Rep. Elaine Nekritz

Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Amends the Election Code. Provides that no candidate for President or Vice-President of the United States shall appear on the official ballot for the general election if that candidate has not released his or her tax returns at least 5 days prior to the date set for certification of the ballot for the general election. Defines "released his or her tax returns" to mean that the tax returns filed with the federal Internal Revenue Service for the 5 most recent years in which tax returns have been filed by the candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States have been filed with the Secretary of State. Requires the Secretary of State to post the tax returns on the Secretary of State's website and to certify that the tax returns have been filed to the State Board of Elections. Allows the Secretary of State to adopt rules to implement the provisions.

Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning downstate teachers.

Creates the High Speed Rail Authority Act. Defines terms. Creates the Illinois High Speed Rail Authority and provides for the members of the Authority. Provides for the powers of the Authority, including the power to: (1) acquire property by purchase or condemnation; (2) enter into contracts; (3) maintain a system of high speed rail lines throughout the State; and (4) enter into an intergovernmental agreement or contract with a unit of government or other public or private entity. Provides that the Governor shall appoint a High Speed Rail Inspector General for the purpose of detection, deterrence, and prevention of fraud, corruption, and mismanagement in the Authority. Provides that the Authority shall hold a public hearing whenever approximate locations and widths of rights of way for future high speed railway additions are to be established or before it adopts an increase in the rates for its fares. Provides that prior to the commencement of any engineering and traffic study to determine the feasibility of constructing additional high speed railway lines in this State, the Authority shall submit to the Governor for his or her approval the route or routes proposed, with an estimate of the cost of the proposed study. Provides that the Authority shall create a local advisory committee of members from each county in which any portion of a new or additional high speed railway is proposed to be constructed. Provides how the Authority shall spend moneys received from the issuance of bonds and fares. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Illinois High Speed Rail Authority Fund as a special fund in the State treasury.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that mandatory consecutive sentencing does not apply to a violation of a condition of electronic home monitoring under the Electronic Monitoring and Home Detention Law.

Amends the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Changes the definition of "service" to include periods where earnings credits were established for periods of voluntary pay reduction in lieu of furlough. In a provision concerning retirement annuity payment periods, provides that for a recipient of a disability retirement annuity, the date on which a retirement annuity payment period begins shall not be prior to the discontinuation of the disability retirement annuity. Provides for the discontinuation of a disability retirement annuity when the recipient refuses to submit to a reasonable physical examination by a physician approved by the board or when the recipient fails to provide an earnings verification necessary to determine continuance of benefits. Requires the board to prescribe rules governing the filing, investigation, control, and supervision of disability retirement annuity claims. Adds provisions concerning costs incurred in connection with completing a claim for a disability retirement annuity. Authorizes the secretary of the board to issue subpoenas to obtain information to assist in the collection of sums due to the System, the determination of the death of a benefit recipient or a potential benefit recipient, or obtaining personal identifying information necessary for the administration of benefits. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Personnel Code. Provides for exemption from the Code of employees having demonstrable, defined advanced skills in statistical research and data analytics who are employed in research and analysis units of executive branch agencies or whose duties are primarily focused on developing information sharing capabilities across executive branch agencies and between State agencies and units of local government. Amends the Criminal Justice Information Act. Abolishes the Illinois Integrated Justice System Implementation Board. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Creates the Illinois State Criminal Justice Data, Research, and Implementation Advisory Committee to (1) examine existing State and local criminal justice data collection systems and assess agencies' capacities to effectively analyze data and evaluate criminal justice trends and programming based on national best practices; and (2) publish an annual report, detailing its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor. Provides that the administrative support for the Committee shall be provided by the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council. Provides that each department, agency, board, or authority of the State or any unit of local government shall provide records or other information to the Committee as requested by the Committee to carry out its duties, provided that the Committee and provider of the information shall make appropriate arrangements to ensure that the Committee and provider of the information to the Committee does not violate any applicable laws.

Amends the Illinois Act on the Aging. Provides that any person or organization authorized by the Department on Aging to provide services under the Community Care Program shall, in the good faith performance of those services, have immunity from any civil, criminal, or other liability in any civil, criminal, or other proceeding brought as a consequence of the performance of those services. Provides that the State shall indemnify and hold harmless any person or organization authorized by the Department to provide services under the Community Care Program for all the acts, omissions, decisions, or other conduct arising out of the scope of the Community Care Program duties of the person or organization; and that the method of providing indemnification shall be as provided in the State Employee Indemnification Act. Provides that the immunity and indemnification protections in the new provisions apply to the Community Care Program and any related program subsequently established by administrative rule.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that a committed person who is at least 55 years of age and who has served at least 20 consecutive years of imprisonment in a Department of Corrections institution or facility may petition the Prisoner Review Board for participation in the Elderly Rehabilitated Prisoner Supervised Release Program. Provides that if the committed person files the petition, the victims and the families of the victims of the petitioner's offenses shall be notified in a timely manner after the petition is filed. Provides that within 30 days after receiving the petition, the Board shall notify the victims and the families of the victims of the committed person's petition, and it shall provide an opportunity for the victims and their families to submit statements in support of or opposition to the petitioner's participation in the Program. Provides that the Board shall consider the petition in its entirety, including information supplied by the Department of Corrections, and shall not order the release of the petitioner if it finds that the petitioner's release would pose an unacceptable risk of danger to public safety. Provides that if the Board determines that the petitioner should participate in the Program, the Board shall set a date for his or her release that is before the expiration of his or her current sentence. Provides that the Board also shall set conditions for the petitioner's release in accordance with the person's risks, assets, and needs which are identified through an assessment tool provided in the Illinois Crime Reduction Act of 2009.

Requests that no State or local government agency or official should expend any time, facilities, equipment, information, or other resources of the agency or official to facilitate the creation, publication, or maintenance of or any participation in any federal program with the purpose of registering or maintaining a database of individuals present in the United States based on their race, color, ancestry, national origin, or religion.