102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2389

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Laura Fine

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
20 ILCS 4070/Act rep.

    Creates the Hate and Extremism Prevention Task Force Act. Provides for appointment of members to the Task Force. Provides that other state entities shall be required to support the Task Force. Provides that the Task Force shall issue an annual report concerning hate and extremism in Illinois, establish a diverse advisory board of stakeholders, and develop training programs related to hate and extremism crimes and incidents. Repeals the Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes Act. Effective July 1, 2021.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Hate
5and Extremism Prevention Task Force Act.
 
6    Section 5. Hate and Extremism Task Force; composition and
7membership.
8    (a) There is created the Hate and Extremism Task Force
9(hereinafter referred to as the Task Force) consisting of 9
10members appointed as follows:
11        (1) 3 members appointed by the Governor, comprised of
12    one of the Governor's representatives and two community
13    representatives;
14        (2) the President of the Senate or his or her
15    designee;
16        (3) the Minority Leader of the Senate or his or her
17    designee;
18        (4) the Speaker of the House of Representatives or his
19    or her designee;
20        (5) the Minority Leader of the House of
21    Representatives or his or her designee;
22        (6) the Director of the Illinois State Police or his
23    or her designee; and

 

 

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1        (7) the Attorney General or his or her designee; this
2    member shall also serve as chairperson.
3    The appointed members of the Task Force shall be a
4representative cross-section of the people of Illinois,
5accounting for the diversity of the State, both in the makeup
6of its communities and in its geographic breadth.
7    (b) The members of the Task Force shall convene at least
8every 2 months (minimum 6 meetings per year). The Task Force
9shall be assembled and hold its first meeting no later than 60
10days after the effective date of this Act.
11    (c) The Task Force shall be housed within the Office of the
12Attorney General. The Task Force budget is subject to
13appropriation. The members of the Task Force shall serve
14without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their
15reasonable and necessary expenses from funds appropriated for
16that purpose.
17    (d) The Task Force may employ skilled experts with the
18approval of the chairperson and shall receive the cooperation
19of those State agencies it deems appropriate to assist the
20Task Force in carrying out its duties.
21    (e) The following State entities shall be required to
22provide administrative and other support to the Task Force:
23the Holocaust and Genocide Commission, the Human Rights
24Commission, the Violence Prevention Task Force, the Illinois
25Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, the Illinois State
26Police, and the Illinois Terrorism Task Force.
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. Core duties. The Task Force shall have the
2following duties:
3        (1) issue an Annual Report on the State of Hate and
4    Extremism in Illinois as provided in Section 15;
5        (2) establish a diverse Advisory Board of stakeholders
6    and community partners to provide broad representation for
7    Illinoisans. This Advisory Board shall play a crucial and
8    active role in helping properly inform the work of the
9    Task Force, ground it in the current experience of diverse
10    constituents, and help disseminate and advocate for the
11    recommendations and best practices generated by the Task
12    Force;
13        (3) convene meetings for multi-directional
14    information-sharing statewide, involving a wide variety of
15    stakeholders, including all levels of law enforcement,
16    community organizations and representatives, officials,
17    and other experts;
18        (4) evaluate and potentially develop training programs
19    for the State's law enforcement agencies related to
20    hate-and-extremism-motivated crimes and incidents, as well
21    as for other State agencies, schools, and community
22    actors;
23        (5) assist and support local governments, law
24    enforcement, and community organizations in preventing,
25    investigating, and detecting offenses committed by reason

 

 

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1    of the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion,
2    ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity,
3    physical or mental disability, or national origin of
4    another individual or group of individuals, regardless of
5    the existence of any other motivating factor or factors,
6    in this State, as set out in Section 12-7.1 of the Criminal
7    Code of 2012;
8        (6) shape its activity to maximize usefulness for law
9    enforcement in responding to and investigating relevant
10    incidents;
11        (7) foster coordination between law enforcement and
12    other actors at the State, local, and federal levels,
13    including but not limited to: the Illinois State Police,
14    the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Violence
15    Prevention Task Force, the Illinois Terrorism Task Force,
16    and other expert groups; and
17        (8) in all its activities, the Task Force shall seek
18    to protect civil liberties, including freedom of speech,
19    freedom of association, and freedom of religion in
20    accordance with the United States Constitution and
21    relevant law.
 
22    Section 15. Annual State of Hate and Extremism in Illinois
23Report. The Task Force shall issue an Annual State of Hate and
24Extremism in Illinois Report to the Governor and the General
25Assembly, by July 1 of each year, that describes its

 

 

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1activities for the previous year, and its recommendations for
2the following year. This annual requirement must include a
3publicly available Report. The first such Annual Report shall
4be made available by July 1, 2022. This Report shall:
5        (1) assess and provide recommendations to improve the
6    practices, structures, resources, and relevant trainings
7    available to and used by law enforcement statewide;
8        (2) provide a comprehensive accounting of the state of
9    extremist activity statewide;
10        (3) include recommendations for actions to be taken by
11    the Executive, the General Assembly, and communities;
12        (4) provide holistic remedies, tools, and
13    recommendations to policymakers to reduce hate and
14    extremism statewide, and to build and strengthen capacity
15    for response to such activities;
16        (5) define "extremism", to describe what kinds of
17    groups and activities constitute extremism, which
18    activities are protected, and where public threat requires
19    monitoring or intervention; and
20        (6) provide a comprehensive understanding of factors
21    contributing to hate-related and extremism-related
22    violence. This comprehensive understanding shall include:
23            (A) education, awareness, and training;
24            (B) reporting, monitoring, and investigation;
25            (C) enforcement, intervention, as well as
26        restorative and rehabilitative measures;

 

 

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1            (D) online hate and extremism speech and activity;
2        and
3            (E) social and other community factors that foster
4        extremism, including recruitment and youth
5        participation.
 
6    Section 20. Additional duties. The Task Force shall also
7have the following duties:
8        (1) the Attorney General's Office shall work with the
9    Task Force to utilize and promote its existing Civil
10    Rights Hotline to aid in tracking hate and extremism
11    activities statewide;
12        (2) assist crime prevention groups, religious
13    institutions, community groups, social service agencies,
14    and elected officials in improving awareness of hate
15    crimes and extremism-related violence, and State laws
16    addressing discrimination and hate-motivated violence;
17        (3) share data and information analysis,
18    identification and best practices, providing for
19    transparency and accountability in the education,
20    training, investigation, prosecution and rehabilitation of
21    those involved in and victimized by hate crimes and
22    extremism; and
23        (4) assist local law enforcement in obtaining relevant
24    grants, including federal grants.
 

 

 

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1    (20 ILCS 4070/Act rep.)
2    Section 90. The Commission on Discrimination and Hate
3Crimes Act is repealed.
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July
51, 2021.