101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB4012

 

Introduced 1/4/2021, by Sen. John F. Curran - Dan McConchie - Dale A. Righter - Jil Tracy, Paul Schimpf, et al.

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
725 ILCS 215/2  from Ch. 38, par. 1702
725 ILCS 215/3  from Ch. 38, par. 1703
725 ILCS 215/4  from Ch. 38, par. 1704

    Amends the Statewide Grand Jury Act. Expands the authority of a Statewide Grand Jury to investigate and indict offenses involving the corruption of a public official, to include theft, fraud, extortion, or a violation of the Official Misconduct and Public Contracts Article of the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that venue for purposes of trial for any offense involving the corruption of a public official may be in any county in which any portion of the offense occurred.


LRB101 22337 RLC 73380 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB4012LRB101 22337 RLC 73380 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Statewide Grand Jury Act is amended by
5changing Sections 2, 3, and 4 as follows:
 
6    (725 ILCS 215/2)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1702)
7    Sec. 2. (a) County grand juries and State's Attorneys have
8always had and shall continue to have primary responsibility
9for investigating, indicting, and prosecuting persons who
10violate the criminal laws of the State of Illinois. However, in
11recent years organized terrorist activity directed against
12innocent civilians, and certain criminal enterprises, and
13public corruption have developed that require investigation,
14indictment, and prosecution on a statewide or multicounty
15level. The criminal enterprises exist as a result of the allure
16of profitability present in narcotic activity, public
17corruption, the unlawful sale and transfer of firearms, and
18streetgang related felonies and organized terrorist activity
19is supported by the contribution of money and expert assistance
20from geographically diverse sources. In order to shut off the
21life blood of terrorism and weaken or eliminate the criminal
22enterprises, assets, and property used to further these
23offenses must be frozen, and any profit must be removed. State

 

 

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1statutes exist that can accomplish that goal. Among them are
2the offense of money laundering, violations of Articles Article
329D, 33, and 33E of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal
4Code of 2012, the Narcotics Profit Forfeiture Act, and
5gunrunning. Local prosecutors need investigative personnel and
6specialized training to attack and eliminate these profits. In
7light of the transitory and complex nature of conduct that
8constitutes these criminal activities, the many diverse
9property interests that may be used, acquired directly or
10indirectly as a result of these criminal activities, and the
11many places that illegally obtained property may be located, it
12is the purpose of this Act to create a limited, multicounty
13Statewide Grand Jury with authority to investigate, indict, and
14prosecute: narcotic activity, including cannabis and
15controlled substance trafficking, narcotics racketeering,
16money laundering, violations of the Cannabis and Controlled
17Substances Tax Act, and violations of Articles Article 29D, 33,
18and 33E of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of
192012; public corruption crimes; the unlawful sale and transfer
20of firearms; gunrunning; and streetgang related felonies.
21    (b) A Statewide Grand Jury may also investigate, indict,
22and prosecute violations facilitated by the use of a computer
23of any of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
24child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
25juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile prostitution,
26juvenile pimping, child pornography, aggravated child

 

 

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1pornography, or promoting juvenile prostitution except as
2described in subdivision (a)(4) of Section 11-14.4 of the
3Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012.
4(Source: P.A. 101-593, eff. 12-4-19.)
 
5    (725 ILCS 215/3)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1703)
6    Sec. 3. Written application for the appointment of a
7Circuit Judge to convene and preside over a Statewide Grand
8Jury, with jurisdiction extending throughout the State, shall
9be made to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Upon such
10written application, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
11shall appoint a Circuit Judge from the circuit where the
12Statewide Grand Jury is being sought to be convened, who shall
13make a determination that the convening of a Statewide Grand
14Jury is necessary.
15    In such application the Attorney General shall state that
16the convening of a Statewide Grand Jury is necessary because of
17an alleged offense or offenses set forth in this Section
18involving more than one county of the State and identifying any
19such offense alleged; and
20        (a) that he or she believes that the grand jury
21    function for the investigation and indictment of the
22    offense or offenses cannot effectively be performed by a
23    county grand jury together with the reasons for such
24    belief, and
25        (b)(1) that each State's Attorney with jurisdiction

 

 

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1    over an offense or offenses to be investigated has
2    consented to the impaneling of the Statewide Grand Jury, or
3        (2) if one or more of the State's Attorneys having
4    jurisdiction over an offense or offenses to be investigated
5    fails to consent to the impaneling of the Statewide Grand
6    Jury, the Attorney General shall set forth good cause for
7    impaneling the Statewide Grand Jury.
8    If the Circuit Judge determines that the convening of a
9Statewide Grand Jury is necessary, he or she shall convene and
10impanel the Statewide Grand Jury with jurisdiction extending
11throughout the State to investigate and return indictments:
12        (a) For violations of any of the following or for any
13    other criminal offense committed in the course of violating
14    any of the following: Article 29D of the Criminal Code of
15    1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, the Illinois Controlled
16    Substances Act, the Cannabis Control Act, the
17    Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act, or
18    the Narcotics Profit Forfeiture Act; a streetgang related
19    felony offense; Section 24-2.1, 24-2.2, 24-3, 24-3A,
20    24-3.1, 24-3.3, 24-3.4, 24-4, or 24-5 or subsection
21    24-1(a)(4), 24-1(a)(6), 24-1(a)(7), 24-1(a)(9),
22    24-1(a)(10), or 24-1(c) of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
23    Criminal Code of 2012; or a money laundering offense;
24    provided that the violation or offense involves acts
25    occurring in more than one county of this State; and
26        (a-5) For violations facilitated by the use of a

 

 

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1    computer, including the use of the Internet, the World Wide
2    Web, electronic mail, message board, newsgroup, or any
3    other commercial or noncommercial on-line service, of any
4    of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
5    child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
6    juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile
7    prostitution, juvenile pimping, child pornography,
8    aggravated child pornography, or promoting juvenile
9    prostitution except as described in subdivision (a)(4) of
10    Section 11-14.4 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
11    Criminal Code of 2012; and
12        (a-6) For violations of offenses involving the
13    corruption of a public official, including theft, fraud,
14    extortion or a violation of Article 33 or 33E of the
15    Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; and
16        (b) For the offenses of perjury, subornation of
17    perjury, communicating with jurors and witnesses, and
18    harassment of jurors and witnesses, as they relate to
19    matters before the Statewide Grand Jury.
20    "Streetgang related" has the meaning ascribed to it in
21Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus
22Prevention Act.
23    Upon written application by the Attorney General for the
24convening of an additional Statewide Grand Jury, the Chief
25Justice of the Supreme Court shall appoint a Circuit Judge from
26the circuit for which the additional Statewide Grand Jury is

 

 

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1sought. The Circuit Judge shall determine the necessity for an
2additional Statewide Grand Jury in accordance with the
3provisions of this Section. No more than 2 Statewide Grand
4Juries may be empaneled at any time.
5(Source: P.A. 101-593, eff. 12-4-19.)
 
6    (725 ILCS 215/4)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1704)
7    Sec. 4. (a) The presiding judge of the Statewide Grand Jury
8will receive recommendations from the Attorney General as to
9the county in which the Grand Jury will sit. Prior to making
10the recommendations, the Attorney General shall obtain the
11permission of the local State's Attorney to use his or her
12county for the site of the Statewide Grand Jury. Upon receiving
13the Attorney General's recommendations, the presiding judge
14will choose one of those recommended locations as the site
15where the Grand Jury shall sit.
16    Any indictment by a Statewide Grand Jury shall be returned
17to the Circuit Judge presiding over the Statewide Grand Jury
18and shall include a finding as to the county or counties in
19which the alleged offense was committed. Thereupon, the judge
20shall, by order, designate the county of venue for the purpose
21of trial. The judge may also, by order, direct the
22consolidation of an indictment returned by a county grand jury
23with an indictment returned by the Statewide Grand Jury and set
24venue for trial.
25    (b) Venue for purposes of trial for the offense of

 

 

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1narcotics racketeering shall be proper in any county where:
2        (1) Cannabis or a controlled substance which is the
3    basis for the charge of narcotics racketeering was used;
4    acquired; transferred or distributed to, from or through;
5    or any county where any act was performed to further the
6    use; acquisition, transfer or distribution of said
7    cannabis or controlled substance; or
8        (2) Any money, property, property interest, or any
9    other asset generated by narcotics activities was
10    acquired, used, sold, transferred or distributed to, from
11    or through; or,
12        (3) Any enterprise interest obtained as a result of
13    narcotics racketeering was acquired, used, transferred or
14    distributed to, from or through, or where any activity was
15    conducted by the enterprise or any conduct to further the
16    interests of such an enterprise.
17    (c) Venue for purposes of trial for the offense of money
18laundering shall be proper in any county where any part of a
19financial transaction in criminally derived property took
20place, or in any county where any money or monetary interest
21which is the basis for the offense, was acquired, used, sold,
22transferred or distributed to, from, or through.
23    (d) A person who commits the offense of cannabis
24trafficking or controlled substance trafficking may be tried in
25any county.
26    (e) Venue for purposes of trial for any violation of

 

 

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1Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code
2of 2012 may be in the county in which an act of terrorism
3occurs, the county in which material support or resources are
4provided or solicited, the county in which criminal assistance
5is rendered, or any county in which any act in furtherance of
6any violation of Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 or
7the Criminal Code of 2012 occurs.
8    (f) Venue for purposes of trial for any offense involving
9the corruption of a public official may be in any county in
10which any portion of the offense occurred.
11(Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)