SA2 Text, SA2 Summary

Sentencing Changes

AMENDS THE UNIFIED CODE OF CORRECTIONS

• HABITUAL CRIMINALS
  • The bill amends the statute on recidivism and habitual criminals to say the first offense to count toward being a habitual criminal must occur when a person is age 21 or older. While the prior statute allowed all felonies to “count” toward sentencing someone inthe  as Class X felony category, the new statute says that the defendant must have been 21 or older for the first offense, in order to be convicted of a Class 1 or Class 2 forcible felony.

AMENDS THE CRIMINAL CODE OF 2012

• FELONY-MURDER 
  • The bill narrows the scope of Illinois’s felony-murder law. Right now, in Illinois, a person can be charged with felony-murder (which is part of the first-degree murder statute and carries a minimum sentence of 20 years), if they participated in an underlying felony and anyone died. HB3653, SA2 changes the law to say a person cannot be charged with felony-murder if a third party (such as a police officer, homeowner, or store clerk, for example), do the act which causes the death. Unless a co-defendant kills another co-defendant, it addresses situations in which a co-defendant is killed.
  • It amends Sec 9.1 9 ( c ) to say: “he or she, acting alone or with one or more participants, commits or attempts to commit a forcible felony other than second degree murder, and in the course of or in furtherance of such crime or flight there from, he or she or another participant causes the death of a person.”

AMENDS MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCING

• Without contradicting other laws, this allows a court, when considering a sentence for an offense with a mandatory minimum prison sentence, to instead sentence the offender to probation, conditional discharge, or a lesser term of imprisonment it deems appropriate if:
  • (1) The offense involves the use or possession of drugs, retail theft, or driving on a revoked license due to unpaid financial obligations.
  • (2) The court finds that the defendant does not pose a risk to public safety.
  • (3) The interest of justice requires imposing a term of probation, conditional discharge, or a lesser term of imprisonment. The court must state on the record its reasons for imposing probation, conditional discharge, or a lesser term of imprisonment.

Prison Changes

AMENDS THE UNIFIED CODE OF CORRECTIONS

• SENTENCING CREDITS

This information is revised from a summary written by John Maki. The bill amends the law to:

• Offer guidance on how risk assessment should be used.
• Specify that forcible felonies are eligible for sentencing credits. (There is new language about a demonstrated commitment to rehabilitation.)
• Allow people serving longer sentences to earn a proportionally higher credit; the bill allows people serving sentences of less than five years to earn 180 days and allows people serving sentences of five years or more to earn up to 365 days.
• Provide clearer structure and transparency to credit revocation by requiring the use of a sanctions matrix that aligns credit revocation rates systemwide and creates behavioral incentives for people who have lost credits due to violations by requiring a periodic review and restoration process based on maintained good conduct after the violation.
• Creates more uniform access to earned program credits for all people across the IDOC system. These changes include:
  • Allowing people in Adult Transition Centers to earn program credits for successful progression through program tiers.
  • Allowing people to earn credits (at a lower rate) for self-improvement programs not currently covered by the program credit, and for volunteer activities and work assignments other than correctional industries.
  • Granting partial credit to people who start, but for reasons outside their control (such as injury, illness, or facility transfer) are unable to complete programs.
  • Allows people who are on the waiting list for a program but then get transferred to a different prison to maintain portable waitlist priority at the new facility.

• CALCULATION OF TERM OF IMPRISONMENT
  • For the purpose of sentence credit, home detention, such as curfews that restrict movement for 12 hours or more per day, counts as part of a prison term.
    • A person can be considered in custody, and thus receive sentencing credit, even if they are not on electronic monitoring.

• PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
  • The bill amends eligibility for programs so people who have previously been convicted of certain felony drug crimes can be considered as though they had a Class A misdemeanor.

• MANDATORY SUPERVISED RELEASE (MSR)
  • This changes the rules on how mandatory supervised release terms are to be written into the sentencing order. It:
    • Creates new, more nuanced tiers of mandated MSR terms by offenses for people convicted BEFORE December 12, 2005 (the effective date of Public Act 94-715). These terms are:
      • 3 years: first degree murder, criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, and criminal sexual assault
      • 18 months (NEW TIER): most Class X felonies
      • 12 months (WAS 2 years): most Class 1 and 2 felonies
      • NO SET MSR for Class 3 or 4 felonies, except:
        • If the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) determines it is necessary, and, if they do,the terms must be 12 months.
    • For people serving at 85% of their sentences (per Truth in Sentencing), others convicted after January 1, 2009, and all others:
      • The term of mandatory supervised release shall be as follows:
        • 3 years: Class X felony
        • 2 years: Class 1 or Class 2 felonies
        • 1 year: Class 3 or Class 4 felonies

• PLACE OF CONFINEMENT

HB3653, SA2:

• Expands the Illinois Department of Corrections’ (IDOC) ability to offer electronic home detention (ED), adult transition center (ATC) placement, or other programs to some incarcerated people with less than four months remaining on their prison sentences.
  • This applies to Class 3 and Class 4 felonies, not including violent crimes as defined in Section 3 of the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act.
• Amends the definition of “home detention” to include clarification that confinement need not be 24 hours per day, and may or may not include electronic monitoring (EM)..
  • It also states that EM is not required for the purposes of sentencing credit.
• Requires that, at a minimum, any person ordered to pretrial home confinement with or without electronic monitoring must be provided with open movement spread out over no fewer than two days per week. This allows people to participate in basic activities such as grocery shopping, employment, medical and mental health treatment, education, and religious services. Clarifies that approving changes to a person’s residence cannot be unreasonably withheld. Clarifies that a person who is on EM must remain in violation for at least 48 hours to be considered guilty of a Class 3 felony (rather than previous language that did not specify the length or seriousness of the violation).

Pregnant Prisoner Rights (This section applies to counties, all State Sheriff departments and IDOC.)Corrections officials must receive medical and mental health care training on issues related to the treatment of pregnant women. In addition:

• Facilities must offer education to pregnant women in prison regarding prenatal care, parenting skills, and postpartum recovery.
• For a period of 72 hours after birth, postpartum recovery time is required. After birth, a woman can not be placed in administrative segregation for 30 days or be placed in a bed elevated more than three feet above the floor.

Creates the Reporting of Deaths in Custody Act

This provides that:

• The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) will be the agency collecting and reporting on deaths in custody.
  • The bill makes it unlawful for law enforcement agencies to fail to report facts to ICJIA.
• ICJIA will create a standardized form to be used for the purpose of collecting information about people who die in custody.
• The section applies to prisons, jails, lock-ups, and people who die as a result of a peace officer’s use of force.
• There is a process for reporting and standards around how investigations are to be handled.
  • Deaths must be reported within 30 days.
• Next of kin of decedent must be notified “as soon as possible in a suitable manner giving an accurate factual account.”
• IDOC has a dedicated family liaison to report developments.

Pre-trial Changes

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963

• The bill abolishes cash bail. (Learn more.)

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012.

• RIGHT TO COMMUNICATE
  • This creates tighter standards by increasing detainees’ access to a phone. It mandates that detainees receive three phone calls within three hours after arrival, rather than after a “reasonable time.”
  • It gives detainees the right to retrieve phone numbers that are saved on their phones.

Amends Community-Law Enforcement Partnership for Deflection and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act

• This expands the definition of “deflection” by also making non-law enforcement first responders—EMS and fire departments—eligible to lead programs and apply for grant funds, and acknowledges co-responder approaches.
• It allows a portion of program funds to be used for public and practitioner awareness and on training and technical assistance for programs.
• It adds training requirements for law enforcement and other first responders in funded programs to support understanding of substance use disorders, stigma elimination, working with community, and racially equitable programming.
• Program funds are prioritized for communities impacted by the war on drugs with police-community relations issues, and with disproportionate lack of access to mental health and drug treatment.
• It makes grant program administration changes related to supporting existing data sharing/collection requirements and to eligible program expenses.

Policing Changes

Creates the Statewide Use of Force Standardization Act

• This establishes legislative intent to create statewide use of force standards for law enforcement agencies.

Creates the Task Force on Constitutional Rights and Remedies

This provides that:

• A Task Force is created to review research, best practices, and effective interventions to formulate recommendations.
• The Task Force must produce a report detailing its findings, recommendations, and needed resources. The report must be submitted by  May 1, 2021 to the General Assembly and the Governor.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012

• DEADLY FORCE
  • It is official misconduct for an employee of a law enforcement agency to knowingly fail to turn on an officer-worn body camera or turn off an officer-worn body camera when there is a reasonable opportunity to act in a manner that is consistent with the officer-worn body camera policy of the respective law enforcement agency or when he or she knowingly uses or communicates, directly or indirectly, information acquired in the course of employment.

Amends the Open Meetings Act

• The bill says deliberations for decisions of the Illinois State Police Merit Board, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, and the Certification Review Panel regarding certification and decertification of law enforcement officers are not open meetings under the Act.

Amends the Freedom of Information Act

• This provides that information which is prohibited from disclosure by the Illinois Police Training Act is not subject to disclosure under the Act.
• Records contained in the Officer Professional Conduct Database, except to the extent authorized under that provision, are not subject to disclosure under the Act.

Amends the State Employee Indemnification Act

• The bill defines members of the Certification Review Panel as employees.

Amends the State Police Act concerning discipline of Illinois State Police officers and the appointment of the Illinois State Police Merit Board

Amends the Illinois Police Training Act

• The bill changes the misdemeanor offenses for which a law enforcement officer may be decertified.
• It grants the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board the power:
  • To review and ensure all law enforcement officers remain in compliance with the Act and any administrative rules adopted under the Act.
  • To suspend any certificate for a definite period, limit or restrict any certificate, or revoke any certificate.
• It creates the Illinois Law Enforcement Certification Review Panel to make recommendations to the Board on the decertification of law enforcement officers.

Amends the Uniform Crime Reporting Act

This amendment requires the Illinois State Police to:

• Publish monthly crime statistics.
• Participate in and submit use of force information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Use of Force Database. This information must be submitted monthly.
• Submit a report of an incident involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis.
• Submit a report of an incident involving use of force, including discharging a gun at or near a person, regardless of whether this results in death.

The bill also adds preference in competitive grants for agencies in compliance on reporting.

Amends Uniform Peace Officers Disciplinary Act 

HB3653, SA2:

• Removes the requirement of informing the officer being accused of the names of complainants in advance of administrative proceeding.
• Removes the provision to inform officers of the investigating officer’s identity.
• Removes the requirement for complainants to have affidavits or other legal documents.
• Creates an anonymous complaint policy.

Other Changes

Creates the No Representation Without Population Act

This provides that:

• The State Board of Elections will have to prepare redistricting population data to reflect incarcerated persons at their residential address prior to incarceration.
• The language creates a mechanism for IDOC to electronically track an incarcerated person’s last known address.
• The first report is due within 30 days of the effective date of legislation, then annually before May 1.
• Data will be the basis of the legislative and representative Districts required to be created pursuant to Section 3 of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution. This data will not be used for other purposes.
• Incarcerated populations residing at unknown geographic locations within the State will not be used to determine the ideal population of any set of districts, wards, or precincts.

Amends Crime Victims Compensation Act

• The Attorney General is added as a place people can apply for compensation (from just Court of Claims).
• The bill adds “anyone living in the household of a person killed or injured in a relationship that is substantially similar to that of a parent, spouse, or child” to the definition of victim.
• It increases the maximum compensation to $10,000.
• The “felon as victim” section is amended to say that the victim’s criminal history or felony status can not automatically prevent compensation, but that no compensation may be granted to a victim while the applicant or victim is held in a correctional institution.
• It clarifies the application process and allows people who applied before 1/1/2021 to file.

Effective July 1, 2021, except for certain provisions that are effective either January 1, 2022, January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2025.