State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
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Public Act 91-0479

HB0090 Enrolled                                LRB9100598RCks

    AN ACT to  amend  the  Juvenile  Court  Act  of  1987  by
changing Section 5-905.

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

    Section 5.  The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended  by
changing Section 5-905 as follows:

    (705 ILCS 405/5-905)
    Sec. 5-905.  Law enforcement records.
    (1)  Law  Enforcement  Records. Inspection and copying of
law  enforcement  records  maintained  by   law   enforcement
agencies  that  relate  to  a  minor who has been arrested or
taken into custody before his or her 17th birthday  shall  be
restricted  to  the  following  and  when  necessary  for the
discharge of their official duties:
         (a)  A judge of the circuit court and members of the
    staff of the court designated by the judge;
         (b)  Law enforcement officers, probation officers or
    prosecutors or their staff;
         (c)  The  minor,  the  minor's  parents   or   legal
    guardian  and their attorneys, but only when the juvenile
    has been charged with an offense;
         (d)  Adult and Juvenile Prisoner Review Boards;
         (e)  Authorized military personnel;
         (f)  Persons engaged in bona fide research, with the
    permission of the judge of juvenile court and  the  chief
    executive  of  the  agency  that  prepared the particular
    recording:  provided that publication  of  such  research
    results  in  no  disclosure  of  a  minor's  identity and
    protects the confidentiality of the record;
         (g)  Individuals  responsible  for  supervising   or
    providing  temporary  or  permanent  care  and custody of
    minors pursuant  to  orders  of  the  juvenile  court  or
    directives  from  officials of the Department of Children
    and Family Services or the Department of  Human  Services
    who  certify  in writing that the information will not be
    disclosed to any other party except as provided under law
    or order of court;
         (h)  The appropriate  school  official.   Inspection
    and  copying  shall be limited to law enforcement records
    transmitted to the appropriate school official by a local
    law  enforcement  agency  under  a  reciprocal  reporting
    system established  and  maintained  between  the  school
    district  and  the  local  law  enforcement  agency under
    Section 10-20.14 of the School Code  concerning  a  minor
    enrolled  in  a school within the school district who has
    been arrested for any offense classified as a felony or a
    Class A or B misdemeanor.
    (2)  Information identifying victims and alleged  victims
of  sex  offenses,  shall  not be disclosed or open to public
inspection under any circumstances. Nothing in  this  Section
shall  prohibit  the  victim  or  alleged  victim  of any sex
offense from voluntarily disclosing his or her identity.
    (3)  Relevant information, reports and records  shall  be
made  available  to  the  Department  of  Corrections  when a
juvenile offender has been  placed  in  the  custody  of  the
Department of Corrections, Juvenile Division.
    (4)  Nothing   in   this   Section   shall  prohibit  the
inspection  or  disclosure  to  victims  and   witnesses   of
photographs  contained  in  the  records  of  law enforcement
agencies when the inspection or disclosure  is  conducted  in
the  presence  of  a  law enforcement officer for purposes of
identification or apprehension of any person in the course of
any criminal investigation or prosecution.
    (5)  The records of law enforcement  officers  concerning
all  minors under 17 years of age must be maintained separate
from the records of adults and may  not  be  open  to  public
inspection  or  their contents disclosed to the public except
by order of the court or when  the  institution  of  criminal
proceedings  has  been permitted under Section 5-130 or 5-805
or required under Section 5-130 or 5-805 or such a person has
been convicted of a crime and is the subject of  pre-sentence
investigation or when provided by law.
    (6)  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (6),
law enforcement officers may not disclose the identity of any
minor  in  releasing  information to the general public as to
the  arrest,  investigation  or  disposition  of   any   case
involving  a minor. Any victim or parent or legal guardian of
a victim may petition the court  to  disclose  the  name  and
address  of  the  minor  and  the  minor's  parents  or legal
guardian, or both.  Upon a finding by  clear  and  convincing
evidence  that  the  disclosure  is  either necessary for the
victim to pursue a civil remedy  against  the  minor  or  the
minor's parents or legal guardian, or both, or to protect the
victim's  person  or  property from the minor, then the court
may order the disclosure of the information to the victim  or
to  the  parent  or legal guardian of the victim only for the
purpose of the victim pursuing a  civil  remedy  against  the
minor  or  the minor's parents or legal guardian, or both, or
to protect the victim's person or property  from  the  minor.
Upon  written  request,  law enforcement officers may release
the name and address of a minor who has been arrested  for  a
criminal  offense to the victim, or if the victim is a minor,
to the victim's legal custodian, guardian or parent.  The law
enforcement officer may release the information only if he or
she reasonably believes such release would not  endanger  the
person  or  property  of  the  arrested  minor  or his or her
family.
    (7)  Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit law
enforcement agencies when acting in their  official  capacity
from  communicating  with  each  other by letter, memorandum,
teletype or intelligence alert bulletin or  other  means  the
identity or other relevant information pertaining to a person
under  17  years of age.  The information provided under this
subsection (7) shall remain confidential  and  shall  not  be
publicly disclosed, except as otherwise allowed by law.
    (8)  No  person  shall  disclose  information  under this
Section except when acting in his or  her  official  capacity
and as provided by law or order of court.
(Source: P.A. 90-590, eff. 1-1-99.)

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