Public Act 90-0506 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0506
SB521 Enrolled LRB9002477RCks
AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 by adding
Section 32-4c.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
adding Section 32-4c as follows:
(720 ILCS 5/32-4c new)
Sec. 32-4c. Witnesses; prohibition on accepting payments
before judgment or verdict.
(a) A person who, after the commencement of a criminal
prosecution, has been identified in the criminal discovery
process as a person who may be called as a witness in a
criminal proceeding shall not accept or receive, directly or
indirectly, any payment or benefit in consideration for
providing information obtained as a result of witnessing an
event or occurrence or having personal knowledge of certain
facts in relation to the criminal proceeding.
(b) A violation of this Section is a Class B misdemeanor
for which the court may impose a fine not to exceed 3 times
the amount of compensation requested, accepted, or received.
(c) This Section remains applicable until the judgment
of the court in the action if the defendant is tried by the
court without a jury or the rendering of the verdict by the
jury if the defendant is tried by jury in the action.
(d) This Section does not apply to any of the following
circumstances:
(1) To the lawful compensation paid to expert
witnesses, investigators, employees, or agents by a
prosecutor, law enforcement agency, or an attorney
employed to represent a person in a criminal matter.
(2) To the lawful compensation or benefits provided
to an informant by a prosecutor or law enforcement
agency.
(2.5) To the lawful compensation or benefits, or
both, provided to an informant under a local anti-crime
program, such as Crime Stoppers, We-Tip, and similar
programs designed to solve crimes or that foster the
detection of crime and encourage persons through the
programs and otherwise to come forward with information
about criminal activity.
(2.6) To the lawful compensation or benefits, or
both, provided by a private individual to another private
individual as a reward for information leading to the
arrest and conviction of specified offenders.
(3) To the lawful compensation paid to a publisher,
editor, reporter, writer, or other person connected with
or employed by a newspaper, magazine, television or radio
station or any other publishing or media outlet for
disclosing information obtained from another person
relating to an offense.
(e) For purposes of this Section, "publishing or media
outlet" means a news gathering organization that sells or
distributes news to newspapers, television, or radio
stations, or a cable or broadcast television or radio network
that disseminates news and information.
(f) The person referred to in subsection (a) of this
Section may receive written notice from counsel for either
the prosecution or defense of the fact that he or she has
been identified as a person who may be called as a witness in
a criminal proceeding and his or her responsibilities and
possible penalties under this Section. This Section shall be
applicable only if the person referred to in subsection (a)
of this Section received the written notice referred to in
this subsection (f).
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.