Bill Text: IL HB4212 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Creates the Military and Veterans Court Act. Permits the Chief Judge of a judicial circuit to establish a military and veterans court program for veterans and active duty service members. Provides that in such judicial circuits, a veteran or active duty service member who has a substance abuse problem and who is subject to a criminal proceeding may with the consent of the prosecution and with the approval of the court be admitted into a military and veterans court program. Excludes from the program a veteran or active duty service member: charged with a crime of violence within the past 10 years, excluding incarceration time; who denies his or her use of or addiction to drugs; or who does not demonstrate a willingness to participate in a treatment program. Provides that the military and veterans court program shall include a regimen of graduated requirements, rewards and sanctions, including: fines, costs, restitution, public service employment, incarceration of up to 120 days, individual and group therapy, drug analysis testing, close court monitoring, educational or vocational counseling, and other requirements to fulfill the program. Provides for revocation and resentencing of the person who violates the conditions of the program or who engages in criminal conduct rendering the person unsuitable for the program, or who is not performing satisfactorily or not benefiting from the education, treatment or rehabilitation.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 19-2)

Status: (Passed) 2009-07-27 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 96-0093 [HB4212 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HB4212-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning military and veterans courts.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Military and Veterans Courts Act.
Section 5. Purposes. The General Assembly recognizes that
military members and military veterans may have certain
service-related conditions that may apply in a court of law.
There is a critical need for a military and veterans justice
system that will take into account service-related mental
health problems as well as circumstances surrounding
deployment. It is the intent of the General Assembly to create
a Military and Veterans Court Task Force to investigate and
develop a statutory basis for a specialized military and
veterans court system with the necessary flexibility to meet
unique service-related problems in the State of Illinois. The
General Assembly recognizes that the use and abuse of alcohol
or drugs, mental health conditions, and problematic social
interactions that affect and confront some veterans and members
of the armed services on active duty have a dramatic effect on
the justice system in the State of Illinois. There is a
critical need for a military and veterans justice system
program that will recognize and address the unique problems and

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circumstances faced by veterans and members of the armed forces
on active duty and the legal issues that are impacted by those
problems and circumstances so as to reduce the incidence of
violence, drug use, drug addiction, alcohol use, alcohol
addiction, mental health conditions, and crimes committed by
some veterans and members of the armed services on active duty.
It is the intent of the General Assembly to create the Military
and Veterans Court Task Force to address these challenges
facing the State of Illinois.
Section 10. Task Force established.
(a) There is established the Military and Veterans Court
Task Force.
(b) The Governor's Office shall provide administrative
support to the Task Force as needed.
Section 15. Membership; chair; meetings; quorum.
(a) The Military and Veterans Court Task Force shall be
appointed as follows:
One member appointed by the Governor;
One member appointed by the Attorney General;
One member appointed by the President of the Senate;
One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
Senate;
One member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives;

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One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives;
One member, with experience with the Veterans Court in
Cook County, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Circuit
Court in Cook County;
One member, with experience with the Veterans Court in
Madison County, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Third
Judicial Circuit;
One member, with experience with the John Marshall Law
School's Veterans Legal Support Center and Clinic,
appointed by the Dean of the John Marshall Law School;
One member, with experience with the Southern Illinois
University School of Law's Veterans' Legal Assistance
Program, appointed by the Dean of the School of Law of
Southern Illinois University; and
One member appointed by the Dean of the College of Law
at the University of Illinois.
(b) The member appointed by the Governor shall serve as the
chair of the Task Force.
(c) The Task Force members shall receive no salary for
serving, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses
incurred as a result of their duties as members of the Task
Force from funds appropriated by the General Assembly for that
purpose, or from funds obtained from sources other than the
General Assembly.
(d) A majority of the members of the Task Force shall

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constitute a quorum.
(e) The Task Force shall study and recommend to the General
Assembly a system of military and veterans courts, which shall
supplement and not replace the existing court system. The Task
Force shall make recommendations consistent with the goal that
the military and veterans courts can be established on or after
June 1, 2010. The Task Force shall make its report to the
General Assembly on or before November 1, 2009.
(f) The Task Force shall meet at least once every 2 weeks,
and more frequently as necessary, at the call of the chair, and
shall report its findings to the General Assembly as
expeditiously as possible. Task Force meetings shall be held in
a manner to accommodate participation by members in person or
by use of telecommunication technology.
(g) Task Force recommendations shall take effect upon the
effective date of a Public Act that enacts them.
(h) The Task Force is abolished June 1, 2010.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon