Public Act 90-0744
HB0025 Enrolled LRB9000464PTcw
AN ACT to amend the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses
Act by adding Section 8 and changing Section 9.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act
is amended by adding Section 8 and changing Section 9 as
follows:
(725 ILCS 120/8 new)
Sec. 8. Privately operated crime victim and witness
notification service. A county sheriff with the approval of
the county board in counties with 3,000,000 or fewer
inhabitants, or a county department of corrections with the
approval of the county board of commissioners and under the
direction of the sheriff in counties with more than 3,000,000
inhabitants, and the office of the State's Attorney with the
approval of the respective county board or county board of
commissioners may contract with a private entity to operate a
crime victim and witness notification service. The county
sheriff, the county department of corrections, and the
State's Attorney shall make available to the private entity
the information to implement the notification procedure in a
timely manner. The private entity shall immediately deliver
the notification information to the requesting crime victim
or witness according to the requirements of this Act for
certain offenses determined by the county board upon the
release or discharge of a defendant or prisoner in county
custody. The release of information to the private entity to
implement the contract shall be limited to the extent
necessary to comply with the provisions of this Act.
(725 ILCS 120/9) (from Ch. 38, par. 1408)
Sec. 9. This Act does not limit any rights or
responsibilities otherwise enjoyed by or imposed upon victims
or witnesses of violent crime, nor does it grant any person a
cause of action for damages or attorneys fees. Any act of
omission or commission by any law enforcement officer or
State's Attorney, by the Prisoner Review Board, Department of
Corrections, Department of Human Services, or other State
agency, or private entity under contract pursuant to Section
8, or by any employee of any State agency or private entity
under contract pursuant to Section 8 acting in good faith in
rendering crime victim's assistance or otherwise enforcing
this Act shall not impose civil liability upon the individual
or entity or his or her supervisor or employer. Nothing in
this Act shall create a basis for vacating a conviction or a
ground for appellate relief in any criminal case. Failure of
the crime victim to receive notice as required, however,
shall not deprive the court of the power to act regarding the
proceeding before it; nor shall any such failure grant the
defendant the right to seek a continuance.
(Source: P.A. 88-489; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)