State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Public Acts

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Public Act 91-0363

HB0041 Enrolled                                LRB9100165RCks

    AN ACT to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 by
adding Section 115-10.4.

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

    Section  5.  The  Code  of  Criminal Procedure of 1963 is
amended by adding Section 115-10.4 as follows:

    (725 ILCS 5/115-10.4 new)
    Sec. 115-10.4.  Admissibility of  prior  statements  when
witness is deceased.
    (a)  A  statement  not  specifically covered by any other
hearsay  exception  but  having   equivalent   circumstantial
guarantees  of trustworthiness is not excluded by the hearsay
rule if the declarant is deceased and if the court determines
that:
         (1)  the statement  is  offered  as  evidence  of  a
    material fact; and
         (2)  the  statement  is  more probative on the point
    for which it is offered than any other evidence which the
    proponent can procure through reasonable efforts; and
         (3)  the general purposes of this  Section  and  the
    interests  of justice will best be served by admission of
    the statement into evidence.
    (b)  A statement may not be admitted under this exception
unless the proponent of it makes known to the  adverse  party
sufficiently  in  advance  of the trial or hearing to provide
the adverse party with a fair opportunity to prepare to  meet
it, the proponent's intention to offer the statement, and the
particulars  of  the  statement,  including  the  name of the
declarant.
    (c)  Unavailability as a witness under  this  Section  is
limited to the situation in which the declarant is deceased.
    (d)  Any  prior  statement  that is sought to be admitted
under this Section must have been made by the declarant under
oath at a trial, hearing, or other proceeding.
    (e)  Nothing  in  this  Section  shall  render  a   prior
statement  inadmissible  for  purposes of impeachment because
the statement was not recorded or otherwise fails to meet the
criteria set forth in this Section.

    Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
becoming law.

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