Bill Text: IL SB2437 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Jury Act. Provides that no person who is qualified and able to serve as a juror may be excluded from jury service in any court of the State on the basis of a previous criminal conviction.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-03 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Mike Simmons [SB2437 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SB2437-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 SB2437 Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Robert Peters SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
705 ILCS 305/2 from Ch. 78, par. 2
Amends the Jury Act. Provides that no person who is qualified and able to serve as a juror may be excluded from jury service in any court of the State on the basis of previous criminal conviction.
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A BILL FOR
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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 Jury Act is amended by changing Section 2 as
follows:
(705 ILCS 305/2) (from Ch. 78, par. 2)
Sec. 2. Jury qualifications.
(a) At the September meeting of the county board in each
year in the respective counties in this State, except those
that have jury commissioners, the board shall select from the
list the number of persons as the judges of the circuit courts,
to be held in the county during the succeeding year, may by
joint action determine to serve as petit jurors. In counties
having jury commissioners, the persons to serve as petit
jurors shall be selected by the jury commissioners, as
provided by law. County boards, a jury administrator, and jury
commissioners may utilize the services of the Administrative
Office of the Illinois Courts in making these selections.
Jurors in all counties in Illinois must have the legal
qualifications herein prescribed. Jurors must be:
(1) Inhabitants of the county.
(2) Of the age of 18 years or upwards.
(3) Free from all legal exception, of fair character,

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of approved integrity, of sound judgment, well informed,
and able to understand the English language, whether in
spoken or written form or interpreted into sign language.
(4) Citizens of the United States of America.
(b) Except as otherwise specifically provided by statute,
no person who is qualified and able to serve as a juror may be
excluded from jury service in any court of this State on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual
orientation, or economic status, or previous criminal
conviction. As used in this subsection, "religion", "sex",
"sexual orientation", and "national origin" have the meanings
provided in Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act.
(Source: P.A. 100-228, eff. 1-1-18; 101-327, eff. 1-1-20.)