97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5089

 

Introduced 2/7/2012, by Rep. Sidney H. Mathias

 

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. Provides that a Statewide Grand Jury may be convened to investigate violations of offenses involving the corruption of a public official, including theft, fraud, extortion or the Official Misconduct Article and the Public Contracts Article of the Criminal Code of 1961.


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CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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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, the Cannabis and Controlled
3Substances Tax Act, violations of Articles Article 29D, 33, and
433E of the Criminal Code of 1961, the Narcotics Profit
5Forfeiture Act, and gunrunning. Local prosecutors need
6investigative personnel and specialized training to attack and
7eliminate these profits. In light of the transitory and complex
8nature of conduct that constitutes these criminal activities,
9the many diverse property interests that may be used, acquired
10directly or indirectly as a result of these criminal
11activities, and the many places that illegally obtained
12property may be located, it is the purpose of this Act to
13create a limited, multicounty Statewide Grand Jury with
14authority to investigate, indict, and prosecute: narcotic
15activity, including cannabis and controlled substance
16trafficking, narcotics racketeering, money laundering,
17violations of the Cannabis and Controlled Substances Tax Act,
18and violations of Articles Article 29D, 33, and 33E of the
19Criminal Code of 1961; public corruption crimes; the unlawful
20sale and transfer of firearms; gunrunning; and streetgang
21related felonies.
22    (b) A Statewide Grand Jury may also investigate, indict,
23and prosecute violations facilitated by the use of a computer
24of any of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
25child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
26juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile prostitution,

 

 

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1juvenile pimping, child pornography, aggravated child
2pornography, or promoting juvenile prostitution except as
3described in subdivision (a)(4) of Section 11-14.4 of the
4Criminal Code of 1961.
5(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11.)
 
6    (725 ILCS 215/3)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1703)
7    Sec. 3. Written application for the appointment of a
8Circuit Judge to convene and preside over a Statewide Grand
9Jury, with jurisdiction extending throughout the State, shall
10be made to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Upon such
11written application, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
12shall appoint a Circuit Judge from the circuit where the
13Statewide Grand Jury is being sought to be convened, who shall
14make a determination that the convening of a Statewide Grand
15Jury is necessary.
16    In such application the Attorney General shall state that
17the convening of a Statewide Grand Jury is necessary because of
18an alleged offense or offenses set forth in this Section
19involving more than one county of the State and identifying any
20such offense alleged; and
21        (a) that he or she believes that the grand jury
22    function for the investigation and indictment of the
23    offense or offenses cannot effectively be performed by a
24    county grand jury together with the reasons for such
25    belief, and

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1Justice of the Supreme Court shall appoint a Circuit Judge from
2the circuit for which the additional Statewide Grand Jury is
3sought. The Circuit Judge shall determine the necessity for an
4additional Statewide Grand Jury in accordance with the
5provisions of this Section. No more than 2 Statewide Grand
6Juries may be empaneled at any time.
7(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11.)
 
8    (725 ILCS 215/4)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1704)
9    Sec. 4. (a) The presiding judge of the Statewide Grand Jury
10will receive recommendations from the Attorney General as to
11the county in which the Grand Jury will sit. Prior to making
12the recommendations, the Attorney General shall obtain the
13permission of the local State's Attorney to use his or her
14county for the site of the Statewide Grand Jury. Upon receiving
15the Attorney General's recommendations, the presiding judge
16will choose one of those recommended locations as the site
17where the Grand Jury shall sit.
18    Any indictment by a Statewide Grand Jury shall be returned
19to the Circuit Judge presiding over the Statewide Grand Jury
20and shall include a finding as to the county or counties in
21which the alleged offense was committed. Thereupon, the judge
22shall, by order, designate the county of venue for the purpose
23of trial. The judge may also, by order, direct the
24consolidation of an indictment returned by a county grand jury
25with an indictment returned by the Statewide Grand Jury and set

 

 

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

 

 

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1any county.
2    (e) Venue for purposes of trial for any violation of
3Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 may be in the county
4in which an act of terrorism occurs, the county in which
5material support or resources are provided or solicited, the
6county in which criminal assistance is rendered, or any county
7in which any act in furtherance of any violation of Article 29D
8of the Criminal Code of 1961 occurs.
9    (f) Venue for purposes of trial for any offense involving
10the corruption of a public official may be in the county in
11which the offense occurred.
12(Source: P.A. 92-854, eff. 12-5-02.)