103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2079

 

Introduced 2/9/2023, by Sen. Robert Peters

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-95 rep.
735 ILCS 5/2-1401  from Ch. 110, par. 2-1401

    Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Repeals the general recidivism provisions of the Code. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that a movant may present a meritorious claim for relief from judgment if the allegations in the petition establish the following by a preponderance of the evidence that, prior to the effective date of the amendatory Act, the movant was sentenced to natural life imprisonment under the general recidivism provisions of the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that nothing in this provision prevents a movant from applying for any other relief under the relief from judgments provision or any other law otherwise available to him or her.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB2079LRB103 25688 RLC 52037 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    (730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-95 rep.)
5    Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
6repealing Section 5-4.5-95.
 
7    Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
8changing Section 2-1401 as follows:
 
9    (735 ILCS 5/2-1401)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1401)
10    Sec. 2-1401. Relief from judgments.
11    (a) Relief from final orders and judgments, after 30 days
12from the entry thereof, may be had upon petition as provided in
13this Section. Writs of error coram nobis and coram vobis,
14bills of review, and bills in the nature of bills of review are
15abolished. All relief heretofore obtainable and the grounds
16for such relief heretofore available, whether by any of the
17foregoing remedies or otherwise, shall be available in every
18case, by proceedings hereunder, regardless of the nature of
19the order or judgment from which relief is sought or of the
20proceedings in which it was entered. Except as provided in the
21Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, there shall be no distinction
22between actions and other proceedings, statutory or otherwise,

 

 

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1as to availability of relief, grounds for relief, or the
2relief obtainable.
3    (b) The petition must be filed in the same proceeding in
4which the order or judgment was entered but is not a
5continuation thereof. The petition must be supported by an
6affidavit or other appropriate showing as to matters not of
7record. A petition to reopen a foreclosure proceeding must
8include as parties to the petition, but is not limited to, all
9parties in the original action in addition to the current
10record title holders of the property, current occupants, and
11any individual or entity that had a recorded interest in the
12property before the filing of the petition. All parties to the
13petition shall be notified as provided by rule.
14    (b-5) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
15Section if the allegations in the petition establish each of
16the following by a preponderance of the evidence:
17        (1) the movant was convicted of a forcible felony;
18        (2) the movant's participation in the offense was
19    related to him or her previously having been a victim of
20    domestic violence as perpetrated by an intimate partner;
21        (3) no evidence of domestic violence against the
22    movant was presented at the movant's sentencing hearing;
23        (4) the movant was unaware of the mitigating nature of
24    the evidence of the domestic violence at the time of
25    sentencing and could not have learned of its significance
26    sooner through diligence; and

 

 

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1        (5) the new evidence of domestic violence against the
2    movant is material and noncumulative to other evidence
3    offered at the sentencing hearing, and is of such a
4    conclusive character that it would likely change the
5    sentence imposed by the original trial court.
6    Nothing in this subsection (b-5) shall prevent a movant
7from applying for any other relief under this Section or any
8other law otherwise available to him or her.
9    As used in this subsection (b-5):
10        "Domestic violence" means abuse as defined in Section
11    103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
12        "Forcible felony" has the meaning ascribed to the term
13    in Section 2-8 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
14        "Intimate partner" means a spouse or former spouse,
15    persons who have or allegedly have had a child in common,
16    or persons who have or have had a dating or engagement
17    relationship.
18    (b-10) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
19Section if the allegations in the petition establish each of
20the following by a preponderance of the evidence:
21        (A) she was convicted of a forcible felony;
22        (B) her participation in the offense was a direct
23    result of her suffering from post-partum depression or
24    post-partum psychosis;
25        (C) no evidence of post-partum depression or
26    post-partum psychosis was presented by a qualified medical

 

 

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1    person at trial or sentencing, or both;
2        (D) she was unaware of the mitigating nature of the
3    evidence or, if aware, was at the time unable to present
4    this defense due to suffering from post-partum depression
5    or post-partum psychosis, or, at the time of trial or
6    sentencing, neither was a recognized mental illness and as
7    such, she was unable to receive proper treatment; and
8        (E) evidence of post-partum depression or post-partum
9    psychosis as suffered by the person is material and
10    noncumulative to other evidence offered at the time of
11    trial or sentencing, and it is of such a conclusive
12    character that it would likely change the sentence imposed
13    by the original court.
14    Nothing in this subsection (b-10) prevents a person from
15applying for any other relief under this Article or any other
16law otherwise available to her.
17    As used in this subsection (b-10):
18        "Post-partum depression" means a mood disorder which
19    strikes many women during and after pregnancy and usually
20    occurs during pregnancy and up to 12 months after
21    delivery. This depression can include anxiety disorders.
22        "Post-partum psychosis" means an extreme form of
23    post-partum depression which can occur during pregnancy
24    and up to 12 months after delivery. This can include
25    losing touch with reality, distorted thinking, delusions,
26    auditory and visual hallucinations, paranoia,

 

 

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1    hyperactivity and rapid speech, or mania.
2    (b-15) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
3Section if the allegations in the petition establish the
4following by a preponderance of the evidence that, prior to
5the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
6Assembly, the movant was sentenced to natural life
7imprisonment under Section 5-4.5-95 of the Unified Code of
8Corrections. Nothing in this subsection (b-15) prevents a
9movant from applying for any other relief under this Section
10or any other law otherwise available to him or her.
11    (c) Except as provided in Section 20b of the Adoption Act
12and Section 2-32 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, in a
13petition based upon Section 116-3 of the Code of Criminal
14Procedure of 1963 or subsection (b-10) of this Section, or in a
15motion to vacate and expunge convictions under the Cannabis
16Control Act as provided by subsection (i) of Section 5.2 of the
17Criminal Identification Act, the petition must be filed not
18later than 2 years after the entry of the order or judgment.
19Time during which the person seeking relief is under legal
20disability or duress or the ground for relief is fraudulently
21concealed shall be excluded in computing the period of 2
22years.
23    (c-5) Any individual may at any time file a petition and
24institute proceedings under this Section if his or her final
25order or judgment, which was entered based on a plea of guilty
26or nolo contendere, has potential consequences under federal

 

 

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1immigration law.
2    (d) The filing of a petition under this Section does not
3affect the order or judgment, or suspend its operation.
4    (e) Unless lack of jurisdiction affirmatively appears from
5the record proper, the vacation or modification of an order or
6judgment pursuant to the provisions of this Section does not
7affect the right, title, or interest in or to any real or
8personal property of any person, not a party to the original
9action, acquired for value after the entry of the order or
10judgment but before the filing of the petition, nor affect any
11right of any person not a party to the original action under
12any certificate of sale issued before the filing of the
13petition, pursuant to a sale based on the order or judgment.
14When a petition is filed pursuant to this Section to reopen a
15foreclosure proceeding, notwithstanding the provisions of
16Section 15-1701 of this Code, the purchaser or successor
17purchaser of real property subject to a foreclosure sale who
18was not a party to the mortgage foreclosure proceedings is
19entitled to remain in possession of the property until the
20foreclosure action is defeated or the previously foreclosed
21defendant redeems from the foreclosure sale if the purchaser
22has been in possession of the property for more than 6 months.
23    (f) Nothing contained in this Section affects any existing
24right to relief from a void order or judgment, or to employ any
25existing method to procure that relief.
26(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 101-411, eff. 8-16-19;

 

 

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1102-639, eff. 8-27-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)