Criminal Justice

Amends the Crime Victims Compensation Act. Removes the requirements to report the crime within 72 hours of its occurrence or within 7 days for other specified crimes. Removes language that requires certification from a mental health provider to come from a provider who has not before and will not again provide care to the victim or applicant. Provides that confidentiality is not waived between a health care provider and the victim or applicant if a mental health provider, medical provider, or other third party provides documentation of the crime for the purposes of compensation eligibility. Requires the Attorney General to make and publish on its website the form the mental health provider must use to certify the evaluation of the victim or applicant. Requires the Comptroller to issue payment within 2 business days of approval of an emergency award by the Court of Claims. Provides that emergency awards may be issued to the applicant for the purpose of paying funeral and burial expenses directly to a funeral home for expenses that have been incurred or that the applicant has been quoted and for relocation expenses incurred or due to be incurred by an applicant. Provides that if the amount of emergency compensation exceeds the actual amount the applicant incurs, the difference shall be repaid to the State. Makes other changes.

Amends the Delinquent Minors Article of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Adds a Part concerning Fitness to Stand Trial. Specifies the unfitness standard for a minor. Sets forth procedures to raise the issue of the unfitness of a minor. Specifies the burden of proof and a presumption. Provides requirements for a fitness evaluation and hearing to determine the fitness of a minor. Provides the requirements for the services to attain fitness, the period to obtain fitness, initial and subsequent progress reports, periodic hearings, and in-court assistance to render a minor fit. Specifies time credit and sentencing guidelines for a minor who attains fitness. Provides for the legal disposition of a minor if fitness cannot be attained. Creates the Juvenile Discharge Hearing Task Force to examine the juvenile discharge hearing process, compare Illinois' process with those of other states with juvenile fitness standards, and recommend reforms to the process that ensures minors receive meaningful treatment for existing mental health needs. Provides that the recommendations shall include statutory language to update the juvenile hearing discharge process and whether the juvenile discharge hearing should take place on the same timeframe as discharge hearings for adult offenders. Provides that the Task Force may meet in person or virtually and shall issue a written report of its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly on or before July 1, 2027. Repeals task force provisions on January 1, 2028. Contains other provisions. Contains a severability provision. Effective July 1, 2026.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that if the court orders an unfit defendant to be placed in the custody of the Department of Human Services, during the period of time required to determine bed and placement availability at the designated facility, the defendant may (rather than shall) remain in jail. Makes technical changes in a provision concerning credit for good behavior.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Creates the offense of torture. Provides that a person commits torture when that person knowingly and cruelly engages in a course of conduct that torments a victim under the age of 18 years. Provides that proof that a victim suffered physical, mental, or emotional impairment is not an element of the offense. Provides that torture does not include: (1) reasonable parental discipline or (2) any medical examination or procedure that is conducted by a physician, nurse, medical or hospital personnel, parent, or caretaker for purposes and in a manner consistent with reasonable medical standards and care. Provides that a victim under the age of 18 years cannot consent to torture. Provides that torture is a Class X felony. Provides that an offender under the age of 18 years at the time of the commission of the offense shall be sentenced under the provisions of the Unified Code of Corrections concerning the sentencing of individuals under the age of 18 at the time of the commission of an offense. Defines "course of conduct" and "cruelly".

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that any person may file a petition to vacate a conviction or sentence, regardless of criminal custody status or citizenship or immigration status, as defined in the Illinois TRUST Act, if the person asserts that: (1) the conviction or sentence is legally invalid due to prejudicial error damaging the petitioner's ability to meaningfully understand, defend against, or knowingly accept the actual or potential adverse immigration consequences of a conviction or sentence; or (2) newly discovered evidence of actual innocence exists that requires vacation of the conviction or sentence as a matter of law or in the interests of justice. Provides that such a petition shall be deemed timely filed at any time notwithstanding any other provision of law. Provides that the time limitations for petitions filed in the trial court under the Post-Conviction Hearing Article of the Code do not apply to a petition filed under this provision. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that a provision granting relief from a final order or judgment entered based on a plea of guilty or nolo contendere and that has potential consequences under federal immigration law applies to orders or judgments entered before, on, or after the effective date of the amendatory Act.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the rules and regulations of the Department of Corrections shall provide that sentence credit may be provided to an inmate who was held in pre-trial detention prior to his or her current commitment to the Department of Corrections and successfully completed a substance abuse program (rather than a full-time, 60-day or longer substance abuse program), county jail or detention facility work assignments, parenting program, or re-entry planning facilitated (rather than provided) by the county department of corrections or county jail or other provider. Provides that the rules and regulations shall also provide that sentence credit may be provided to a committed person who participated in supervised community work or activities prior to his or her commitment to the Department of Corrections. Provides that the rules and regulations shall also provide that any inmate who was held in pre-trial detention prior to his or her confinement to the Department of Corrections, engaged in self-improvement programs, volunteer work, or work assignments that are not otherwise eligible activities shall receive up to 0.5 days of sentence credit for each day in which the inmate is engaged in these activities.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that a no-knock search warrant shall not be issued when the only offense alleged is possession of a controlled substance unless there is probable cause to believe that the controlled substance is for other than personal use. Provides that when an officer, having a warrant for the search of a dwelling, executes the search warrant, the officer shall: (1) execute the warrant between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. unless the judge, for good cause, expressly authorizes execution at another time; (2) be readily identifiable as a law enforcement officer in uniform or wearing a visible law enforcement badge that clearly identifies the person as a law enforcement officer; (3) In counties of 90,000 or more inhabitants, be a member of a special weapons and tactics team or special response team, or another established team or unit trained and tasked with resolving high-risk situations and incidents, who has received appropriate training in the execution of arrest and search warrants authorizing entry without notice; (4) wear and activate a body-worn camera as required by the use of force in execution of a search warrant when entering a premises for the purpose of enforcing the law; (5) have a certified or licensed paramedic or emergency medical technician in proximity and available to provide medical assistance, if needed; (6) be prohibited from pointing firearms at individuals under 18 years old, unless there is clear and present danger to the officer or another person; and (7) knock and announce the officer's presence at a volume loud enough for the officer to reasonably believe the occupants inside can hear, allow a minimum of 30 seconds of time before entering given the size of the dwelling for someone to get to the door, and delay entry if the officer has reason to believe that someone is approaching the dwelling's entrance with the intent of voluntarily allowing the officer to enter the dwelling; except that this provision does not apply if the circumstances known to the officer at the time provide an objectively reasonable basis to believe that a no-knock entry or not waiting a reasonable amount of time is necessary because of an emergency threatening the life of or grave injury to a person, provided that the imminent danger is not created by the law enforcement officers executing the search. Makes other changes.

Amends the Law Enforcement Camera Grant Act. In provisions relating to the annual report that is required for each law enforcement agency receiving a grant for officer-work body cameras, removes requirements that the report must include specified information relating to each recording used in prosecutions of conservation, criminal, or traffic offenses or municipal ordinance violations and specified information related to recordings used in a civil proceeding or internal affairs investigation.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that if the county jail located in the county where the committed person was residing immediately before his or her conviction for the offense for which he or she is serving sentence in the Department of Corrections has a reentry program for committed persons, the Department of Corrections shall reimburse the county for any expenses incurred in the transfer of the committed person to the sheriff of the county where the reentry program is located, including the housing of the committed person transferred to the reentry program.

Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that unreliable statements to law enforcement made during a custodial interrogation conducted at a police station or other place of detention by a defendant are inadmissible at trial in any criminal court proceeding or juvenile court proceeding for the prosecution of a homicide. Provides that in any proceeding under this provision, the prosecution shall timely disclose prior to any relevant evidentiary hearing or trial its intent to introduce a statement made during a custodial interrogation conducted at a place of detention. Provides that at that time, the prosecution must tender any electronic recordings of the statement and any documents relating to the circumstances under which the statement was obtained and any other evidence the State intends to rely upon to determine the statement's reliability. Provides that before trial, a defendant may move to exclude a statement alleged to be unreliable. Provides that the defendant shall specifically identify the statement or statements alleged to be unreliable. Provides that at the hearing, it shall be the burden of the prosecutor to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the statement is reliable. Provides that when deciding a statement's reliability, a court should consider: (1) whether the details in the statement fit with the evidence known before the interrogation, especially details that describe unusual or not easily guessed facts of the crime that had not been made public; (2) whether the statement provides any new details or any new evidence not known before the interrogation that can be independently corroborated after the interrogation; (3) whether facts of the crime were disclosed to the defendant rather than originated with the defendant; (4) whether the defendant recanted the defendant's statement at any time and the circumstances of that recantation; (5) whether the statement was electronically recorded; and (6) any other information relevant to the reliability of the statement.