103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5396

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Will Guzzardi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
730 ILCS 5/3-3-14

    Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Prisoner Review Board shall place no additional restrictions, limitations, or requirements than that provided by the statute creating the procedure for medical release. Provides that upon a determination that the petitioner is eligible for a hearing on medical release, the Prisoner Review Board shall: (1) provide public notice of the petitioner's name, docket number, counsel, and hearing date; and (2) provide a copy of the evaluation and any medical records provided by the Department of Corrections to the petitioner or the petitioner's attorney upon scheduling the institutional hearing. Provides that a hearing on a petitioner's application for medical release is public unless the petitioner requests a non-public hearing. Provides that members of the public shall be permitted to freely attend public hearings on medical release without restriction. Provides that upon denying an eligible petitioner's application for medical release, the Prisoner Review Board shall publish a decision letter outlining the reason for denial. Provides that the decision letter must include an explanation of each statutory factor and the estimated annual cost of the petitioner's continued incarceration, including the petitioner's medical care. Makes technical changes.


LRB103 36926 RLC 67040 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5396LRB103 36926 RLC 67040 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 Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
5changing Section 3-3-14 as follows:
 
6    (730 ILCS 5/3-3-14)
7    Sec. 3-3-14. Procedure for medical release.
8    (a) Definitions.
9        (1) As used in this Section, "medically incapacitated"
10    means that a petitioner an inmate has any diagnosable
11    medical condition, including dementia and severe,
12    permanent medical or cognitive disability, that prevents
13    the petitioner inmate from completing more than one
14    activity of daily living without assistance or that
15    incapacitates the petitioner inmate to the extent that
16    institutional confinement does not offer additional
17    restrictions, and that the condition is unlikely to
18    improve noticeably in the future.
19        (2) As used in this Section, "terminal illness" means
20    a condition that satisfies all of the following criteria:
21            (i) the condition is irreversible and incurable;
22        and
23            (ii) in accordance with medical standards and a

 

 

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1        reasonable degree of medical certainty, based on an
2        individual assessment of the petitioner inmate, the
3        condition is likely to cause death to the petitioner
4        inmate within 18 months.
5    (b) The Prisoner Review Board shall consider an
6application for compassionate release on behalf of any
7petitioner inmate who meets any of the following:
8        (1) is suffering from a terminal illness; or
9        (2) has been diagnosed with a condition that will
10    result in medical incapacity within the next 6 months; or
11        (3) has become medically incapacitated subsequent to
12    sentencing due to illness or injury.
13    (c) Initial application.
14        (1) An initial application for medical release may be
15    filed with the Prisoner Review Board by the petitioner an
16    inmate, a prison official, a medical professional who has
17    treated or diagnosed the petitioner inmate, or the
18    petitioner's an inmate's spouse, parent, guardian,
19    grandparent, aunt or uncle, sibling, child over the age of
20    eighteen years, or attorney. If the initial application is
21    made by someone other than the petitioner inmate, the
22    petitioner inmate, or if the petitioner inmate is
23    medically unable to consent, the guardian or family member
24    designated to represent the petitioner's inmate's
25    interests must consent to the application at the time of
26    the institutional hearing.

 

 

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1        (2) Application materials shall be maintained on the
2    Prisoner Review Board's website and the Department of
3    Corrections' website and maintained in a clearly visible
4    place within the law library and the infirmary of every
5    penal institution and facility operated by the Department
6    of Corrections.
7        (3) The initial application need not be notarized, can
8    be sent via email or facsimile, and must contain the
9    following information:
10            (i) the petitioner's inmate's name and Illinois
11        Department of Corrections number;
12            (ii) the petitioner's inmate's diagnosis;
13            (iii) a statement that the petitioner inmate meets
14        one of the following diagnostic criteria:
15                (A) the petitioner inmate is suffering from a
16            terminal illness;
17                (B) the petitioner inmate has been diagnosed
18            with a condition that will result in medical
19            incapacity within the next 6 months; or
20                (C) the petitioner inmate has become medically
21            incapacitated subsequent to sentencing due to
22            illness or injury.
23        (3.5) The Prisoner Review Board shall place no
24    additional restrictions, limitations, or requirements on
25    applications from petitioners.
26        (4) Upon receiving the petitioner's inmate's initial

 

 

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1    application, the Board shall order the Department of
2    Corrections to have a physician or nurse practitioner
3    evaluate the petitioner inmate and create a written
4    evaluation within ten days of the Board's order. The
5    evaluation shall include but need not be limited to:
6            (i) a concise statement of the petitioner inmate's
7        medical diagnosis, including prognosis, likelihood of
8        recovery, and primary symptoms, to include
9        incapacitation; and
10            (ii) a statement confirming or denying that the
11        petitioner inmate meets one of the criteria stated in
12        subsection (b) of this Section.
13        (5) Upon a determination that the petitioner is
14    eligible for a hearing, the Prisoner Review Board shall:
15            (i) provide public notice of the petitioner's
16        name, docket number, counsel, and hearing date; and
17            (ii) provide a copy of the evaluation and any
18        medical records provided by the Department of
19        Corrections to the petitioner or the petitioner's
20        attorney upon scheduling the institutional hearing.
21    (d) Institutional hearing. No public institutional hearing
22is required for consideration of a petition, but shall be
23granted at the request of the petitioner. Hearings are public
24unless the petitioner requests a non-public hearing. The
25petitioner has a right to attend the hearing and to speak on
26the petitioner's own behalf. The petitioner inmate may be

 

 

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1represented by counsel and may present witnesses to the Board
2members. Hearings shall be governed by the Open Parole
3Hearings Act. Members of the public shall be permitted to
4freely attend public hearings without restriction.
5    (e) Voting procedure. Petitions shall be considered by
6three-member panels, and decisions shall be made by simple
7majority. Voting shall take place during the public hearing.
8    (f) Consideration. In considering a petition for release
9under the statute, the Prisoner Review Board may consider the
10following factors:
11            (i) the petitioner's inmate's diagnosis and
12        likelihood of recovery;
13            (ii) the approximate cost of health care to the
14        State should the petitioner inmate remain in custody;
15            (iii) the impact that the petitioner's inmate's
16        continued incarceration may have on the provision of
17        medical care within the Department;
18            (iv) the present likelihood of and ability to pose
19        a substantial danger to the physical safety of a
20        specifically identifiable person or persons;
21            (v) any statements by the victim regarding
22        release; and
23            (vi) whether the petitioner's inmate's condition
24        was explicitly disclosed to the original sentencing
25        judge and taken into account at the time of
26        sentencing.

 

 

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1    (f-1) Upon denying an eligible petitioner's application
2for medical release, the Prisoner Review Board shall publish a
3decision letter outlining the reason for denial. The decision
4letter must include an explanation of each statutory factor
5and the estimated annual cost of the petitioner's continued
6incarceration, including the petitioner's medical care.
7    (g) Petitioners Inmates granted medical release shall be
8released on mandatory supervised release for a period of 5
9years subject to Section 3-3-8, which shall operate to
10discharge any remaining term of years imposed upon him or her.
11However, in no event shall the eligible person serve a period
12of mandatory supervised release greater than the aggregate of
13the discharged underlying sentence and the mandatory
14supervised release period as set forth in Section 5-4.5-20.
15    (h) Within 90 days of the receipt of the initial
16application, the Prisoner Review Board shall conduct a hearing
17if a hearing is requested and render a decision granting or
18denying the petitioner's request for release.
19    (i) Nothing in this statute shall preclude a petitioner
20from seeking alternative forms of release, including clemency,
21relief from the sentencing court, post-conviction relief, or
22any other legal remedy.
23    (j) This act applies retroactively, and shall be
24applicable to all currently incarcerated people in Illinois.
25    (k) Data report. The Department of Corrections and the
26Prisoner Review Board shall release a report annually

 

 

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1published on their websites that reports the following
2information about the Medical Release Program:
3        (1) The number of applications for medical release
4    received by the Board in the preceding year, and
5    information about those applications, including:
6            (i) demographic data about the petitioner
7        individual, including race or ethnicity, gender, age,
8        and institution;
9            (ii) the highest class of offense for which the
10        petitioner individual is incarcerated;
11            (iii) the relationship of the petitioner applicant
12        to the person completing the application;
13            (iv) whether the petitioner applicant had applied
14        for medical release before and been denied, and, if
15        so, when;
16            (v) whether the petitioner person applied as a
17        person who is medically incapacitated or a person who
18        is terminally ill; and
19            (vi) a basic description of the underlying medical
20        condition that led to the application ; and .
21            (vii) the institution in which the petitioner was
22        confined at the time of the application.
23        (2) The number of medical statements from the
24    Department of Corrections received by the Board.
25        (3) The number of institutional hearings on medical
26    release applications conducted by the Board including: .

 

 

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1            (i) whether the petitioner was represented by an
2        attorney; and
3            (ii) whether the application was considered in a
4        public or non-public hearing.
5        (4) The number of people approved for medical release,
6    and information about them, including:
7            (i) demographic data about the individual
8        including race or ethnicity, gender, age, and zip code
9        to which they were released;
10            (ii) whether the person applied as a person who is
11        medically incapacitated or a person who is terminally
12        ill;
13            (iii) a basic description of the underlying
14        medical condition that led to the application; and
15            (iv) a basic description of the medical setting
16        the person was released to; .
17            (v) whether the petitioner was represented by an
18        attorney; and
19            (vi) whether the application was considered in a
20        public or non-public hearing.
21        (5) The number of people released on the medical
22    release program.
23        (6) The number of people approved for medical release
24    who experienced more than a one-month delay between
25    release decision and ultimate release, including:
26            (i) demographic data about the individuals

 

 

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1        including race or ethnicity, gender and age;
2            (ii) the reason for the delay;
3            (iii) whether the person remains incarcerated; and
4            (iv) a basic description of the underlying medical
5        condition of the applying person.
6        (7) For those individuals released on mandatory
7    supervised release due to a granted application for
8    medical release:
9            (i) the number of individuals who were serving
10        terms of mandatory supervised release because of
11        medical release applications during the previous year;
12            (ii) the number of individuals who had their
13        mandatory supervised release revoked; and
14            (iii) the number of individuals who died during
15        the previous year.
16        (8) Information on seriously ill individuals
17    incarcerated at the Department of Corrections, including:
18            (i) the number of people currently receiving
19        full-time one-on-one medical care or assistance with
20        activities of daily living within Department of
21        Corrections facilities and whether that care is
22        provided by a medical practitioner or an incarcerated
23        person inmate, along with the institutions at which
24        they are incarcerated; and
25            (ii) the number of people who spent more than one
26        month in outside hospital care during the previous

 

 

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1        year and their home institutions.
2    All the information provided in this report shall be
3provided in aggregate, and nothing shall be construed to
4require the public dissemination of any personal medical
5information.
6(Source: P.A. 102-494, eff. 1-1-22; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)