SB3085 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 19716 RLC 35126 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB3085

Introduced 2/8/2010, by Sen. Kwame Raoul

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 405/5-121

Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that the Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force shall submit a report of its recommendations to the General Assembly by January 1, 2012 (rather than January 1, 2010). Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by changing Section 5-121 as follows:

(705 ILCS 405/5-121)

Sec. 5-121. Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:

(1) 37 other states and the District of Columbia, the Federal Government, and nearly every other nation in the world use 18 as the age of juvenile court jurisdiction; and

(2) the Legislature of Connecticut voted last year to raise the age to 18 for juvenile court; and

(3) recent research on adolescent brain development reveals that the center of the brain that controls reasoning and impulsivity is not fully developed until the early twenties; and

(4) research consistently documents that trying youth age 17 in the adult court disproportionately impacts minority youth.

(b) The Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force is hereby created within the Department of Juvenile Justice. The mission of the Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force is to study the impact of, develop timelines and propose a funding structure to accommodate the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Illinois Juvenile Court to include youth age 17 under the jurisdiction of this Act.

(c) The Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force shall consist of the following members:

(1) one member appointed by the President of the Senate;

(2) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

(3) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House;

(4) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House;

(5) one member appointed by the Governor;

(6) the Director of Juvenile Justice or his or her designee;

(7) the Director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts or his or her designee;

(8) the Cook County State's Attorney or his or her designee;

(9) the Cook County Public Defender or his or her designee;

(10) the Director of the Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor or his or her designee;

(11) the State Appellate Defender or his or her designee;

(12) the Chair of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission;

(13) the Chair of the Redeploy Illinois Partnership;

(14) one member appointed by the Governor who is a chairman of a county board; and

(15) one member appointed by the President of the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association.

(d) The Task Force shall appoint a chairperson from among its members. If a vacancy occurs in the Task Force membership, the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the initial appointment.

(e) Members of the Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force shall serve without compensation.

(f) The Illinois Juvenile Jurisdiction Task Force may begin to conduct business upon the appointment of a majority of its members.

(g) The Task Force shall submit a report by January 1, 2012 2010 to the General Assembly with recommendations on extending juvenile court jurisdiction to youth age 17 charged with felony offenses.

(Source: P.A. 95-1031, eff. 2-10-09.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.