
to ensure the safety and security of the prisoner, the | ||
staff of the correctional institution or medical facility, | ||
other prisoners, or the public. | ||
(b) A county department of corrections shall not apply |
security restraints to a prisoner that has been determined by a | ||
qualified medical professional to be pregnant and is known by | ||
the county department of corrections to be pregnant or in | ||
postpartum recovery, which is the entire period a woman is in | ||
the medical facility after birth, unless the corrections | ||
official makes an individualized determination that the | ||
prisoner presents a substantial flight risk or some other | ||
extraordinary circumstance that dictates security restraints | ||
be used to ensure the safety and security of the prisoner, her | ||
child or unborn child, the staff of the county department of | ||
corrections or medical facility, other prisoners, or the | ||
public. The protections set out in clauses (b)(3) and (b)(4) of | ||
this Section shall apply to security restraints used pursuant | ||
to this subsection. The corrections official shall immediately | ||
remove all restraints upon the written or oral request of | ||
medical personnel. Oral requests made by medical personnel | ||
shall be verified in writing as promptly as reasonably | ||
possible. | ||
(1) Qualified authorized health staff shall have the | ||
authority to order therapeutic restraints for a pregnant or | ||
postpartum prisoner who is a danger to herself, her child, | ||
unborn child, or other persons due to a psychiatric or | ||
medical disorder. Therapeutic restraints may only be | ||
initiated, monitored and discontinued by qualified and | ||
authorized health staff and used to safely limit a | ||
prisoner's mobility for psychiatric or medical reasons. No |
order for therapeutic restraints shall be written unless | ||
medical or mental health personnel, after personally | ||
observing and examining the prisoner, are clinically | ||
satisfied that the use of therapeutic restraints is | ||
justified and permitted in accordance with hospital | ||
policies and applicable State law. Metal handcuffs or | ||
shackles are not considered therapeutic restraints. | ||
(2) Whenever therapeutic restraints are used by | ||
medical personnel, Section 2-108 of the Mental Health and | ||
Developmental Disabilities Code shall apply. | ||
(3) Leg irons, shackles or waist shackles shall not be | ||
used on any pregnant or postpartum prisoner regardless of | ||
security classification. Except for therapeutic restraints | ||
under clause (b)(2), no restraints of any kind may be | ||
applied to prisoners during labor. | ||
(4) When a pregnant or postpartum prisoner must be | ||
restrained, restraints used shall be the least restrictive | ||
restraints possible to ensure the safety and security of | ||
the prisoner, her child, unborn child, the staff of the | ||
county department of corrections or medical facility, | ||
other prisoners, or the public, and in no case shall | ||
include leg irons, shackles or waist shackles. | ||
(5) Upon the pregnant prisoner's entry into a hospital | ||
room, and completion of initial room inspection, a | ||
corrections official shall be posted immediately outside | ||
the hospital room, unless requested to be in the room by |
medical personnel attending to the prisoner's medical | ||
needs. | ||
(6) The county department of corrections shall provide | ||
adequate corrections personnel to monitor the pregnant | ||
prisoner during her transport to and from the hospital and | ||
during her stay at the hospital. | ||
(7) Where the county department of corrections | ||
requires prisoner safety assessments, a corrections | ||
official may enter the hospital room to conduct periodic | ||
prisoner safety assessments, except during a medical | ||
examination or the delivery process. | ||
(8) Upon discharge from a medical facility, postpartum | ||
prisoners shall be restrained only with handcuffs in front | ||
of the body during transport to the county department of | ||
corrections. A corrections official shall immediately | ||
remove all security restraints upon written or oral request | ||
by medical personnel. Oral requests made by medical | ||
personnel shall be verified in writing as promptly as | ||
reasonably possible. | ||
(c) Enforcement.
No later than 30 days before the end of | ||
each fiscal year, the county sheriff or corrections official of | ||
the correctional institution where a pregnant prisoner has been | ||
restrained during that previous fiscal year, shall submit a | ||
written report to the Illinois General Assembly and the Office | ||
of the Governor that includes an account of every instance of | ||
prisoner restraint pursuant to this Section. The written report |
shall state the date, time, location and rationale for each | ||
instance in which restraints are used. The written report shall | ||
not contain any individually identifying information of any | ||
prisoner. Such reports shall be made available for public | ||
inspection. | ||
Notwithstanding any other
statute,
directive, or | ||
administrative
regulation, when a pregnant female prisoner is | ||
brought to a hospital
from a County Department of Corrections | ||
facility
for the purpose of delivering her baby, no handcuffs,
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shackles, or restraints of any kind may be used during her | ||
transport to a
medical facility for the purpose of delivering | ||
her baby. Under no
circumstances may leg irons or shackles or | ||
waist shackles be used on any
pregnant female prisoner who is | ||
in labor. Upon the pregnant female
prisoner's entry to the | ||
hospital
delivery room, a county correctional officer must be | ||
posted immediately outside
the
delivery room. The Sheriff must | ||
provide for adequate personnel to monitor
the pregnant female | ||
prisoner during her transport to and from the
hospital and | ||
during her
stay at the hospital.
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(Source: P.A. 91-253, eff. 1-1-00.)
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