Bill Text: IL SB1903 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Statewide Grand Jury Act. Expands the authority of a Statewide Grand Jury to investigate and indict offenses involving the corruption of a public official, to include theft, fraud, extortion, or a violation of the Official Misconduct and Public Contracts Article of the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that venue for purposes of trial for any offense involving the corruption of a public official may be in any county in which any portion of the offense occurred.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-09 - Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Jason Plummer [SB1903 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SB1903-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 SB1903 Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. John F. Curran SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
725 ILCS 215/2 from Ch. 38, par. 1702
725 ILCS 215/3 from Ch. 38, par. 1703
725 ILCS 215/4 from Ch. 38, par. 1704
Amends the Statewide Grand Jury Act. Expands the authority of a Statewide Grand Jury to investigate and indict offenses involving the corruption of a public official, to include theft, fraud, extortion, or a violation of the Official Misconduct and Public Contracts Article of the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that venue for purposes of trial for any offense involving the corruption of a public official may be in any county in which any portion of the offense occurred.
LRB102 10964 RLC 16296 b
A BILL FOR
SB1903 LRB102 10964 RLC 16296 b
AN ACT concerning criminal law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Statewide Grand Jury Act is amended by
changing Sections 2, 3, and 4 as follows:
(725 ILCS 215/2) (from Ch. 38, par. 1702)
Sec. 2. (a) County grand juries and State's Attorneys have
always had and shall continue to have primary responsibility
for investigating, indicting, and prosecuting persons who
violate the criminal laws of the State of Illinois. However,
in recent years organized terrorist activity directed against
innocent civilians, and certain criminal enterprises, and
public corruption have developed that require investigation,
indictment, and prosecution on a statewide or multicounty
level. The criminal enterprises exist as a result of the
allure of profitability present in narcotic activity, public
corruption, the unlawful sale and transfer of firearms, and
streetgang related felonies and organized terrorist activity
is supported by the contribution of money and expert
assistance from geographically diverse sources. In order to
shut off the life blood of terrorism and weaken or eliminate
the criminal enterprises, assets, and property used to further
these offenses must be frozen, and any profit must be removed.

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State statutes exist that can accomplish that goal. Among them
are the offense of money laundering, violations of Articles
Article 29D, 33, and 33E of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
Criminal Code of 2012, the Narcotics Profit Forfeiture Act,
and gunrunning. Local prosecutors need investigative personnel
and specialized training to attack and eliminate these
profits. In light of the transitory and complex nature of
conduct that constitutes these criminal activities, the many
diverse property interests that may be used, acquired directly
or indirectly as a result of these criminal activities, and
the many places that illegally obtained property may be
located, it is the purpose of this Act to create a limited,
multicounty Statewide Grand Jury with authority to
investigate, indict, and prosecute: narcotic activity,
including cannabis and controlled substance trafficking,
narcotics racketeering, money laundering, violations of the
Cannabis and Controlled Substances Tax Act, and violations of
Articles Article 29D, 33, and 33E of the Criminal Code of 1961
or the Criminal Code of 2012; public corruption crimes; the
unlawful sale and transfer of firearms; gunrunning; and
streetgang related felonies.
(b) A Statewide Grand Jury may also investigate, indict,
and prosecute violations facilitated by the use of a computer
of any of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile prostitution,

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juvenile pimping, child pornography, aggravated child
pornography, or promoting juvenile prostitution except as
described in subdivision (a)(4) of Section 11-14.4 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012.
(Source: P.A. 101-593, eff. 12-4-19.)
(725 ILCS 215/3) (from Ch. 38, par. 1703)
Sec. 3. Written application for the appointment of a
Circuit Judge to convene and preside over a Statewide Grand
Jury, with jurisdiction extending throughout the State, shall
be made to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Upon such
written application, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
shall appoint a Circuit Judge from the circuit where the
Statewide Grand Jury is being sought to be convened, who shall
make a determination that the convening of a Statewide Grand
Jury is necessary.
In such application the Attorney General shall state that
the convening of a Statewide Grand Jury is necessary because
of an alleged offense or offenses set forth in this Section
involving more than one county of the State and identifying
any such offense alleged; and
(a) that he or she believes that the grand jury
function for the investigation and indictment of the
offense or offenses cannot effectively be performed by a
county grand jury together with the reasons for such
belief, and

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(b)(1) that each State's Attorney with jurisdiction
over an offense or offenses to be investigated has
consented to the impaneling of the Statewide Grand Jury,
or
(2) if one or more of the State's Attorneys having
jurisdiction over an offense or offenses to be
investigated fails to consent to the impaneling of the
Statewide Grand Jury, the Attorney General shall set forth
good cause for impaneling the Statewide Grand Jury.
If the Circuit Judge determines that the convening of a
Statewide Grand Jury is necessary, he or she shall convene and
impanel the Statewide Grand Jury with jurisdiction extending
throughout the State to investigate and return indictments:
(a) For violations of any of the following or for any
other criminal offense committed in the course of
violating any of the following: Article 29D of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, the
Illinois Controlled Substances Act, the Cannabis Control
Act, the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection
Act, or the Narcotics Profit Forfeiture Act; a streetgang
related felony offense; Section 24-2.1, 24-2.2, 24-3,
24-3A, 24-3.1, 24-3.3, 24-3.4, 24-4, or 24-5 or subsection
24-1(a)(4), 24-1(a)(6), 24-1(a)(7), 24-1(a)(9),
24-1(a)(10), or 24-1(c) of the Criminal Code of 1961 or
the Criminal Code of 2012; or a money laundering offense;
provided that the violation or offense involves acts

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occurring in more than one county of this State; and
(a-5) For violations facilitated by the use of a
computer, including the use of the Internet, the World
Wide Web, electronic mail, message board, newsgroup, or
any other commercial or noncommercial on-line service, of
any of the following offenses: indecent solicitation of a
child, sexual exploitation of a child, soliciting for a
juvenile prostitute, keeping a place of juvenile
prostitution, juvenile pimping, child pornography,
aggravated child pornography, or promoting juvenile
prostitution except as described in subdivision (a)(4) of
Section 11-14.4 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
Criminal Code of 2012; and
(a-6) For violations of offenses involving the
corruption of a public official, including theft, fraud,
extortion or a violation of Article 33 or 33E of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; and
(b) For the offenses of perjury, subornation of
perjury, communicating with jurors and witnesses, and
harassment of jurors and witnesses, as they relate to
matters before the Statewide Grand Jury.
"Streetgang related" has the meaning ascribed to it in
Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus
Prevention Act.
Upon written application by the Attorney General for the
convening of an additional Statewide Grand Jury, the Chief

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Justice of the Supreme Court shall appoint a Circuit Judge
from the circuit for which the additional Statewide Grand Jury
is sought. The Circuit Judge shall determine the necessity for
an additional Statewide Grand Jury in accordance with the
provisions of this Section. No more than 2 Statewide Grand
Juries may be empaneled at any time.
(Source: P.A. 101-593, eff. 12-4-19.)
(725 ILCS 215/4) (from Ch. 38, par. 1704)
Sec. 4. (a) The presiding judge of the Statewide Grand
Jury will receive recommendations from the Attorney General as
to the county in which the Grand Jury will sit. Prior to making
the recommendations, the Attorney General shall obtain the
permission of the local State's Attorney to use his or her
county for the site of the Statewide Grand Jury. Upon
receiving the Attorney General's recommendations, the
presiding judge will choose one of those recommended locations
as the site where the Grand Jury shall sit.
Any indictment by a Statewide Grand Jury shall be returned
to the Circuit Judge presiding over the Statewide Grand Jury
and shall include a finding as to the county or counties in
which the alleged offense was committed. Thereupon, the judge
shall, by order, designate the county of venue for the purpose
of trial. The judge may also, by order, direct the
consolidation of an indictment returned by a county grand jury
with an indictment returned by the Statewide Grand Jury and

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set venue for trial.
(b) Venue for purposes of trial for the offense of
narcotics racketeering shall be proper in any county where:
(1) Cannabis or a controlled substance which is the
basis for the charge of narcotics racketeering was used;
acquired; transferred or distributed to, from or through;
or any county where any act was performed to further the
use; acquisition, transfer or distribution of said
cannabis or controlled substance; or
(2) Any money, property, property interest, or any
other asset generated by narcotics activities was
acquired, used, sold, transferred or distributed to, from
or through; or,
(3) Any enterprise interest obtained as a result of
narcotics racketeering was acquired, used, transferred or
distributed to, from or through, or where any activity was
conducted by the enterprise or any conduct to further the
interests of such an enterprise.
(c) Venue for purposes of trial for the offense of money
laundering shall be proper in any county where any part of a
financial transaction in criminally derived property took
place, or in any county where any money or monetary interest
which is the basis for the offense, was acquired, used, sold,
transferred or distributed to, from, or through.
(d) A person who commits the offense of cannabis
trafficking or controlled substance trafficking may be tried

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in any county.
(e) Venue for purposes of trial for any violation of
Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code
of 2012 may be in the county in which an act of terrorism
occurs, the county in which material support or resources are
provided or solicited, the county in which criminal assistance
is rendered, or any county in which any act in furtherance of
any violation of Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 or
the Criminal Code of 2012 occurs.
(f) Venue for purposes of trial for any offense involving
the corruption of a public official may be in any county in
which any portion of the offense occurred.
(Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)