SB1976 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB100 09052 MRW 19201 b

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB1976

Introduced 2/10/2017, by Sen. William R. Haine

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Criminal Justice Office Holders Parity and Protection Act. Contains only a short title provision and purpose Section.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal justice office holders.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice Office Holders Parity and Protection Act.

Section 5. Purpose. A major and vital function of State government is the development and maintenance of an effective and efficient criminal justice system to deliver fair and impartial justice for all persons within this State, whether guilty or innocent, as well as for the victims of criminal offenses. To carry out this function, it is vitally important that the various components of the criminal justice system from law enforcement, prosecution, defense, corrections, and the courts operate as effectively as possible. A key to achieving effective operation of the criminal justice system is to have high quality personnel administering the system, with the knowledge, expertise, and experience to deal with the many and increasing demands placed upon them. Retention of high quality personnel is even more important as the criminal justice landscape continues to evolve and change over time. While the number of law enforcement officers and agencies is large even at the county level, the cases generated by the combined efforts of all of these officers and agencies flow into a single office in each county for prosecution, that of State's Attorney. An equally important and necessary counterpart in each county is the Office of Public Defender, charged with supporting the constitutionally protected right of each person charged with a criminal offense to be represented by legal counsel. A major issue is growing regarding the development and retention of high quality State's Attorneys and Public Defenders. Statewide there has been a disturbing trend of highly experienced State's Attorneys and Public Defenders being drawn away from those offices and high quality attorneys declining to serve in them due to significant inequities in those offices when compared with judicial offices that are in direct competition for obtaining the services of experienced and talented attorneys. The purpose of this Act is to address those inequities and extend personal privacy protections similar to those for judges to prosecutors and public defenders.