Bill Text: IL SB0032 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Engrossed
Bill Title: Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-01-09 - Session Sine Die [SB0032 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SB0032-Engrossed.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
5 | Illinois TRUST Act.
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6 | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
7 | "Certification form" means any law enforcement | ||||||
8 | certification form or statement required by federal | ||||||
9 | immigration law certifying that a person is a victim of | ||||||
10 | qualifying criminal activity including, but not limited to, the | ||||||
11 | information required by Section 1184(p) of Title 8 of the | ||||||
12 | United States Code (including current United States | ||||||
13 | Citizenship and Immigration Service Form I-918, Supplement B, | ||||||
14 | or any successor form) for purposes of obtaining a U visa, or | ||||||
15 | by Section 1184(o) of Title 8 of the United States Code | ||||||
16 | (including current United States Citizenship and Immigration | ||||||
17 | Service Form I-914, Supplement B, or any successor form) for | ||||||
18 | purposes of obtaining a T visa. | ||||||
19 | "Certifying agency" means a State or local law enforcement | ||||||
20 | agency, prosecutor, or other public authority that has | ||||||
21 | responsibility for the detection, investigation, or | ||||||
22 | prosecution of criminal activity, including an agency that has | ||||||
23 | criminal investigative jurisdiction in its respective areas of |
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1 | expertise. "Certifying agency" also includes the Department of | ||||||
2 | Labor, the Department of Children and Family Services, the | ||||||
3 | Department of Human Services, and the Illinois Workers' | ||||||
4 | Compensation Commission. "Certifying agency" does not include | ||||||
5 | any State court. | ||||||
6 | "Certifying official" means the head of a certifying agency | ||||||
7 | as defined in this Section, or a person within the agency | ||||||
8 | performing a supervisory role who is specifically designated by | ||||||
9 | the head of the certifying agency to respond to requests for | ||||||
10 | certification forms or a person within another certifying | ||||||
11 | agency specifically designated by agreement between the heads | ||||||
12 | of the agencies to respond to requests for certification forms. | ||||||
13 | "Qualifying criminal activity" means any activity, | ||||||
14 | regardless of the stage of detection, investigation, or | ||||||
15 | prosecution, designated in Section 1101(a)(15)(U)(iii) of | ||||||
16 | Title 8 of the United States Code and any implementing federal | ||||||
17 | regulations, and includes one or more of the following or any | ||||||
18 | similar activity in violation of federal, State, or local | ||||||
19 | criminal law: rape; torture; trafficking; incest; domestic | ||||||
20 | violence; sexual assault; abusive sexual contact; | ||||||
21 | prostitution; sexual exploitation; stalking; female genital | ||||||
22 | mutilation; being held hostage; peonage; involuntary | ||||||
23 | servitude; slave trade; kidnapping; abduction; unlawful | ||||||
24 | criminal restraint; false imprisonment; blackmail; extortion; | ||||||
25 | manslaughter; murder; felonious assault; witness tampering; | ||||||
26 | obstruction of justice; perjury; fraud in foreign labor |
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1 | contracting (as defined in Section 1351 of Title 18 of the | ||||||
2 | United States Code); or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to | ||||||
3 | commit any of the above-mentioned crimes; and any criminal | ||||||
4 | activity that has an articulable similarity to any activity | ||||||
5 | listed under this definition, but is not specifically listed | ||||||
6 | under this definition. "Qualifying criminal activity" also | ||||||
7 | means any qualifying criminal activity that occurs during the | ||||||
8 | commission of non-qualifying criminal activity, regardless of | ||||||
9 | whether or not criminal prosecution was sought for the | ||||||
10 | qualifying criminal activity. Criminal activity may be | ||||||
11 | considered qualifying criminal activity regardless of how much | ||||||
12 | time has elapsed since its commission. | ||||||
13 | "Victim of qualifying criminal activity" means a person | ||||||
14 | who: | ||||||
15 | (1)(A)(i) has reported qualifying criminal activity to | ||||||
16 | a law enforcement agency or certifying agency; or (ii) has | ||||||
17 | otherwise participated in the detection, investigation, or | ||||||
18 | prosecution of qualifying criminal activity; and | ||||||
19 | (B) has suffered direct and proximate harm as a result | ||||||
20 | of the commission of any qualifying criminal activity, | ||||||
21 | including, but not limited to: (i) an indirect victim | ||||||
22 | regardless of the direct victim's immigration or | ||||||
23 | citizenship status, who, in any case in which the direct | ||||||
24 | victim is deceased, incompetent, or incapacitated, is the | ||||||
25 | direct victim's spouse, the direct victim's child under 21 | ||||||
26 | years of age, or if the direct victim is under 21 years of |
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1 | age, the direct victim's unmarried sibling under 18 years | ||||||
2 | of age or parent; or (ii) a bystander victim who suffers | ||||||
3 | direct physical or mental harm as a result of the | ||||||
4 | qualifying criminal activity, or | ||||||
5 | (2) was a victim of a severe form of trafficking in | ||||||
6 | persons as defined in Section 7102 of Title 22 of the | ||||||
7 | United States Code and Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of | ||||||
8 | 2012. | ||||||
9 | More than one victim may be identified and provided with a | ||||||
10 | certification form depending upon the circumstances. For | ||||||
11 | purposes of the definition of "victim of qualifying criminal | ||||||
12 | activity", the term "incapacitated" means unable to interact | ||||||
13 | with the law enforcement agency or certifying agency personnel | ||||||
14 | as a result of a cognitive impairment or other physical | ||||||
15 | limitation, because of physical restraint or disappearance, or | ||||||
16 | because the victim was a minor at the time the crime was | ||||||
17 | committed and reported.
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18 | Section 10. Certifications for victims of qualifying | ||||||
19 | criminal activity. | ||||||
20 | (a) Upon a receipt of a request from a victim of qualifying | ||||||
21 | criminal activity, as defined in Section 5 of this Act, or the | ||||||
22 | victim's representative for completion of a certification form | ||||||
23 | by a certifying agency, the designated certifying official for | ||||||
24 | the agency shall complete and issue the certification form, | ||||||
25 | except that the certifying official may decline, by written |
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1 | notice to the requesting victim or the victim's representative, | ||||||
2 | to complete the certification form requested under this | ||||||
3 | subsection only if, after a good faith inquiry, the agency | ||||||
4 | cannot determine that the applicant is a victim of qualifying | ||||||
5 | criminal activity as defined in Section 5 of this Act. The | ||||||
6 | certifying official shall complete and issue the certification | ||||||
7 | form within 90 business days of receiving the request, except: | ||||||
8 | (1) if the victim of qualifying criminal activity is in | ||||||
9 | federal immigration removal proceedings or detained, then | ||||||
10 | the certifying official shall complete the certification | ||||||
11 | form no later than 14 business days after the request is | ||||||
12 | received by the agency; and | ||||||
13 | (2) if the victim's children, parents, or siblings | ||||||
14 | would become ineligible for benefits under Sections | ||||||
15 | 1184(p) and 1184(o) of Title 8 of the United States Code by | ||||||
16 | virtue of the victim's children having reached the age of | ||||||
17 | 21 years, the victim having reached the age of 21 years, or | ||||||
18 | the victim's sibling having reached the age of 18 years | ||||||
19 | within 90 business days from the date that the certifying | ||||||
20 | agency receives the certification request, the certifying | ||||||
21 | official shall complete the certification form no later | ||||||
22 | than 14 business days after the request is received by the | ||||||
23 | agency, or if the loss of the benefit would occur less than | ||||||
24 | 14 business days of receipt of the certification request, | ||||||
25 | the certifying official shall complete a certification | ||||||
26 | form within 5 business days. |
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1 | Requests for expedited completion of a certification form | ||||||
2 | under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection (a) shall be | ||||||
3 | affirmatively raised by the victim or representative of the | ||||||
4 | victim in writing by the victim or representative of the victim | ||||||
5 | and shall establish that the victim is eligible for expedited | ||||||
6 | review. | ||||||
7 | (b) A request for completion of a certification form under | ||||||
8 | subsection (a) of this Section may be submitted by a | ||||||
9 | representative of the victim, including, but not limited to, an | ||||||
10 | attorney, accredited representative, or domestic violence | ||||||
11 | service provider. | ||||||
12 | (c) Each certifying agency has independent legal authority | ||||||
13 | to complete and issue a certification form. A certifying | ||||||
14 | official from each certifying agency shall perform the | ||||||
15 | following responsibilities: | ||||||
16 | (1) respond to requests for certifications as required | ||||||
17 | by this Section; and | ||||||
18 | (2) make information regarding the agency's procedures | ||||||
19 | for certification requests publicly available for victims | ||||||
20 | of qualifying criminal activity and their representatives. | ||||||
21 | (d) A certifying official shall complete and reissue a | ||||||
22 | certification form within 90 business days of receiving a | ||||||
23 | request to reissue. If the victim seeking recertification has a | ||||||
24 | deadline to respond to a request for evidence from United | ||||||
25 | States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the certifying | ||||||
26 | official shall complete and issue the form no later than 14 |
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1 | business days after the request is received by the certifying | ||||||
2 | official. Requests for expedited recertification shall be | ||||||
3 | affirmatively raised by the victim or representative of the | ||||||
4 | victim in writing by the victim or representative of the victim | ||||||
5 | and shall establish that the victim is eligible for expedited | ||||||
6 | review. | ||||||
7 | (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a | ||||||
8 | certifying official's completion of a certification form shall | ||||||
9 | not be considered sufficient evidence that an applicant for a U | ||||||
10 | or T visa has met all eligibility requirements for that visa | ||||||
11 | and completion of a certification form by a certifying agency | ||||||
12 | shall not be construed to guarantee that the victim will | ||||||
13 | receive federal immigration relief. It is the exclusive | ||||||
14 | responsibility of federal immigration officials to determine | ||||||
15 | whether a person is eligible for a U or T visa. Completion of a | ||||||
16 | certification form by a certifying official merely verifies | ||||||
17 | factual information relevant to the immigration benefit | ||||||
18 | sought, including information relevant for federal immigration | ||||||
19 | officials to determine eligibility for a U or T visa. By | ||||||
20 | completing a certification form, the certifying official | ||||||
21 | attests that the information is true and correct to the best of | ||||||
22 | the certifying official's knowledge. If, after completion of a | ||||||
23 | certification form, the certifying official later determines | ||||||
24 | the person was not the victim of qualifying criminal activity | ||||||
25 | or the victim unreasonably refuses to assist in the | ||||||
26 | investigation or prosecution of the qualifying criminal |
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1 | activity of which he or she is a victim, then the certifying | ||||||
2 | official may notify United States Citizenship and Immigration | ||||||
3 | Services in writing.
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