Bill Text: IL HB4080 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Engrossed

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

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Bill Title: Amends the Supreme Court Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the powers of the Court.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Failed) 2014-12-03 - Session Sine Die [HB4080 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HB4080-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning courts.
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
Section 8 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 when the person imprisoned received a
pardon from the governor stating that such pardon is issued on

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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; 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 and award reasonable
attorney's fees for representation before the Court of Claims
and representation relating to the granting of the certificate
of innocence or the pardon. The award of attorney's fees shall
not not to exceed 25% of the award granted for time unjustly
served in prisons of the State and shall be paid in addition
to, and not reduce, that award. 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 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

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Section 11(b) to the clerk of the Court of Claims is conclusive
evidence of the validity of the claim. The changes made by this
amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all claims
pending on or filed on or after the effective date.
(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 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 $100,000 to or for the
benefit of any claimant. The $100,000 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

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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 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.
(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 provided in that Act.
(i) All claims authorized by subsection (a) of Section

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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. 95-970, eff. 9-22-08; 96-80, eff. 7-27-09.)
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 convicted of crimes in Illinois
and subsequently 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

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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 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. The
petition shall request a certificate of innocence finding that
the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she
was incarcerated.
(c) In order to present the claim for certificate of
innocence of an unjust conviction and imprisonment, 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; and
(2) 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

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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
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
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

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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;
(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
constitute a felony or misdemeanor against the State; and
(4) the petitioner did not voluntarily commit or suborn
perjury or fabricate evidence to cause or bring about his
or her conviction; however, neither a confession nor
admission later found to be false constitutes bringing
about his or her own conviction under this Code 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

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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 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 Department of 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 Department of State Police may be
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

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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 the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall
file his or her petition within 2 years after the 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 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.
(Source: P.A. 98-133, eff. 1-1-14.)