Criminal Justice

Amends the Illinois Police Training Act. Includes, in the minimum curriculum for police training schools, training in investigating domestic minor sex trafficking. Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that a child shall be considered abused regardless of the perpetrator of the abuse if the child is a human trafficking victim. Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides for immediate expungement of juvenile court and law enforcement records of minors who are human trafficking victims involved in prostitution. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Deletes a provision that provides that commercial sexual activity and sexually-explicit performances are forms of activities that are "services" under the human trafficking statute. Provides that involuntary sexual servitude of a minor includes purchasing sexual services of the minor whether from the trafficker or the minor. Provides that it is not a defense to involuntary sexual servitude of a minor that the accused reasonably believed the trafficking victim to be 18 years of age or over. Eliminates other mistake of age defenses concerning grooming and patronizing a minor engaged in prostitution. Provides that a person who is a victim of involuntary sexual servitude of a minor is deemed a crime victim and is eligible for protections afforded to crime victims. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 to permit a motion to vacate an adjudication of delinquency of a human trafficking victim who engaged in prostitution. Amends the Sex Offender Registration Act. Makes violations concerning trafficking in persons, involuntary servitude, and related offenses registrable offenses under the Act. Amends the Crime Victims Compensation Act to provide that a trafficking victim who is under 18 years of age is not subject to the filing requirements of the Act and is not subject to the eligibility requirements of the Act.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that if the State files a petition seeking to deny the defendant pretrial release and a continuance on the hearing concerning the petition is requested, the court has the sole discretion to grant or deny the request for a continuance. Provides that under no circumstances shall a continuance be granted that would result in the defendant being detained in pretrial detention for longer than 72 hours since the defendant's initial detention. Provides that in making its determination to deny or grant the request for continuance, the court shall consider, in addition to other facts and evidence available to the court, whether there is evidence that reasonable steps have been taken to appear within the initial time frame provided under the provision, but that due to circumstances outside the control of the requesting party, a continuance is necessary to present a fuller case.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that, beginning on July 1, 2026, the Department of Corrections shall adhere to a standardized process for all incoming publications. Provides that the process shall not prohibit a committed person's access to physical, hard copy publications, and allow members of the public to mail committed persons publications. Provides that, even if the Department adopts a policy that requires or contracts with a vendor for the digitization or photocopying of incoming mail or publications, the Department shall still provide access to physical, hardcopy publications. Effective immediately.

Calls for the release of all files related to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged accomplices with redactions limited solely to shielding the identities of survivors as outlined in the Epstein Transparency Act. Further calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor independent of the Trump Administration's influence to review prosecution decisions stemming from the Epstein investigation to investigate whether the Trump Administration illegally redacted or withheld documents to shield individuals for political purposes.

Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Requires a law enforcement officer investigating an alleged incident of domestic violence to complete a lethality assessment form to evaluate the likelihood of serious injury or death to the victim. Requires that the law enforcement officer to advise the victim of the results of the assessment and refer the victim to the local domestic violence program and provide the number of the Illinois State Domestic Violence Hotline. Requires that the personal identifying information of the offender and the results of the lethality assessment be given to the officer's supervisor and filed with the law enforcement agency in a manner that will allow aggregate data on domestic violence cases to be compiled.

Creates the Law Enforcement Data Sharing Act. Provides that a criminal justice agency shall share with a bona fide researcher all criminal justice data and records, including relevant personally identifying information and demographic information, held by that agency relating to: (1) a law enforcement stop, search, or seizure; (2) a warrant, arrest, or citation; (3) participation in a pre-arrest or post-arrest diversion, specialty court, or other alternative resolution program; (4) a criminal charge, disposition, or sentence; (5) a pretrial or posttrial release from custody, or any terms or conditions of release; (6) a grant, order, change in the terms of, or termination of pretrial supervised release, probation, parole, or participation in correctional or rehabilitative programs; or (7) a formal discipline, reclassification, or relocation of any person under criminal sentence or correctional control. Provides that a criminal justice agency shall share with a bona fide researcher all criminal justice data and records, including relevant personally identifying information and demographic information, held by the criminal justice agency that is subject to mandatory or discretionary disclosure to any member of the public under the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a criminal justice agency may share with a bona fide researcher any other criminal justice data, records, or information, including relevant personally identifying information and demographic information, held by that agency that is responsive to a bona fide researcher's request. Provides that, within 6 months after the effective date of the Act, the Attorney General shall issue guidance to assist criminal justice agencies in complying with the Act's requirements. Provides that a criminal justice agency may assess reasonable fees, not to exceed actual costs, for the search, retrieval, and copying of criminal justice data, records, or information requested under the Act, and may waive fees at their discretion.

Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that, in proceedings under the Minors Requiring Authoritative Intervention, Addicted Minors, or Delinquent Minors Article, initiated in a county, other than the county in which the minor who is subject of the proceedings resides, the court in which the proceedings were initiated may at any time before or after adjudication of wardship transfer the case to the county of the minor's residence. Provides that not later than 15 working days after the date an order of transfer is entered, the clerk of the court transferring a proceeding shall send to the clerk of the receiving court in the county to which the transfer is being made an authenticated copy of the court record, including all documents, petitions, and orders filed therein, and the minute orders and docket entries of the court. Provides that the clerk of the receiving court shall set a status hearing within 10 business days after receipt of the case and shall notify the judge of the receiving court and all parties. Provides that the receiving court shall review the court record immediately upon receipt. Provides that within 20 business days after receipt of the record, the reviewing court shall send a notice to the transferring court indicating it has accepted the case and scheduled a status date. Provides that until the transferring court receives this notice it continues to have jurisdiction over the case. Provides that if for any reason the receiving court does not accept the transfer, the receiving court shall, within 20 business days after receiving the case, send a notice to the transferring court indicating its reasons. Provides that the transferring court will continue its jurisdiction of the case and shall set the matter for status within 20 business days. Effective immediately.

Amends the Uniform Crime Reporting Act. Provides that each law enforcement agency shall submit a report to the Illinois State Police after receiving a complaint of a hate crime or other bias-related complaint within 2 weeks of receiving the complaint. Describes information to be contained in the report. Provides that, when handling a hate crime or bias-related complaint, each law enforcement agency shall (1) approach victims in a sensitive and supportive manner; (2) reassure victims that appropriate investigative and enforcement methods will be used by the law enforcement agency to properly address the bias incident; (3) as required by the facts and circumstances surrounding the suspected or confirmed bias incident, ensure that a thorough and complete initial response investigation and a follow-up investigation are conducted, including providing for appropriate community relations activities and crime prevention programs; (4) refer the victims and the witnesses to the appropriate Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy or the Division on Civil Rights; (5) interact with concerned community service organizations, civic groups, and religious institutions regarding the bias incident; and (6) effectively calm victims and reduce their fear and alienation through direct, ongoing official communication regarding the bias incident. Provides that the Illinois State Police must identify patterns and analyze the information reported to it for the purpose of connecting the information to other reported crimes or incidents, create a reporting form or process to receive this information, review all reports, and disseminate to potentially affected law enforcement agencies and create a process for the sharing of all the reported incidents with law enforcement agencies across the State. Provides that each law enforcement agency shall identify a point of contact in regard to hate crime reporting within the agency and provide the Illinois State Police with that person's name and contact information. Provides that the Illinois State Police shall adopt rules identifying other bias-related complaints that must be reported. Makes a conforming change. Amends the Freedom of Information Act to exempt reports and information received under the hate crime and bias-related incident reporting under the Uniform Crime Reporting Act.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the rules and regulations of the Department of Corrections shall also provide that sentence credit may be provided to an inmate who was held in pretrial 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, or parenting program, or re-entry planning facilitated (rather than provided) by the county department of corrections, 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 in accordance with the Code prior to his or her commitment to the Department of Corrections.

Amends the Department of Professional Regulation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Makes changes in provisions concerning definitions; oaths, subpoenas, and penalties; applicants with criminal convictions; qualification for licensure or registration; health care worker licensure actions; automatic suspension of a health care worker's license; the publication of disciplinary actions; and records of Department actions. Amends the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985. In provisions concerning required licensure, provides that an application shall not be automatically placed on hold, delayed, denied, or otherwise not processed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation because it was submitted by a person who is incarcerated. Amends the Health Care Professional Credentials Data Collection Act. In provisions concerning licensure records, provides that licensure records designated confidential and considered sealed (rather than expunged) for reporting purposes by the licensee are not reportable under the Act. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. In provisions concerning loss and restoration of rights, provides that no application for specific licenses granted under the authority of the State shall be denied to (rather than denied by reason of) an eligible offender who has obtained a certificate of relief from disabilities, having been previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses (rather than or by reason of a finding of lack of "good moral character"), when the finding is solely based upon the fact that the applicant has previously been convicted of one or more criminal offenses, except for certain circumstances. Repeals provisions concerning the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's annual report to the General Assembly. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.