Amends the Public Defender and Appointed Counsel Division of the Counties Code. Creates the Public Defender Quality Defense Task Force. Provides that the Task Force is established to: (i) examine the current caseload and determine the optimal caseload for public defenders in the State; (ii) examine the quality of legal services being offered to defendants by public defenders of the State; and (iii) make recommendations to improve the caseload of public defenders and quality of legal services offered by public defenders. Provides that the Task Force shall hold a minimum of 2 public hearings and at other times of its choosing. Provides that the Task Force shall prepare a report that summarizes its work and makes recommendations resulting from its study to the General Assembly and Governor no later than December 31, 2022. Repeals the provisions on December 31, 2023. Effective immediately.
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Creates the Birth Center Licensing Act. Provides that, except as provided by the Act, no person shall open, manage, conduct, offer, maintain, or advertise as a birth center without a valid license issued by the Department of Public Health. Requires all birth centers in existence as of the effective date of the Act to obtain a valid license to operate within 2 years after the adoption of rules by the Department to implement the Act. Provides that an applicant for a license under the Act shall submit an application on forms prescribed by the Department, which shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable license fee, as established by rule by the Department. Provides that licenses under the Act are renewable every 3 years upon submission of specified materials. Requires birth centers, to the extent possible, to link and integrate services with nearby health care facilities. Contains provisions concerning staffing requirements; minimum standards to protect the health and safety of a patient of a birth center; and requirements for reimbursement, reporting, training, and inspections. Requires the Department to adopt specified rules. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately. House Floor Amendment No. 2 Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Makes changes concerning definitions. Refers to certified nurse midwives (rather than midwives). Provides that licenses under the Act are renewable every year (rather than every 3 years) upon submission of specified materials. Provides that birth centers shall obtain certificates of need from the Health Facilities and Services Review Board under the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act before receiving a license by the Department of Public Health. Provides that if, after obtaining an initial certificate of need, a birth center seeks to increase the bed capacity of the birth center, the birth center must obtain a certificate of need from the Health Facilities and Services Review Board before increasing the bed capacity. Provides that a birth center in a medically underserved area shall receive priority in obtaining a certificate of need. Provides that a birth center shall link and integrate its services with at least one birthing hospital with a minimum of a Level 1 perinatal designation (rather than with nearby health care facilities). Provides that a birth center shall have an established agreement with a nearby receiving birthing center (rather than a written plan for transfer of patients). Provides that a birth center is encouraged to participate in quality improvement projects implemented by the Department of Public Health's Administrative Perinatal Centers and other Department-supported perinatal quality improvement projects. Requires clinicians, or their clinical representative, and attending persons in labor at a birth center to attend morbidity and mortality reviews that occur at the receiving birthing hospital on their patients. Requires the Department to require each birth center to report specified information every year (rather than every 3 years). Removes language requiring the Department to deem an accreditation body applicable to birth centers as a substitute for its own periodic inspection. Makes other changes.
Creates the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act. Defines terms. Establishes findings and purposes of the Act. Creates the Illinois Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission, and provides for: membership; terms and vacancies of members; quorum; meetings; compensation; duties; and responsibilities. Allows a regional domestic violence fatality review team to be established within the boundaries of each judicial circuit, and provides for: membership; terms and vacancies of members; quorum; meetings; compensation; duties; and responsibilities. Adds provisions governing: cases eligible for review; confidentiality of regional review teams, information, and domestic violence fatality reviews; access to records and information; storage and destruction of confidential information; penalties for unlawful disclosure of confidential information; and immunity. Makes conforming changes in the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Effective immediately. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act. Defines terms. Establishes findings and purposes of the Act. Creates the Ad Hoc Statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Board, and provides for: membership; terms and vacancies of members; quorum; meetings; compensation; duties; and responsibilities. Allows a regional domestic violence fatality review team to be established within the boundaries of each judicial circuit, and provides for: membership; terms of members; vacancies; quorum; meetings; compensation; duties; and responsibilities. Adds provisions governing: cases eligible for review; confidentiality of regional review teams, information, and domestic violence fatality reviews; access to records and information; storage and destruction of confidential information; penalties for unlawful disclosure of confidential information; and immunity. Makes conforming changes in the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Effective immediately. House Floor Amendment No. 2 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act. Defines terms. Establishes findings and purposes of the Act. Creates the Ad Hoc Statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Board, and provides for: membership; terms and vacancies of members; quorum; meetings; compensation; duties; and responsibilities. Allows a regional domestic violence fatality review team to be established within the boundaries of each judicial circuit, and provides for: membership; terms of members; vacancies; quorum; meetings; compensation; duties; and responsibilities. Adds provisions governing: cases eligible for review; confidentiality of regional review teams, information, and domestic violence fatality reviews; access to records and information; storage and destruction of confidential information; penalties for unlawful disclosure of confidential information; and immunity. Makes conforming changes in the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Effective immediately.
Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Prisoner Review Board may grant a person committed to the Department of Corrections early release for medical incapacity or terminal illness. Establishes the procedures for applying for that release and the considerations the Prisoner Review Board must make in determining whether to grant the release. Provides that a committed person granted medical release shall be released on mandatory supervised release for a period of 5 years subject to the Code provisions concerning mandatory supervised release, which shall operate to discharge any remaining term of years imposed upon him or her; however, the person shall not serve a period of mandatory supervised release greater than the aggregate of the discharged underlying sentence and the mandatory supervised release period. Provides that a grant of medical release shall be an act of executive and legislative grace and shall be at the sole discretion of the Prisoner Review Board. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Adds reference to: 725 ILCS 120/5 from Ch. 38, par. 1405 730 ILCS 105/5 from Ch. 38, par. 1655 Provides that this Act may be referred to as The Joe Coleman Medical Release Act. Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the bill as introduced, with the following changes: Amends the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act. Provides that the crime victim has the right to submit a victim statement to the Prisoner Review Board for consideration at a medical release hearing as provided in a Section of the Unified Code of Corrections. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. In the definition of "medically incapacitated", provides that to qualify the inmate shall have a medical condition preventing the inmate from completing more than one activities of daily living, rather than one or more activities. In the definition of "terminal illness", provides that a condition may qualify if it is likely to cause death in 18 months, rather than 12 months. Provides that within 90 days of the receipt of the initial application, the Prisoner Review Board shall conduct a hearing if a hearing is requested and render a decision granting or denying the petitioner's request for release. Provides that the Department of Corrections and the Prisoner Review Board shall release a report annually published on their websites that reports certain information about the Medical Release Program, such as the number of applications for medical release received by the Board in the preceding year, the number of people released on the medical release program, and the number of institutional hearings on medical release applications conducted by the Board. Provides that all the information provided in this report shall be provided in aggregate, and nothing shall be construed to require the public dissemination of any personal medical information. Provides that this Act applies retroactively, and shall be applicable to all currently incarcerated people in Illinois. Provides that the crime victim has the right to submit a victim statement to the Prisoner Review Board for consideration at a medical release hearing as provided in the Unified Code of Corrections. Amends the Open Parole Hearings Act. Provides that the definition of "parole hearing" includes a medical release hearing. Makes other changes.
Amends the Alternative Health Care Delivery Act. In provisions regarding demonstration program requirements, requires there to be 6 (rather than 4) birth center alternative health care models in the demonstration program located in the area comprising Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, 2 (rather than one) of which shall be owned or operated by a federally qualified health center. Provides that one birth center alternative health care model in the demonstration program shall be located within Planning Area A-3 to address the disparate perinatal and child health outcomes in Planning Area A-3. Provides that birth centers located in Planning Area A-3 or operated by a federally qualified health center are exempt from the requirements of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act or successor Acts. Effective immediately. House Floor Amendment No. 2 Provides that there shall be no more than 17 (rather than 12) birth center alternative health care models in the demonstration program. Provides that: 10 (rather than 6) birth center alternative health care models shall be located in the area comprising Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties; 2 birth center alternative health care models shall be located in Planning Area A-2; 2 birth center alternative health care models shall be located in Planning Area A-4; and one birth center alternative health care model shall be located in the City of East St. Louis in Planning Area F-1. Removes language providing that a birth center located in Planning Area A-3 or operated by a federally qualified health center is exempt from the requirements of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act or successor Acts.
Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that no later than December 31, 2022, and no later than December 31 of each year thereafter, the Department of Children and Family Services shall prepare and submit an annual report, covering the previous fiscal year, to the General Assembly regarding racial disparities for children and families involved in the child welfare system. Provides that the report shall be conducted by a research institution at a public university and must include, at a minimum, the following de-aggregated data by race as compared, where appropriate, to population-level data: (1) education success, health and behavioral health, housing, jobs or economic justice, criminal justice, and other key metrics that serve as indicators of child and family well-being and can measure socioeconomic conditions in communities; and (2) children and families involved in a safety plan, the number of protective custodies, the number of investigations of each type of abuse and neglect allegation described in a specified provision of the Illinois Administrative Code and the findings of such investigations, the number of Department recommended court filings for each allegation type, the number of intakes into the foster care system, placement settings, lengths of stay, and permanency outcomes.
Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits stalking when he or she knowingly makes threats that are a part of a course of conduct and is aware of the threatening nature of his or her speech.
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a contract for life insurance covering a natural person 64 years of age or older that has been in force for at least one year may not be lapsed for nonpayment of premium unless the insurer has mailed a notification of the impending lapse in coverage to the policyowner and to a specified secondary addressee if such addressee has been designated in writing by name and address by the policyowner. Provides that an insurer issuing a life insurance contract on or after January 1, 2022 shall notify the applicant of the right to designate a secondary addressee at the time of application for the policy, on a form provided by the insurer and at any time the policy is in force, by submitting a written notice to the insurer containing the name and address of the secondary addressee. Provides that the notice of impending lapse in coverage must be mailed to the policyowner and the secondary addressee at least 21 days before the expiration of the grace period provided in the policy in specified circumstances. Provides that the secondary notice requirement does not apply to any life insurance contract under which premiums are payable monthly or more frequently and are regularly collected by a licensed agent or are paid by credit card or any preauthorized check processing or automatic debit service of a financial institution. Provides that if the policyowner has a life agent of record or any agent of record, the insurer must also notify the agent of the impending lapse in coverage at least 21 days before the effective date of the lapse. Provides that an insurer is not required to notify the agent in specified circumstances. Effective January 1, 2022. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 215 ILCS 5/143.17b new Adds reference to: 215 ILCS 5/235.1 new Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a life company issuing an individual life insurance contract on or after January 1, 2022 shall notify an applicant, in writing on a form prescribed by the company at the time of application for the policy, of the applicant's right to designate a secondary addressee to receive notice of cancellation of the policy based on nonpayment of premium. Provides that the applicant may make the secondary addressee designation at the time of application for such policy or at any time such policy is in force by submitting a written notice to the insurer containing the name and address of the secondary addressee. Provides that an insurer's transmission to a secondary addressee of a copy of a notice of cancellation based on nonpayment of premium shall be in addition to the transmission of the original document to the policyholder, and that the copy of the notice of cancellation transmitted to the secondary addressee shall be made in the same manner and form required for the transmission of the notice to the policyholder. Provides that the designation of a secondary addressee shall not constitute acceptance of any liability on the part of the secondary addressee or insurer for services provided to the policyholder. Provides that the secondary notice requirement does not apply to any individual life insurance contract under which premiums are payable monthly or more frequently and are regularly collected by a licensed agent or are paid by credit card or any preauthorized check processing or automatic debit service of a financial institution. Provides that nothing in the language shall prohibit an applicant or policyholder from designating a life insurance agent of record as his or her secondary addressee. Effective January 1, 2022.
Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that independent of any criminal prosecution or the result of a criminal prosecution, any person suffering injury as a result of a hate crime may bring a civil action for damages, injunction or other appropriate relief if the hate crime was caused by disorderly conduct committed by: (1) transmitting or causing to be transmitted in any manner to any peace officer, public officer or public employee a report to the effect that an offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed, knowing at the time of the transmission that there is no reasonable ground for believing that the offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed; (2) transmitting or causing to be transmitted in any manner a false report to any public safety agency without the reasonable grounds necessary to believe that transmitting the report is necessary for the safety and welfare of the public; or (3) calling the number "911" or transmitting or causing to be transmitted in any manner to a public safety agency for the purpose of making or transmitting a false alarm or complaint and reporting information when, at the time the call or transmission is made, the person knows there is no reasonable ground for making the call or transmission and further knows that the call or transmission could result in the emergency response of any public safety agency.
Amends various Acts to make changes concerning references to specified racial and ethnic groups. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 30 ILCS 575/2 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill, and removes references to "Descendant of American Slaves". Makes conforming changes.