State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Engrossed ][ Enrolled ][ House Amendment 001 ]

91_SB0315

 
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 1        AN ACT to amend the Counties  Code  by  changing  Section
 2    3-3013.

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

 5        Section  5.  The Counties Code  is  amended  by  changing
 6    Section 3-3013 as follows:

 7        (55 ILCS 5/3-3013) (from Ch. 34, par. 3-3013)
 8        Sec. 3-3013.  Preliminary investigations; blood and urine
 9    analysis; summoning jury. Every coroner, whenever, as soon as
10    he  knows  or is informed that the dead body of any person is
11    found, or lying within his county, whose death  is  suspected
12    of being:
13        (a)  A   sudden  or  violent  death,  whether  apparently
14    suicidal, homicidal or accidental, including but not  limited
15    to  deaths  apparently  caused  or contributed to by thermal,
16    traumatic, chemical, electrical or radiational injury,  or  a
17    complication  of  any of them, or by drowning or suffocation,
18    or as a  result  of  domestic  violence  as  defined  in  the
19    Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986;
20        (b)  A  maternal  or  fetal death due to abortion, or any
21    death due to a sex crime or a crime against nature;
22        (c)  A death  where  the  circumstances  are  suspicious,
23    obscure, mysterious or otherwise unexplained or where, in the
24    written  opinion  of  the  attending  physician, the cause of
25    death is not determined;
26        (d)  A death where addiction to alcohol or  to  any  drug
27    may have been a contributory cause; or
28        (e)  A  death  where  the  decedent was not attended by a
29    licensed physician;
30    shall go to the place where the dead body is, and take charge
31    of the same and shall make a preliminary  investigation  into
 
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 1    the circumstances of the death.  In the case of death without
 2    attendance by a licensed physician the body may be moved with
 3    the  coroner's  consent from the place of death to a mortuary
 4    in the same  county.   Coroners  in  their  discretion  shall
 5    notify  such  physician  as  is designated in accordance with
 6    Section 3-3014 to attempt to ascertain the  cause  of  death,
 7    either by autopsy or otherwise.
 8        In cases of accidental death involving a motor vehicle in
 9    which  the  decedent  was  (1)  the  operator  or a suspected
10    operator of a motor vehicle, or (2) a pedestrian 16 years  of
11    age or older, the coroner shall require that a blood specimen
12    of  at  least  30  cc.,  and  if  medically  possible a urine
13    specimen of at least 30 cc.  or as much as possible up to  30
14    cc.,  be  withdrawn  from  the  body of the decedent within 6
15    hours of the accident causing his death, by such physician as
16    has been designated in accordance with Section 3-3014, or  by
17    the  coroner  or  deputy coroner or a qualified person at the
18    direction of such physician.  If the county does not maintain
19    laboratory facilities for making such analysis, the blood and
20    urine so drawn shall be  sent  to  the  Department  of  State
21    Police  for  analysis, when necessary, of the alcohol, carbon
22    monoxide, and dangerous or  narcotic  drug  content  of  such
23    blood  and urine specimens.  Each specimen submitted shall be
24    accompanied by pertinent information concerning the  decedent
25    upon  a  form prescribed by such Department.  If the analysis
26    is performed in county  laboratory  facilities,  the  coroner
27    shall  forward  the  results  of  each analysis and pertinent
28    information concerning the  decedent  to  the  Department  of
29    Public Health upon a form prescribed by such Department.  The
30    coroner  causing the blood and urine to be withdrawn shall be
31    notified  of  the  results  of  any  analysis  made  by   the
32    Department  of  State  Police  and  the  Department of Public
33    Health shall keep  a  record  of  the  results  of  all  such
34    examinations   to  be  used  for  statistical  purposes.  The
 
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 1    cumulative results of the examinations,  without  identifying
 2    the  individuals  involved,  shall  be  disseminated and made
 3    public by  the  Department  of  Public  Health.   Any  person
 4    drawing blood and urine and any person making any examination
 5    of the blood and urine under the terms of this Division shall
 6    be  immune  from all liability, civil or criminal, that might
 7    otherwise be incurred or imposed.  The coroner shall be  paid
 8    a  fee  of  $10  by  the Department of Public Health for each
 9    acceptable set of blood  and  urine  specimens  sent  to  the
10    Department   of  State  Police  forensic  science  laboratory
11    accompanied by the  required  form  or  for  each  report  of
12    analysis  performed by a county laboratory furnished upon the
13    required form. Upon collection, the coroner shall pay the fee
14    over to the county treasurer for deposit in the general  fund
15    of the county.
16        In  all other cases coming within the jurisdiction of the
17    coroner and referred to  in  subparagraphs  (a)  through  (e)
18    above,  blood,  and whenever possible, urine samples shall be
19    analyzed for the presence of alcohol and other  drugs.   When
20    the coroner suspects that drugs may have been involved in the
21    death,   either   directly  or  indirectly,  a  toxicological
22    examination shall be performed which may include analyses  of
23    blood,  urine, bile, gastric contents and other tissues. When
24    the coroner suspects a death  is  due  to  toxic  substances,
25    other   than  drugs,  the  coroner  shall  consult  with  the
26    toxicologist prior to  collection  of  samples.   Information
27    submitted to the toxicologist shall include information as to
28    height,  weight, age, sex and race of the decedent as well as
29    medical history, medications used by and the manner of  death
30    of decedent.
31        Except  in counties that have a jury commission, in cases
32    of apparent suicide, homicide,  or  accidental  death  or  in
33    other  cases,  within  the  discretion  of  the  coroner, the
34    coroner shall summon 8  persons  of  lawful  age  from  those
 
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 1    persons  drawn  for  petit jurors in the county.  The summons
 2    shall command these persons to present themselves  personally
 3    at  such a place and time as the coroner shall determine, and
 4    may be in any form which the coroner shall determine and  may
 5    incorporate    any    reasonable    form   of   request   for
 6    acknowledgement  which  the  coroner  deems   practical   and
 7    provides  a  reliable  proof  of service.  The summons may be
 8    served by first class mail.  From the 8 persons so  summoned,
 9    the  coroner  shall  select  6  to  serve as the jury for the
10    inquest.  Inquests may be continued from time to time, as the
11    coroner may deem necessary.  The 6 jurors selected in a given
12    case  may  view  the  body  of  the  deceased.  If   at   any
13    continuation of an inquest one or more of the original jurors
14    shall  be unable to continue to serve, the coroner shall fill
15    the vacancy or vacancies. A juror serving  pursuant  to  this
16    paragraph  shall  receive compensation from the county at the
17    same rate as the rate of compensation that is paid  to  petit
18    or  grand jurors in the county.  The coroner shall furnish to
19    each juror without  fee  at  the  time  of  his  discharge  a
20    certificate   of  the  number  of  days  in  attendance at an
21    inquest, and, upon being presented with such certificate, the
22    county treasurer shall pay to the juror the sum provided  for
23    his services.
24        In  counties  which  have  a jury commission, in cases of
25    apparent suicide or homicide  or  of  accidental  death,  the
26    coroner  shall,  and  in  other  cases in his discretion may,
27    conduct an inquest.  The jury  commission  shall  provide  at
28    least  8  jurors  to the coroner, from whom the coroner shall
29    select any 6 to serve as the jury for the inquest.   Inquests
30    may  be  continued  from time to time as the coroner may deem
31    necessary.  The 6 jurors originally chosen in  a  given  case
32    may view the body of the deceased.  If at any continuation of
33    an  inquest  one  or  more  of the 6 jurors originally chosen
34    shall be unable to continue to serve, the coroner shall  fill
 
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 1    the  vacancy  or  vacancies.   At  the  coroner's discretion,
 2    additional jurors to fill such vacancies shall be supplied by
 3    the jury  commission.   A  juror  serving  pursuant  to  this
 4    paragraph  in such county shall receive compensation from the
 5    county at the same rate as the rate of compensation  that  is
 6    paid to petit or grand jurors in the county.
 7        Death  certificates  shall  list  the  cause  of death as
 8    domestic  violence  (as  defined  in  the  Illinois  Domestic
 9    Violence Act of 1986) if that finding is medically justified.
10    In addition, in every case  in  which  domestic  violence  is
11    determined to be the cause of death, the coroner shall report
12    the death to the Department of State Police.
13        All  deaths in State institutions and all deaths of wards
14    of the State in private care facilities or in programs funded
15    by the Department of Human Services under its powers relating
16    to mental health and developmental disabilities or alcoholism
17    and substance abuse or funded by the Department  of  Children
18    and  Family  Services shall be reported to the coroner of the
19    county in which the facility is located.  If the coroner  has
20    reason   to  believe  that  an  investigation  is  needed  to
21    determine whether the death was  caused  by  maltreatment  or
22    negligent  care  of  the  ward  of the State, the coroner may
23    conduct a preliminary investigation of the  circumstances  of
24    such death as in cases of death under circumstances set forth
25    in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this Section.
26    (Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)

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