Bill Text: IL SB0117 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Makes a technical change in the Section concerning the offense of criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person or person with a disability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [SB0117 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SB0117-Introduced.html

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97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2011 and 2012 SB0117 Introduced 1/27/2011, by Sen. Martin A. Sandoval SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
720 ILCS 5/12-21 from Ch. 38, par. 12-21
Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Makes a technical change in the Section concerning the offense of criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person or person with a disability.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning criminal law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by changing
Section 12-21 as follows:
(720 ILCS 5/12-21) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-21)
Sec. 12-21. Criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person
or person with a disability.
(a) A person commits the the offense of criminal abuse or
neglect of an elderly person or person with a disability when
he or she is a caregiver and he or she knowingly:
(1) performs acts that cause the elderly person or
person with a disability's life to be endangered, health to
be injured, or pre-existing physical or mental condition to
deteriorate; or
(2) fails to perform acts that he or she knows or
reasonably should know are necessary to maintain or
preserve the life or health of the elderly person or person
with a disability and such failure causes the elderly
person or person with a disability's life to be endangered,
health to be injured or pre-existing physical or mental
condition to deteriorate; or
(3) abandons the elderly person or person with a

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disability; or
(4) physically abuses, harasses, intimidates, or
interferes with the personal liberty of the elderly person
or person with a disability or exposes the elderly person
or person with a disability to willful deprivation.
Criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person or person
with a disability is a Class 3 felony. Criminal neglect of an
elderly person or person with a disability is a Class 2 felony
if the criminal neglect results in the death of the person
neglected for which the defendant, if sentenced to a term of
imprisonment, shall be sentenced to a term of not less than 3
years and not more than 14 years.
(b) For purposes of this Section:
(1) "Elderly person" means a person 60 years of age or
older who is incapable of adequately providing for his own
health and personal care.
(2) "Person with a disability" means a person who
suffers from a permanent physical or mental impairment,
resulting from disease, injury, functional disorder or
congenital condition which renders such person incapable
of adequately providing for his own health and personal
care.
(3) "Caregiver" means a person who has a duty to
provide for an elderly person or person with a disability's
health and personal care, at such person's place of
residence, including but not limited to, food and

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nutrition, shelter, hygiene, prescribed medication and
medical care and treatment.
"Caregiver" shall include:
(A) a parent, spouse, adult child or other relative
by blood or marriage who resides with or resides in the
same building with or regularly visits the elderly
person or person with a disability, knows or reasonably
should know of such person's physical or mental
impairment and knows or reasonably should know that
such person is unable to adequately provide for his own
health and personal care;
(B) a person who is employed by the elderly person
or person with a disability or by another to reside
with or regularly visit the elderly person or person
with a disability and provide for such person's health
and personal care;
(C) a person who has agreed for consideration to
reside with or regularly visit the elderly person or
person with a disability and provide for such person's
health and personal care; and
(D) a person who has been appointed by a private or
public agency or by a court of competent jurisdiction
to provide for the elderly person or person with a
disability's health and personal care.
"Caregiver" shall not include a long-term care
facility licensed or certified under the Nursing Home Care

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Act or a facility licensed or certified under the MR/DD
Community Care Act, or any administrative, medical or other
personnel of such a facility, or a health care provider who
is licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 and
renders care in the ordinary course of his profession.
(4) "Abandon" means to desert or knowingly forsake an
elderly person or person with a disability under
circumstances in which a reasonable person would continue
to provide care and custody.
(5) "Willful deprivation" has the meaning ascribed to
it in paragraph (15) of Section 103 of the Illinois
Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
(c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit the
remedies available to the victim under the Illinois Domestic
Violence Act.
(d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to impose
criminal liability on a person who has made a good faith effort
to provide for the health and personal care of an elderly
person or person with a disability, but through no fault of his
own has been unable to provide such care.
(e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
prohibiting a person from providing treatment by spiritual
means through prayer alone and care consistent therewith in
lieu of medical care and treatment in accordance with the
tenets and practices of any church or religious denomination of
which the elderly person or person with a disability is a

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member.
(f) It is not a defense to criminal abuse or neglect of an
elderly person or person with a disability that the accused
reasonably believed that the victim was not an elderly person
or person with a disability.
(Source: P.A. 96-339, eff. 7-1-10.)