Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB1958
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Full Text of HB1958  97th General Assembly

HB1958enr 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
HB1958 EnrolledLRB097 08003 RLC 50873 b

1    AN ACT concerning corrections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section
53-15003.6 as follows:
 
6    (55 ILCS 5/3-15003.6)
7    Sec. 3-15003.6. Pregnant female prisoners.
8    (a) Definitions. For the purpose of this Section:
9        (1) "Restraints" means any physical restraint or
10    mechanical device used to control the movement of a
11    prisoner's body or limbs, or both, including, but not
12    limited to, flex cuffs, soft restraints, hard metal
13    handcuffs, a black box, Chubb cuffs, leg irons, belly
14    chains, a security (tether) chain, or a convex shield, or
15    shackles of any kind.
16        (2) "Labor" means the period of time before a birth and
17    shall include any medical condition in which a woman is
18    sent or brought to the hospital for the purpose of
19    delivering her baby. These situations include: induction
20    of labor, prodromal labor, pre-term labor, prelabor
21    rupture of membranes, the 3 stages of active labor, uterine
22    hemorrhage during the third trimester of pregnancy, and
23    caesarian delivery including pre-operative preparation.

 

 

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1        (3) "Post-partum" means, as determined by her
2    physician, the period immediately following delivery,
3    including the entire period a woman is in the hospital or
4    infirmary after birth.
5        (4) "Correctional institution" means any entity under
6    the authority of a county law enforcement division of a
7    county of more than 3,000,000 inhabitants that has the
8    power to detain or restrain, or both, a person under the
9    laws of the State.
10        (5) "Corrections official" means the official that is
11    responsible for oversight of a correctional institution,
12    or his or her designee.
13        (6) "Prisoner" means any person incarcerated or
14    detained in any facility who is accused of, convicted of,
15    sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations
16    of criminal law or the terms and conditions of parole,
17    probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program, and
18    any person detained under the immigration laws of the
19    United States at any correctional facility.
20        (7) "Extraordinary circumstance" means an
21    extraordinary medical or security circumstance, including
22    a substantial flight risk, that dictates restraints be used
23    to ensure the safety and security of the prisoner, the
24    staff of the correctional institution or medical facility,
25    other prisoners, or the public.
26    (b) A county department of corrections shall not apply

 

 

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1security restraints to a prisoner that has been determined by a
2qualified medical professional to be pregnant and is known by
3the county department of corrections to be pregnant or in
4postpartum recovery, which is the entire period a woman is in
5the medical facility after birth, unless the corrections
6official makes an individualized determination that the
7prisoner presents a substantial flight risk or some other
8extraordinary circumstance that dictates security restraints
9be used to ensure the safety and security of the prisoner, her
10child or unborn child, the staff of the county department of
11corrections or medical facility, other prisoners, or the
12public. The protections set out in clauses (b)(3) and (b)(4) of
13this Section shall apply to security restraints used pursuant
14to this subsection. The corrections official shall immediately
15remove all restraints upon the written or oral request of
16medical personnel. Oral requests made by medical personnel
17shall be verified in writing as promptly as reasonably
18possible.
19        (1) Qualified authorized health staff shall have the
20    authority to order therapeutic restraints for a pregnant or
21    postpartum prisoner who is a danger to herself, her child,
22    unborn child, or other persons due to a psychiatric or
23    medical disorder. Therapeutic restraints may only be
24    initiated, monitored and discontinued by qualified and
25    authorized health staff and used to safely limit a
26    prisoner's mobility for psychiatric or medical reasons. No

 

 

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1    order for therapeutic restraints shall be written unless
2    medical or mental health personnel, after personally
3    observing and examining the prisoner, are clinically
4    satisfied that the use of therapeutic restraints is
5    justified and permitted in accordance with hospital
6    policies and applicable State law. Metal handcuffs or
7    shackles are not considered therapeutic restraints.
8        (2) Whenever therapeutic restraints are used by
9    medical personnel, Section 2-108 of the Mental Health and
10    Developmental Disabilities Code shall apply.
11        (3) Leg irons, shackles or waist shackles shall not be
12    used on any pregnant or postpartum prisoner regardless of
13    security classification. Except for therapeutic restraints
14    under clause (b)(2), no restraints of any kind may be
15    applied to prisoners during labor.
16        (4) When a pregnant or postpartum prisoner must be
17    restrained, restraints used shall be the least restrictive
18    restraints possible to ensure the safety and security of
19    the prisoner, her child, unborn child, the staff of the
20    county department of corrections or medical facility,
21    other prisoners, or the public, and in no case shall
22    include leg irons, shackles or waist shackles.
23        (5) Upon the pregnant prisoner's entry into a hospital
24    room, and completion of initial room inspection, a
25    corrections official shall be posted immediately outside
26    the hospital room, unless requested to be in the room by

 

 

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1    medical personnel attending to the prisoner's medical
2    needs.
3        (6) The county department of corrections shall provide
4    adequate corrections personnel to monitor the pregnant
5    prisoner during her transport to and from the hospital and
6    during her stay at the hospital.
7        (7) Where the county department of corrections
8    requires prisoner safety assessments, a corrections
9    official may enter the hospital room to conduct periodic
10    prisoner safety assessments, except during a medical
11    examination or the delivery process.
12        (8) Upon discharge from a medical facility, postpartum
13    prisoners shall be restrained only with handcuffs in front
14    of the body during transport to the county department of
15    corrections. A corrections official shall immediately
16    remove all security restraints upon written or oral request
17    by medical personnel. Oral requests made by medical
18    personnel shall be verified in writing as promptly as
19    reasonably possible.
20    (c) Enforcement. No later than 30 days before the end of
21each fiscal year, the county sheriff or corrections official of
22the correctional institution where a pregnant prisoner has been
23restrained during that previous fiscal year, shall submit a
24written report to the Illinois General Assembly and the Office
25of the Governor that includes an account of every instance of
26prisoner restraint pursuant to this Section. The written report

 

 

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1shall state the date, time, location and rationale for each
2instance in which restraints are used. The written report shall
3not contain any individually identifying information of any
4prisoner. Such reports shall be made available for public
5inspection.
6Notwithstanding any other statute, directive, or
7administrative regulation, when a pregnant female prisoner is
8brought to a hospital from a County Department of Corrections
9facility for the purpose of delivering her baby, no handcuffs,
10shackles, or restraints of any kind may be used during her
11transport to a medical facility for the purpose of delivering
12her baby. Under no circumstances may leg irons or shackles or
13waist shackles be used on any pregnant female prisoner who is
14in labor. Upon the pregnant female prisoner's entry to the
15hospital delivery room, a county correctional officer must be
16posted immediately outside the delivery room. The Sheriff must
17provide for adequate personnel to monitor the pregnant female
18prisoner during her transport to and from the hospital and
19during her stay at the hospital.
20(Source: P.A. 91-253, eff. 1-1-00.)