Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB0179

Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that any person criminally prosecuted and incarcerated for 30 days or longer prior to trial for one or more felonies by the State which he or she did not commit may file a petition for a certificate of innocence. Provides that the petitioner must prove that: the petitioner was incarcerated prior to trial in a prosecution which resulted in an acquittal or dismissal; the prosecution did not result in a conviction of a lesser included offense; the petitioner is innocent of the charges on which the petitioner's pretrial detention was based, or the charges did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor; and the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct voluntarily cause or bring about the charges which resulted in his or her pretrial incarceration. Amends the Court of Claims Act. Provides that a person who has been issued a certificate of innocence may file a claim against the State for time unjustly served in pretrial incarceration in a county jail. Provides that the Court of Claims shall award $50,000 per year during which the person was wrongfully imprisoned and shall prorate that amount for a fraction of a year that the person was wrongfully imprisoned (rather than "the amount of the award is at the discretion of the court; and provided, the court shall make no award in excess of the following amounts: for imprisonment of 5 years or less, not more than $85,350; for imprisonment of 14 years or less but over 5 years, not more than $170,000; for imprisonment of over 14 years, not more than $199,150"). Provides that the court shall include the number of years the person was imprisoned awaiting trial in its determination and an additional $25,000 for each year served on parole, probation, or registered as a sex offender after imprisonment. Makes corresponding changes. Effective immediately.

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