093_HB0567enr

 
HB0567 Enrolled                      LRB093 05571 MBS 05663 b

 1        AN ACT concerning criminal law.

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

 4        Section 5.  The Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act
 5    is amended by changing Sections 8.5 and 9 as follows:

 6        (725 ILCS 120/8.5)
 7        Sec.  8.5.  Statewide  victim  and  witness  notification
 8    system.
 9        (a)  The Attorney General may establish  a  crime  victim
10    and witness notification system to assist public officials in
11    carrying  out their duties to notify and inform crime victims
12    and witnesses under Section 4.5 of this Act as  the  Attorney
13    General   specifies  by  rule.   The  system  shall  download
14    necessary information from participating officials  into  its
15    computers,   where  it  shall  be  maintained,  updated,  and
16    automatically  transmitted  to  victims  and   witnesses   by
17    telephone, computer, or written notice.
18        (b)  The   Illinois   Department   of   Corrections,  the
19    Department of Human Services, and the Prisoner  Review  Board
20    shall   cooperate   with   the   Attorney   General   in  the
21    implementation of this Section and shall provide  information
22    as necessary to the effective operation of the system.
23        (c)  State's  attorneys,  circuit court clerks, and local
24    law enforcement and correctional authorities may  enter  into
25    agreements with the Attorney General for participation in the
26    system.   The Attorney General may provide those who elect to
27    participate  with  the  equipment,  software,   or   training
28    necessary to bring their offices into the system.
29        (d)  The  provision  of  information to crime victims and
30    witnesses through the Attorney General's notification  system
31    satisfies  a  given  State  or local official's corresponding
 
HB0567 Enrolled             -2-      LRB093 05571 MBS 05663 b
 1    obligation under Section 4.5 to provide the information.
 2        (e)  The Attorney General  may  provide  for  telephonic,
 3    electronic,   or   other   public   access  to  the  database
 4    established under this Section.
 5        (f)  The Attorney General shall adopt rules as  necessary
 6    to  implement this Section.  The rules shall include, but not
 7    be limited to, provisions for the scope and operation of  any
 8    system  the  Attorney  General  may establish and procedures,
 9    requirements, and standards for entering into  agreements  to
10    participate in the system and to receive equipment, software,
11    or training.
12        (g)  There  is  established in the Office of the Attorney
13    General a Crime  Victim  and  Witness  Notification  Advisory
14    Committee  consisting  of  those victims advocates, sheriffs,
15    State's Attorneys, circuit court clerks, Illinois  Department
16    of  Corrections, and Prisoner Review Board employees that the
17    Attorney General chooses to appoint.   The  Attorney  General
18    shall designate one member to chair the Committee.
19             (1)  The Committee shall consult with and advise the
20        Attorney  General  as  to  the  exercise  of the Attorney
21        General's authority under this  Section,  including,  but
22        not limited to:
23                  (i)  the  design,  scope,  and operation of the
24             notification system;
25                  (ii)  the  content  of  any  rules  adopted  to
26             implement this Section;
27                  (iii)  the procurement of  hardware,  software,
28             and  support  for  the  system,  including choice of
29             supplier or operator; and
30                  (iv)  the acceptance of agreements with and the
31             award  of  equipment,  software,  or   training   to
32             officials that seek to participate in the system.
33             (2)  The  Committee  shall  review  the  status  and
34        operation  of  the  system  and  report  any findings and
 
HB0567 Enrolled             -3-      LRB093 05571 MBS 05663 b
 1        recommendations for changes to the Attorney  General  and
 2        the General Assembly by November 1 of each year.
 3             (3)  The  members  of the Committee shall receive no
 4        compensation  for  their  services  as  members  of   the
 5        Committee,   but  may  be  reimbursed  for  their  actual
 6        expenses incurred in serving on the Committee.
 7    (Source: P.A. 91-237, eff. 1-1-00.)

 8        (725 ILCS 120/9) (from Ch. 38, par. 1408)
 9        Sec.  9.   This  Act  does  not  limit  any   rights   or
10    responsibilities otherwise enjoyed by or imposed upon victims
11    or witnesses of violent crime, nor does it grant any person a
12    cause  of  action  for damages or attorneys fees.  Any act of
13    omission  or  commission  by  any  law  enforcement  officer,
14    circuit court clerk,  or State's Attorney,  by  the  Attorney
15    General,  Prisoner  Review  Board, Department of Corrections,
16    Department of Human  Services,  or  other  State  agency,  or
17    private  entity  under  contract pursuant to Section 8, or by
18    any employee of any State  agency  or  private  entity  under
19    contract  pursuant  to  Section  8  acting  in  good faith in
20    rendering crime victim's assistance  or  otherwise  enforcing
21    this Act shall not impose civil liability upon the individual
22    or  entity  or his or her supervisor or employer.  Nothing in
23    this Act shall create a basis for vacating a conviction or  a
24    ground for appellate relief in any criminal case.  Failure of
25    the  crime  victim  to  receive  notice as required, however,
26    shall not deprive the court of the power to act regarding the
27    proceeding before it; nor shall any such  failure  grant  the
28    defendant the right to seek a continuance.
29    (Source: P.A. 90-744, eff. 1-1-99; 91-237, eff. 1-1-00.)