Bill Text: IL HJR0140 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the Auditor General to conduct a performance audit of the Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-4)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HJR0140 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HJR0140-Introduced.html

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HJ0140 LRB100 23334 MST 42355 r
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, In order to minimize the serious impact of all
types of crime, especially violent crime, upon Illinois
residents, it is necessary for Illinois to be protected by a
crime lab that is operated by the Illinois State Police in a
manner that complies with state-of-the-art specifications for
the rapid processing of evidence and identification of criminal
suspects; and
WHEREAS, In response to this need, the Illinois State
Police has established a Division of Forensic Services,
commonly referred to as the "State crime lab"; and
WHEREAS, It has been publicly known for several years that
there is a serious backlog in the time required for biological
evidence to be processed for the establishment of admissible
forensic evidence after that forensic evidence has been
recovered from crime scenes, processed by law enforcement, and
transferred to the Division of Forensic Services; and
WHEREAS, This backlog in the examination process includes
numerous cases where the processing of evidence collected
following incidents of violent crimes, including murders,
shootings, and criminal sexual assaults, is seriously delayed;
and

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WHEREAS, It typically takes at least one year for
biological evidence to be processed by the Illinois State
Police crime lab; and
WHEREAS, DNA evidence is critical to the solution of
crimes, especially in murder cases and sexual assaults, where
the biological evidence may be the last resort, the only thing
tying a murderer or rapist to a crime scene and a victim in a
way that can be proved in a court of law; and
WHEREAS, In today's climate where police and prosecutors
are increasingly scrutinized about their procedures, DNA
evidence is crucial to the successful prosecution of criminal
cases in the courtroom; and
WHEREAS, Modern biochemistry has developed the Rapid DNA
system, a system to enable the fully automated generation of a
full DNA profile from a cheek swab without human intervention;
the ability of Rapid DNA to carry out the efficient profiling
of criminal suspects has led Congress to pass the federal Rapid
DNA Act of 2017, which has been signed into federal law as P.L.
115-50; and
WHEREAS, This federal law directs the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) to issue standards and procedures to create

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a nationwide police protocol for using Rapid DNA instruments to
analyze DNA samples of criminal offenders and criminal suspects
and to compile the data gathered therein within the Combined
DNA Index System or CODIS; and
WHEREAS, The 50 states and their residents will not enjoy
the benefits of Rapid DNA technology and the ability to conduct
instant CODIS identification of criminal suspects who have
already been taken into custody until they take steps to comply
with the protocol outlined in the Rapid DNA Act of 2017 and
implemented by FBI standards and procedures; and
WHEREAS, The usefulness of the CODIS system as a nationwide
database will depend upon the relative compliance of local law
enforcement throughout all 50 states; for reasons of both local
criminal justice and so that our State can do its part, it is
essential that Illinois law enforcement be granted the support
tools they need to feed data into CODIS for nationwide access;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE
CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Auditor General is directed to
conduct a performance audit of the Illinois State Police
Division of Forensic Services; and be it further

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RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not be limited to, an
examination of the Division's equipment, procedures, and
staffing levels, with the goal of identifying and reporting to
the General Assembly as soon as possible on barriers and choke
points in the way of full Illinois State Police and local law
enforcement compliance with the protocols created by the
federal Rapid DNA Act of 2017; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police is directed to
comply fully and promptly with all features of this audit,
including elements aimed at identifying the increased
personnel and budgetary support required for the Illinois State
Police and local law enforcement to achieve full compliance;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as
soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations
upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section
3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police and its Division
of Forensic Services are directed to take all steps possible to
achieve compliance, or partial compliance, on the statewide
crime lab level with the federal Rapid DNA Act of 2017 prior to
full implementation of any recommendations handed down by the
Auditor General; and be it further

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RESOLVED, That we express continued support to all of
Illinois law enforcement, including but not limited to the
Illinois State Police, for their tireless and courageous work
to maintain public security in the face of growing challenges
created by drug violence and other social trends; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner, Director of the Illinois
State Police Leo P. Schmitz, Col. Sean Cormier of the Illinois
State Police Division of Forensic Services-Forensic Sciences
Command, and Auditor General Frank J. Mautino.