Bill Text: IL HB1016 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Court of Claims Act. Provides that the court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all claims against the State for time unjustly served in a county jail, on parole, on intensive supervision probation, or on the sex offender registry, when the unjustly convicted person received a pardon from the Governor stating that such pardon is issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he or she was convicted or he or she received a certificate of innocence from the Circuit Court. Removes language providing that: the amount of an award for unjustly served prison sentences is at the discretion of the court; the court shall make no award in excess of specified amounts for specified terms of imprisonment; and the court shall fix attorney's fees not to exceed 25% of the award granted. Requires the court to make an award of $50,000 per year, and prorated for any partial year, during which the person was wrongfully incarcerated in a State correctional institution or in a county jail, including the time the person was incarcerated awaiting trial, and $25,000 for each year, and prorated for any partial year, during which the person was wrongfully on parole, wrongfully on intensive supervision probation, or was wrongfully required to register as a sex offender, as well as an award of reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and expenses in the amount determined by the Circuit Court after awarding a certificate of innocence. Makes other and conforming changes. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Allows any person who is convicted or adjudicated a delinquent and subsequently serves any part of a sentence of incarceration in a State correctional institution or in a county jail, of parole, of intensive supervision probation, or of registration as a sex offender for one or more felonies which he or she did not commit to file a petition for certificate of innocence. Requires the petition to state facts in sufficient detail to permit the court to find that the petitioner is likely to succeed at trial in proving that the petitioner is innocent of the alleged offenses for which he or she was convicted or adjudicated a delinquent, and the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction or juvenile delinquency adjudication. Provides that neither a guilty plea nor a confession constitutes conduct causing or bringing about one's conviction or delinquency adjudication. Requires, if the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to a judgment, the court to make a determination of the reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with obtaining the certificate of innocence. Provides that any person seeking a certificate of innocence based on the dismissal of a juvenile delinquency petition or an acquittal on such petition that occurred before the effective date of the amendatory Act, including a petitioner whose petition was denied solely on the basis that this Section did not formerly apply to juvenile delinquency adjudications, shall file his or her petition within 4 years after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that any person seeking a certificate of innocence based on the dismissal of a juvenile delinquency petition or an acquittal on such petition that occurred on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall file his or her petition within 2 years after the dismissal or acquittal. Makes other and conforming changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Failed) 2025-01-07 - Session Sine Die [HB1016 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB1016-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB1016 Introduced , by Rep. Mary E. Flowers SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
705 ILCS 505/8 from Ch. 37, par. 439.8
705 ILCS 505/11 from Ch. 37, par. 439.11
735 ILCS 5/2-702
Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that any person criminally prosecuted and incarcerated for 30 days or longer prior to trial for one or more felonies by the State which he or she did not commit may file a petition for a certificate of innocence. Provides that the petitioner must prove that: the petitioner was incarcerated prior to trial in a prosecution that resulted in an acquittal or dismissal; the prosecution did not result in a conviction of a lesser included offense; the petitioner is innocent of the charges on which the petitioner's pretrial detention was based, or the charges did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor; and the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct voluntarily cause or bring about the charges that resulted in his or her pretrial incarceration. Amends the Court of Claims Act. Provides that a person who has been issued a certificate of innocence may file a claim against the State for time unjustly served in pretrial incarceration in a county jail. Provides that the Court of Claims shall award $50,000 per year during which the person was wrongfully imprisoned and shall prorate that amount for a fraction of a year that the person was wrongfully imprisoned (rather than "the amount of the award is at the discretion of the court; and provided, the court shall make no award in excess of the following amounts: for imprisonment of 5 years or less, not more than $85,350; for imprisonment of 14 years or less but over 5 years, not more than $170,000; for imprisonment of over 14 years, not more than $199,150"). Provides that the court shall include the number of years the person was imprisoned awaiting trial in its determination and an additional $25,000 for each year served on parole, probation, or registered as a sex offender after imprisonment. Makes corresponding changes. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Court of Claims Act is amended by changing
Sections 8 and 11 as follows:
(705 ILCS 505/8) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.8)
Sec. 8. Court of Claims jurisdiction; deliberation
periods. The court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear
and determine the following matters:
(a) All claims against the State founded upon any law
of the State of Illinois or upon any regulation adopted
thereunder by an executive or administrative officer or
agency; provided, however, the court shall not have
jurisdiction (i) to hear or determine claims arising under
the Workers' Compensation Act or the Workers' Occupational
Diseases Act, or claims for expenses in civil litigation,
or (ii) to review administrative decisions for which a
statute provides that review shall be in the circuit or
appellate court.
(b) All claims against the State founded upon any
contract entered into with the State of Illinois.
(c) All claims against the State for time unjustly
served in prisons of this State or in a county jail when

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the person imprisoned received a pardon from the Governor
stating that such pardon is issued on the ground of
innocence of the crime for which he or she was imprisoned
or he or she received a certificate of innocence from the
Circuit Court as provided in Section 2-702 of the Code of
Civil Procedure. The court shall make an award of $50,000
per year during which the person was wrongfully imprisoned
and shall prorate that amount for a fraction of a year that
the person was wrongfully imprisoned. The court shall fix
attorney's fees not to exceed 25% of the award granted.
The court shall include the number of years the person was
imprisoned awaiting trial in its determination of the
award. The court shall include an additional $25,000 for
each year served on parole, probation, or registered as a
sex offender after imprisonment. The ; provided, the amount
of the award is at the discretion of the court; and
provided, the court shall make no award in excess of the
following amounts: for imprisonment of 5 years or less,
not more than $85,350; for imprisonment of 14 years or
less but over 5 years, not more than $170,000; for
imprisonment of over 14 years, not more than $199,150; and
provided further, the court shall fix attorney's fees not
to exceed 25% of the award granted. On or after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General
Assembly, the court shall annually adjust the maximum
awards authorized by this subsection (c) to reflect the

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increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index For All
Urban Consumers for the previous calendar year, as
determined by the United States Department of Labor,
except that no annual increment may exceed 5%. For the
annual adjustments, if the Consumer Price Index decreases
during a calendar year, there shall be no adjustment for
that calendar year. The transmission by the Prisoner
Review Board or the clerk of the circuit court of the
information described in Section 11(b) to the clerk of the
Court of Claims is conclusive evidence of the validity of
the claim. The changes made by Public Act 95-970 this
amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all
claims pending on or filed on or after September 22, 2008
(the effective date of Public Act 95-970). The changes
made by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly
apply to all claims pending or filed on or after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
Assembly.
(d) All claims against the State for damages in cases
sounding in tort, if a like cause of action would lie
against a private person or corporation in a civil suit,
and all like claims sounding in tort against the Medical
Center Commission, the Board of Trustees of the University
of Illinois, the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois
University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago State
University, the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois

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University, the Board of Trustees of Governors State
University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State
University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois
University, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois
University, the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois
University, or the Board of Trustees of the Illinois
Mathematics and Science Academy; provided, that an award
for damages in a case sounding in tort, other than certain
cases involving the operation of a State vehicle described
in this paragraph, shall not exceed the sum of $2,000,000
to or for the benefit of any claimant. The $2,000,000
limit prescribed by this Section does not apply to an
award of damages in any case sounding in tort arising out
of the operation by a State employee of a vehicle owned,
leased or controlled by the State. The defense that the
State or the Medical Center Commission or the Board of
Trustees of the University of Illinois, the Board of
Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Chicago State University, the Board of
Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Governors State University, the Board of
Trustees of Illinois State University, the Board of
Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Northern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Western Illinois University, or the Board of
Trustees of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

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is not liable for the negligence of its officers, agents,
and employees in the course of their employment is not
applicable to the hearing and determination of such
claims. The changes to this Section made by this
amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly apply only to
claims filed on or after July 1, 2015.
The court shall annually adjust the maximum awards
authorized by this subsection to reflect the increase, if
any, in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers
for the previous calendar year, as determined by the
United States Department of Labor. The Comptroller shall
make the new amount resulting from each annual adjustment
available to the public via the Comptroller's official
website by January 31 of every year.
(e) All claims for recoupment made by the State of
Illinois against any claimant.
(f) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty
Compensation Act. A claim under that Act must be heard and
determined within one year after the application for that
claim is filed with the Court as provided in that Act.
(g) All claims filed pursuant to the Crime Victims
Compensation Act.
(h) All claims pursuant to the Illinois National
Guardsman's Compensation Act. A claim under that Act must
be heard and determined within one year after the
application for that claim is filed with the Court as

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provided in that Act.
(i) All claims authorized by subsection (a) of Section
10-55 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for the
expenses incurred by a party in a contested case on the
administrative level.
(Source: P.A. 100-1124, eff. 11-27-18.)
(705 ILCS 505/11) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.11)
Sec. 11. Filing claims.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this
Section and subsection (4) of Section 24, the claimant shall
in all cases set forth fully in his petition the claim, the
action thereon, if any, on behalf of the State, what persons
are owners thereof or interested therein, when and upon what
consideration such persons became so interested; that no
assignment or transfer of the claim or any part thereof or
interest therein has been made, except as stated in the
petition; that the claimant is justly entitled to the amount
therein claimed from the State of Illinois, after allowing all
just credits; and that claimant believes the facts stated in
the petition to be true. The petition shall be verified, as to
statements of facts, by the affidavit of the claimant, his
agent, or attorney.
(b) Whenever a person has served a term of imprisonment
and has received a pardon by the Governor stating that such
pardon was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for

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which he or she was imprisoned, the Prisoner Review Board
shall transmit this information to the clerk of the Court of
Claims, together with the claimant's current address. Whenever
a person has served a term of imprisonment or has been
incarcerated as a pretrial detainee and has received a
certificate of innocence from the Circuit Court as provided in
Section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the clerk of the
issuing Circuit Court shall transmit this information to the
clerk of the Court of Claims, together with the claimant's
current address. The clerk of the Court of Claims shall
immediately docket the case for consideration by the Court of
Claims, and shall provide notice to the claimant of such
docketing together with all hearing dates and applicable
deadlines. The Court of Claims shall hear the case and render a
decision within 90 days after its docketing.
(Source: P.A. 95-970, eff. 9-22-08; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09.)
Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
changing Section 2-702 as follows:
(735 ILCS 5/2-702)
Sec. 2-702. Petition for a certificate of innocence that
the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she
was incarcerated.
(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that innocent
persons who have been wrongly charged with or convicted of

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crimes in Illinois and subsequently have been incarcerated
prior to trial or imprisoned have been frustrated in seeking
legal redress due to a variety of substantive and technical
obstacles in the law and that such persons should have an
available avenue to obtain a finding of innocence so that they
may obtain relief through a petition in the Court of Claims.
The General Assembly further finds misleading the current
legal nomenclature which compels an innocent person to seek a
pardon for being wrongfully incarcerated. It is the intent of
the General Assembly that the court, in exercising its
discretion as permitted by law regarding the weight and
admissibility of evidence submitted pursuant to this Section,
shall, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to
difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death
or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or
other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on
their behalf.
(b) Any person criminally prosecuted and incarcerated
prior to trial or convicted and subsequently imprisoned for
one or more felonies by the State of Illinois which he or she
did not commit may, under the conditions hereinafter provided,
file a petition for certificate of innocence in the circuit
court of the county in which the person was convicted or
incarcerated prior to trial. The petition shall request a
certificate of innocence finding that the petitioner was
innocent of all offenses for which he or she was incarcerated.

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(c) In order to present the claim for certificate of
innocence of an unjust conviction and imprisonment or pretrial
incarceration, the petitioner must attach to his or her
petition documentation demonstrating that:
(1) he or she has been convicted of one or more
felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently
sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or
any part of the sentence, or he or she was incarcerated
prior to trial for 30 days or longer and the case resulted
in a dismissal or acquittal of the charge or charges, but
did not result in a conviction for a lesser included
offense; and
(2) if convicted, his or her judgment of conviction
was reversed or vacated, and the indictment or information
dismissed or, if a new trial was ordered, either he or she
was found not guilty at the new trial or he or she was not
retried and the indictment or information dismissed; or
the statute, or application thereof, on which the
indictment or information was based violated the
Constitution of the United States or the State of
Illinois; and
(3) his or her claim is not time barred by the
provisions of subsection (i) of this Section.
(d) The petition shall state facts in sufficient detail to
permit the court to find that the petitioner is likely to
succeed at trial in proving that the petitioner is innocent of

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the offenses charged in the indictment or information or his
or her acts or omissions charged in the indictment or
information did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor against
the State of Illinois, and the petitioner did not by his or her
own conduct voluntarily cause or bring about his or her
conviction. The petition shall be verified by the petitioner.
(e) A copy of the petition shall be served on the Attorney
General and the State's Attorney of the county where the
conviction was had. The Attorney General and the State's
Attorney of the county where the conviction was had shall have
the right to intervene as parties.
(f) In any hearing seeking a certificate of innocence, the
court may take judicial notice of prior sworn testimony or
evidence admitted in the criminal proceedings related to the
charges or convictions which resulted in the alleged wrongful
incarceration, if the petitioner was either represented by
counsel at such prior proceedings or the right to counsel was
knowingly waived.
(g) In order to obtain a certificate of innocence the
petitioner must prove by a preponderance of evidence that:
(1) the petitioner was convicted of one or more
felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently
sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or
any part of the sentence;
(g-5) If the petitioner was incarcerated prior to trial
for 30 days or longer but not convicted of any of the charged

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offenses or a lesser included offense, in order to obtain a
certificate of innocence, the petitioner must prove by a
preponderance of evidence that:
(1) the petitioner was incarcerated prior to trial for
30 days or longer in a prosecution that resulted in an
acquittal or dismissal;
(2) the prosecution did not result in a conviction of
a lesser included offense;
(3) the petitioner is innocent of the charges on which
the petitioner's pretrial detention was based, or the
charges did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor; and
(4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct
voluntarily cause or bring about the charges that resulted
in his or her pretrial incarceration.
(2)(A) the judgment of conviction was reversed or
vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or,
if a new trial was ordered, either the petitioner was
found not guilty at the new trial or the petitioner was not
retried and the indictment or information dismissed; or
(B) the statute, or application thereof, on which the
indictment or information was based violated the
Constitution of the United States or the State of
Illinois;
(3) the petitioner is innocent of the offenses charged
in the indictment or information or his or her acts or
omissions charged in the indictment or information did not

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constitute a felony or misdemeanor against the State; and
(4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct
voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction.
(h) If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to a
judgment, it shall enter a certificate of innocence finding
that the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he
or she was incarcerated. Upon entry of the certificate of
innocence or pardon from the Governor stating that such pardon
was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he
or she was incarcerated prior to trial or imprisoned, (1) the
clerk of the court shall transmit a copy of the certificate of
innocence to the clerk of the Court of Claims, together with
the claimant's current address; and (2) the court shall enter
an order expunging the record of arrest from the official
records of the arresting authority and order that the records
of the clerk of the circuit court and the Illinois State Police
be sealed until further order of the court upon good cause
shown or as otherwise provided herein, and the name of the
defendant obliterated from the official index requested to be
kept by the circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks
of Courts Act in connection with the arrest and conviction for
the offense but the order shall not affect any index issued by
the circuit court clerk before the entry of the order. The
court shall enter the expungement order regardless of whether
the petitioner has prior criminal convictions.
All records sealed by the Illinois State Police may be

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disseminated by the Department only as required by law or to
the arresting authority, the State's Attorney, the court upon
a later arrest for the same or similar offense, or for the
purpose of sentencing for any subsequent felony. Upon
conviction for any subsequent offense, the Department of
Corrections shall have access to all sealed records of the
Department pertaining to that individual.
Upon entry of the order of expungement, the clerk of the
circuit court shall promptly mail a copy of the order to the
person whose records were expunged and sealed.
(i) Any person seeking a certificate of innocence under
this Section based on the dismissal of an indictment or
information or acquittal that occurred before September 22,
2008 (the effective date of Public Act 95-970) this amendatory
Act of the 95th General Assembly shall file his or her petition
within 2 years after the September 22, 2008 (effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. Any person
seeking a certificate of innocence under this Section based on
the dismissal of an indictment or information or acquittal
that occurred on or after September 22, 2008 the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall file
his or her petition within 2 years after the dismissal.
(j) The decision to grant or deny a certificate of
innocence shall be binding only with respect to claims filed
in the Court of Claims and shall not have a res judicata effect
on any other proceedings.

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(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)