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| | HB2400 Engrossed | | LRB101 07237 RLC 52275 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | | Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Pathway to |
| 5 | | Community Act.
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| 6 | | Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by |
| 7 | | adding Section 3-14-1.1 as follows:
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| 8 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-14-1.1 new) |
| 9 | | Sec. 3-14-1.1. Pathway to Community Program. |
| 10 | | (a) In this Section: |
| 11 | | "Committed person" means a currently incarcerated |
| 12 | | person, other than a committed person who has been |
| 13 | | convicted of the first degree murder of a peace officer or |
| 14 | | fire fighter or other than a sexual predator as defined in |
| 15 | | Section 2 of the Sex Offender Registration Act, who (i) is |
| 16 | | at least 50 years of age and (ii) has served at least 30 |
| 17 | | consecutive years of imprisonment in a facility or |
| 18 | | institution of the Department of Corrections. |
| 19 | | "Family member" means a spouse, parent, child, or |
| 20 | | sibling. |
| 21 | | "Program" means the Pathway to Community Program |
| 22 | | created in this Section. |
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| 1 | | (b) There is created a 5-year pilot program, the Pathway to |
| 2 | | Community Program, within the Department of Corrections. A |
| 3 | | committed person may petition the Department of Corrections for |
| 4 | | participation in the Pathway to Community Program as provided |
| 5 | | in this Section. If a committed person files a petition, the |
| 6 | | Department shall make an exhaustive effort to find and notify |
| 7 | | the victim and the family members of the victim of the |
| 8 | | petitioner's offense. |
| 9 | | (c) The petition shall contain a statement by the |
| 10 | | petitioner that he or she is qualified to participate in the |
| 11 | | Program, together with the petitioner's plans for reentry, |
| 12 | | including, but not limited to, information about where the |
| 13 | | petitioner will live, how the petitioner will be supported |
| 14 | | financially, and any plans for the petitioner's ongoing medical |
| 15 | | care if necessary. The petition may also contain supporting |
| 16 | | statements or documentation related to the factors listed in |
| 17 | | paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (d) of this Section. |
| 18 | | (d) The petition shall, in the first instance, be screened |
| 19 | | by the Department of Corrections, which shall determine whether |
| 20 | | to recommend that the petitioner be considered for |
| 21 | | participation in the Program. In so doing, the Department shall |
| 22 | | draw on information in the petition and on its own resources, |
| 23 | | including its use of tools that assesses the petitioner's |
| 24 | | risks, assets, and needs to determine whether the petitioner |
| 25 | | may be released and, if so, under what specific conditions set |
| 26 | | by the Department. Among other factors, in making this |
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| 1 | | determination the Department shall consider the following: |
| 2 | | (1) the petitioner's successful participation in |
| 3 | | programs designed to restore him or her to a useful and |
| 4 | | productive life upon release (including educational |
| 5 | | programs and programs designed to deal with substance abuse |
| 6 | | or other issues) or, if the programs are not available, |
| 7 | | information demonstrating that the petitioner has engaged |
| 8 | | in self-education programs, correspondence courses, or |
| 9 | | other self-improvement efforts; |
| 10 | | (2) the genuine reform and changed behavior the |
| 11 | | petitioner has demonstrated over a period of years; |
| 12 | | (3) the petitioner's remorse for the consequences of |
| 13 | | his or her criminal conduct; |
| 14 | | (4) the petitioner's ability to socialize with others |
| 15 | | in an acceptable manner; |
| 16 | | (5) the petitioner's renunciation of criminal activity |
| 17 | | and gang affiliation if the petitioner was a member of a |
| 18 | | gang; |
| 19 | | (6) an appropriate plan for living arrangements, |
| 20 | | financial support, and any medical care that will be needed |
| 21 | | when the petitioner returns to society; and |
| 22 | | (7) input from the victim of the petitioner's offense |
| 23 | | and from their family members. |
| 24 | | (e) No more than 15 committed persons who are male and no |
| 25 | | more than 15 committed persons who are female shall be selected |
| 26 | | by the Department for participation in the Program. Before a |
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| 1 | | participant is selected for the Program, the petitioner shall |
| 2 | | successfully complete an atonement and restorative justice |
| 3 | | program prepared by the Department. Following completion of |
| 4 | | this program of atonement and restorative justice, the |
| 5 | | Department shall notify the victim and the family members of |
| 6 | | the victim of the petitioner's offense and to afford them the |
| 7 | | opportunity to participate in the Department's final selection |
| 8 | | process for the Pathway to Community Program. Up to $1,000 of |
| 9 | | trauma-informed victim services or trauma-certified |
| 10 | | professional therapy shall be provided by the Department to |
| 11 | | family members of the victim of the petitioner's offense. |
| 12 | | Insurance policies of the family members of the victim of the |
| 13 | | petitioner's offense or family members financial resources |
| 14 | | shall first be used to pay the costs of these services or |
| 15 | | therapy. Optional participation by family members of the victim |
| 16 | | of petitioner's offense shall be provided by the Department at |
| 17 | | no cost to the family members of the victim. |
| 18 | | (f) Time served in the Program shall be credited toward |
| 19 | | time served on the sentence. The end date of the period of |
| 20 | | mandatory supervised release shall remain the same as it would |
| 21 | | have been had the petitioner not been given early supervised |
| 22 | | release, and the petitioner shall remain under supervision of |
| 23 | | the Department until that date, except that the Department may |
| 24 | | enter an order releasing and discharging the petitioner from |
| 25 | | mandatory supervised release if it determines that he or she is |
| 26 | | likely to remain at liberty without committing another offense. |
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| 1 | | Discharge of the petitioner from mandatory supervised release |
| 2 | | does not discharge the petitioner's sentence, if time to be |
| 3 | | served remains; nor does it deprive the Department of |
| 4 | | jurisdiction over the petitioner, if time to be served remains. |
| 5 | | (g) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act |
| 6 | | of the 101st General Assembly, notwithstanding any other law to |
| 7 | | the contrary, all persons serving sentences in the Department |
| 8 | | who meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this Section are |
| 9 | | eligible to petition to participate in the Program. The |
| 10 | | Department shall establish a system to allow for the orderly |
| 11 | | disposition of the applications of those presently |
| 12 | | incarcerated as they become eligible. |
| 13 | | (h) Each participant in the Program shall have a volunteer |
| 14 | | sponsor and shall remain in the custody of the Department of |
| 15 | | Corrections throughout his or her participation in the Program. |
| 16 | | (i) After 5 years of participation in the Program, the |
| 17 | | participant may petition the Governor for executive clemency |
| 18 | | under Section 3-3-13 of this Code. |
| 19 | | (j) The Department shall select a panel of independent |
| 20 | | researchers to assess the effectiveness of the Program and to |
| 21 | | make annual recommendations to the Governor and General |
| 22 | | Assembly as to whether the Program should be extended. |
| 23 | | (k) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the |
| 24 | | contrary, this Section shall control any release under this |
| 25 | | Program. |
| 26 | | (l) This Section is repealed after 6 years from the |