Criminal Justice (Policing)

Creates the Fund the Police Act. Contains findings. Creates the Fund the Police Grant Fund and provides that moneys that the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board receives from the Fund must be used for the purpose of making grants to units of local government for the purposes of: (1) hiring, rehiring, and retention of law enforcement officers, including hiring and retention incentives and overtime; (2) funding body camera mandates and purchasing law enforcement equipment designed to keep officers and their communities safe; (3) funding additional law enforcement training; (4) assisting with outreach and community policing activities; (5) assisting with mental health treatment for individuals in county jails; (6) providing mental health care for law enforcement officers; and (7) purchasing public safety equipment designed to prevent gang violence, motor vehicle theft, vehicular hijacking, or the sale of contraband. Provides that the Board may set rules relating to requirements for the distribution of grant moneys and determine which law enforcement agencies are eligible. Provides that the Board must consider compliance with the Uniform Crime Reporting Act as a factor in awarding grant moneys. Provides that moneys in the Fund the Police Grant Fund may not be appropriated, assigned, or transferred to another State fund. Provides for a continuing appropriation at the beginning of each fiscal year of $125,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Fund the Police Grant Fund. Amends the State Finance Act by making conforming changes.

Creates the Court Access, Safety, and Participation Act. Makes legislative findings concerning access to the courts. Creates a privilege from civil arrest for a person who in good faith is attending a State court proceeding or who is going to, remaining at, or returning from the place of the court proceeding. Provides that a person who violates provisions of the Act is liable for civil damages for false imprisonment, including actual damages and statutory damages of $10,000, if that person knew or reasonably should have known that the person arrested is a person duly and in good faith attending a State court proceeding in which the person is a party, a witness, a potential witness, or a court companion of a party, witness, or potential witness while going to, remaining at, and returning from the court proceeding. Authorizes a court to grant any equitable or declaratory relief it deems appropriate and just. Prohibits an action from being commenced under the Act against the Illinois court system or any Illinois court system personnel acting lawfully under duty to maintain safety and order in the courts. Provides that nothing in the Act affects any right or defense of any person, police officer, peace officer or public officer, or any Illinois court system personnel acting lawfully under their duty to maintain safety and order in the courts. Makes other changes. Specifies that the provisions of the Act are severable. Effective immediately.

Creates the Court Access, Safety, and Participation Act. Makes legislative findings concerning access to the courts. Creates a privilege from civil arrest for a person who in good faith is attending a State court proceeding or who is going to, remaining at, or returning from the place of the court proceeding. Creates a civil cause of action for a violation of the Act if the person alleged to have violated the Act knew or reasonably should have known that the person arrested is a person duly and in good faith attending a State court proceeding in which the person is a party, a witness, a potential witness, or a court companion of a party, witness, or potential witness while going to, remaining at, and returning from the court proceeding. Provides that the injured person may recover statutory damages of $10,000 and actual damages, any equitable or declaratory relief the court deems appropriate and just, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs for a successful action. Prohibits an action from being commenced under the Act against the Illinois court system or any Illinois court system personnel acting lawfully under duty to maintain safety and order in the courts. Provides that nothing in the Act affects any right or defense, including any existing qualified immunity defense, of any person, police officer, peace officer or public officer, or any Illinois court system personnel acting lawfully under their duty to maintain safety and order in the courts. Makes other changes. Specifies that the provisions of the Act are severable. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Act and the Uniform Crime Reporting Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2026, the Illinois State Police shall submit to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, or provide to the Authority through a web-based portal, specified information concerning homicides on a quarterly basis. Requires the Authority to study and compile the information and, on a quarterly basis, publish the information on the Authority's public website in a form determined by the Authority.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that an oral, written, or sign language confession of a person made as a result of a custodial interrogation conducted at a police station or other place of detention on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act is presumed to be inadmissible as evidence against the person making the confession in a criminal proceeding for an act that would be a misdemeanor offense under the Sex Offenses Article of the Criminal Code of 2012 or a felony offense under the Criminal Code of 2012 if, during the custodial interrogation, a law enforcement officer knowingly engages in deception. Provides that the presumption of inadmissibility of a confession of a person at a custodial interrogation at a police station or other place of detention, when such confession is procured through the knowing use of deception, may be overcome by a preponderance of the evidence that the confession was voluntarily given, based on the totality of the circumstances. Provides that the burden of going forward with the evidence and the burden of proving that a confession was voluntary is on the State. Provides that objection to the failure of the State to call all material witnesses on the issue of whether the confession was voluntary must be made in the trial court. Defines terms.

Amends the Uniform Crime Reporting Act. Provides that a law enforcement agency shall report all shootings connected with the subject of an incident report when the shooting resulted in any property damage or bodily injury. Provides that each incident report that reports a shooting shall, at a minimum, state whether a firearm has been identified and if a magazine, round of ammunition, expended bullet, or shell casing was found at the scene of the crime.

Amends the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Act and the Uniform Crime Reporting Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2026, the Illinois State Police shall submit to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, or provide to the Authority through a web-based portal, specified information concerning homicides on a quarterly basis. Requires the Authority to study and compile the information and, on a quarterly basis, publish the information on the Authority's public website in a form determined by the Authority.

Amends the Counties Code. Requires a State's Attorney to notify the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board of any officer found to be uncredible for the presentation of sworn testimony. Amends the Illinois Police Training Act. Requires the Board to record whether or not an officer has been reported by a State's Attorney as being uncredible for the presentation of testimony. Effective immediately.

Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Deletes a provision that exempted from disclosure under the Act records contained in the officer professional conduct database established under the Illinois Police Training Act. Amends the Illinois State Police Act. Requires the Illinois State Police Merit Board to publish the officer professional conduct database on its website so that it is both searchable and viewable in its entirety by the public and can be downloaded in its entirety as a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file. Amends the Illinois Police Training Act. Requires the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board to ensure that the officer professional conduct database established under the Act is available to the public. Deletes a provisions which specifies that information submitted to the officer professional conduct database is confidential.