Full Text of SR0175 99th General Assembly
SR0175sam001 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE RESOLUTION 175
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend Senate Resolution 175 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the heading with the following:
| 4 | | "WHEREAS, Grand juries have always had the responsibility | 5 | | of investigating, indicting, and prosecuting persons who | 6 | | violate the criminal laws of the State of Illinois; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In light of recent events around the country, | 8 | | members of the public have lost confidence in the criminal | 9 | | justice system and the grand jury process; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that the grand jury | 11 | | process utilized in this State should be reviewed to ensure the | 12 | | impartiality and effectiveness of the process; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Grand Jury Review |
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| 1 | | Task Force is created to review the current grand jury process | 2 | | and suggest reforms to the General Assembly; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall consist of the | 4 | | following members: | 5 | | (1) One member appointed by the President of the | 6 | | Senate, who shall serve as co-chairperson; | 7 | | (2) One member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, | 8 | | who shall serve as co-chairperson; | 9 | | (3) The Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice | 10 | | Information Authority, or his or her designee; | 11 | | (4) The Director of the Illinois Office of the State's | 12 | | Attorney Appellate Prosecutor, or his or her designee; | 13 | | (5) The State Appellate Defender, or his or her | 14 | | designee; | 15 | | (6) The Executive Director of the Illinois State Bar | 16 | | Association, or his or her designee; | 17 | | (7) The President of the Chicago Bar Association, or | 18 | | his or her designee; | 19 | | (8) The President of the American Civil Liberties Union | 20 | | of Illinois, or his or her designee; | 21 | | (9) The President of the Chicago Innocence Project, or | 22 | | his or her designee; | 23 | | (10) The President of the Illinois Press Association, | 24 | | or his or her designee; | 25 | | (11) One law professor, appointed by the Senate |
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| 1 | | Minority Leader; | 2 | | (12) One retired judge, appointed by the President of | 3 | | the Senate; | 4 | | (13) Four members representing advocacy groups | 5 | | involved in criminal justice, two of which are to be | 6 | | appointed by the President of the Senate and two to be | 7 | | appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; | 8 | | (14) Four members of the public, two of which are to be | 9 | | appointed by the President of the Senate and two to be | 10 | | appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall meet regularly and hold | 12 | | public hearings at the call of the co-chairpersons to receive | 13 | | testimony regarding the grand jury process and any suggested | 14 | | reforms; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Criminal Justice Information | 16 | | Authority shall provide administrative support and technical | 17 | | assistance, as well as meeting space, to the Task Force; and be | 18 | | it further | 19 | | RESOLVED, That the Grand Jury Review Task Force shall | 20 | | submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the | 21 | | General Assembly and the Governor on or before December 31, | 22 | | 2015; the report shall, at a minimum, include: | 23 | | (1) A summary of the current grand jury process; |
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| 1 | | (2) Any and all deficiencies discovered within the | 2 | | current grand jury process; | 3 | | (3) Recommendations to improve the grand jury process; | 4 | | (4) A recommendation advising whether grand jury | 5 | | proceedings shall remain closed to the public; | 6 | | (5) A recommendation advising whether certain portions | 7 | | of grand jury proceedings should be subject to the Freedom | 8 | | of Information Act; and | 9 | | (6) A recommendation regarding whether an expanded use | 10 | | of preliminary hearings would advance the same goals as the | 11 | | grand jury process; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall also work with the | 13 | | Legislative Reference Bureau to draft any legislation needed to | 14 | | implement its recommendations.". |
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