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91_HB4593eng HB4593 Engrossed LRB9113138RCpk 1 AN ACT in relation to evidence. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by adding 5 Section 33-5 as follows: 6 (720 ILCS 5/33-5 new) 7 Sec. 33-5. Chain of custody. 8 (a) It is unlawful for a State's Attorney, an Assistant 9 State's Attorney, or other employee of the Office of the 10 State's Attorney or for a peace officer or other employee of 11 a law enforcement agency to intentionally fail to comply with 12 the provisions of subsection (a) of Section 116-4 of the Code 13 of Criminal Procedure of 1963. 14 (b) Sentence. A person who violates this Section is 15 guilty of a Class 4 felony. 16 (c) For purposes of this Section, "law enforcement 17 agency" has the meaning ascribed to it in clause (a)(4) of 18 Section 107-4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. 19 Section 10. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is 20 amended by adding Section 116-4 as follows: 21 (725 ILCS 5/116-4 new) 22 Sec. 116-4. Chain of custody. 23 (a) In a prosecution for a violation of Section 12-13, 24 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 25 or in a prosecution for an offense defined in Article 9 of 26 that Code, the law enforcement agency and the State's 27 Attorney's Office shall preserve, subject to a continuous 28 chain of custody, any physical evidence secured in relation 29 to a trial and sufficient official documentation to locate HB4593 Engrossed -2- LRB9113138RCpk 1 that evidence. 2 (b) After a trial resulting in a judgment of conviction 3 the evidence shall either be impounded with the Clerk of the 4 Circuit Court or shall be securely retained by a law 5 enforcement agency. Retention shall be: 6 (1) Permanent following any conviction for an 7 offense defined in Article 9 of the Criminal Code of 8 1961. 9 (2) For 25 years following any conviction for a 10 violation of Section 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or 11 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961. 12 (3) For 7 years following any conviction for any 13 other felony for which the defendant's genetic profile 14 may be taken by a law enforcement agency and submitted 15 for comparison in a forensic DNA database for unsolved 16 offenses. 17 (c) After a judgment of conviction is entered, the 18 State's Attorney or law enforcement agency having custody of 19 evidence described in subsection (a) may petition the court 20 with notice to the defendant for entry of an order allowing 21 it to dispose of evidence if, after a hearing, the court 22 determines by a preponderance of the evidence that: 23 (1) it has no significant value for forensic 24 science analysis and must be returned to its rightful 25 owner; or 26 (2) it has no significant value for forensic 27 science analysis and is of a size, bulk, or physical 28 character not usually retained by the law enforcement 29 agency and cannot practicably be retained by the law 30 enforcement agency. 31 (d) The court may order the disposition of the evidence 32 if the defendant is allowed the opportunity to take 33 reasonable measures to remove or preserve portions of the 34 evidence in question for future testing. HB4593 Engrossed -3- LRB9113138RCpk 1 (e) For purposes of this Section, "law enforcement 2 agency" has the meaning ascribed to it in clause (a)(4) of 3 Section 107-4 of this Code.