SB2389 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 16341 KMF 21728 b

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.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Hate and Extremism Prevention Task Force Act.

Section 5. Hate and Extremism Task Force; composition and membership.

(a) There is created the Hate and Extremism Task Force (hereinafter referred to as the Task Force) consisting of 9 members appointed as follows:

(1) 3 members appointed by the Governor, comprised of one of the Governor's representatives and two community representatives;

(2) the President of the Senate or his or her designee;

(3) the Minority Leader of the Senate or his or her designee;

(4) the Speaker of the House of Representatives or his or her designee;

(5) the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives or his or her designee;

(6) the Director of the Illinois State Police or his or her designee; and

(7) the Attorney General or his or her designee; this member shall also serve as chairperson.

The appointed members of the Task Force shall be a representative cross-section of the people of Illinois, accounting for the diversity of the State, both in the makeup of its communities and in its geographic breadth.

(b) The members of the Task Force shall convene at least every 2 months (minimum 6 meetings per year). The Task Force shall be assembled and hold its first meeting no later than 60 days after the effective date of this Act.

(c) The Task Force shall be housed within the Office of the Attorney General. The Task Force budget is subject to appropriation. The members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable and necessary expenses from funds appropriated for that purpose.

(d) The Task Force may employ skilled experts with the approval of the chairperson and shall receive the cooperation of those State agencies it deems appropriate to assist the Task Force in carrying out its duties.

(e) The following State entities shall be required to provide administrative and other support to the Task Force: the Holocaust and Genocide Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the Violence Prevention Task Force, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, the Illinois State Police, and the Illinois Terrorism Task Force.

Section 10. Core duties. The Task Force shall have the following duties:

(1) issue an Annual Report on the State of Hate and Extremism in Illinois as provided in Section 15;

(2) establish a diverse Advisory Board of stakeholders and community partners to provide broad representation for Illinoisans. This Advisory Board shall play a crucial and active role in helping properly inform the work of the Task Force, ground it in the current experience of diverse constituents, and help disseminate and advocate for the recommendations and best practices generated by the Task Force;

(3) convene meetings for multi-directional information-sharing statewide, involving a wide variety of stakeholders, including all levels of law enforcement, community organizations and representatives, officials, and other experts;

(4) evaluate and potentially develop training programs for the State's law enforcement agencies related to hate-and-extremism-motivated crimes and incidents, as well as for other State agencies, schools, and community actors;

(5) assist and support local governments, law enforcement, and community organizations in preventing, investigating, and detecting offenses committed by reason of the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors, in this State, as set out in Section 12-7.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012;

(6) shape its activity to maximize usefulness for law enforcement in responding to and investigating relevant incidents;

(7) foster coordination between law enforcement and other actors at the State, local, and federal levels, including but not limited to: the Illinois State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Violence Prevention Task Force, the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, and other expert groups; and

(8) in all its activities, the Task Force shall seek to protect civil liberties, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of religion in accordance with the United States Constitution and relevant law.

Section 15. Annual State of Hate and Extremism in Illinois Report. The Task Force shall issue an Annual State of Hate and Extremism in Illinois Report to the Governor and the General Assembly, by July 1 of each year, that describes its activities for the previous year, and its recommendations for the following year. This annual requirement must include a publicly available Report. The first such Annual Report shall be made available by July 1, 2022. This Report shall:

(1) assess and provide recommendations to improve the practices, structures, resources, and relevant trainings available to and used by law enforcement statewide;

(2) provide a comprehensive accounting of the state of extremist activity statewide;

(3) include recommendations for actions to be taken by the Executive, the General Assembly, and communities;

(4) provide holistic remedies, tools, and recommendations to policymakers to reduce hate and extremism statewide, and to build and strengthen capacity for response to such activities;

(5) define "extremism", to describe what kinds of groups and activities constitute extremism, which activities are protected, and where public threat requires monitoring or intervention; and

(6) provide a comprehensive understanding of factors contributing to hate-related and extremism-related violence. This comprehensive understanding shall include:

(A) education, awareness, and training;

(B) reporting, monitoring, and investigation;

(C) enforcement, intervention, as well as restorative and rehabilitative measures;

(D) online hate and extremism speech and activity; and

(E) social and other community factors that foster extremism, including recruitment and youth participation.

Section 20. Additional duties. The Task Force shall also have the following duties:

(1) the Attorney General's Office shall work with the Task Force to utilize and promote its existing Civil Rights Hotline to aid in tracking hate and extremism activities statewide;

(2) assist crime prevention groups, religious institutions, community groups, social service agencies, and elected officials in improving awareness of hate crimes and extremism-related violence, and State laws addressing discrimination and hate-motivated violence;

(3) share data and information analysis, identification and best practices, providing for transparency and accountability in the education, training, investigation, prosecution and rehabilitation of those involved in and victimized by hate crimes and extremism; and

(4) assist local law enforcement in obtaining relevant grants, including federal grants.

(20 ILCS 4070/Act rep.)

Section 90. The Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes Act is repealed.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July 1, 2021.