Bill Text: IL SB2079 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Repeals the general recidivism provisions of the Code. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that a movant may present a meritorious claim for relief from judgment if the allegations in the petition establish the following by a preponderance of the evidence that, prior to the effective date of the amendatory Act, the movant was sentenced to natural life imprisonment under the general recidivism provisions of the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that nothing in this provision prevents a movant from applying for any other relief under the relief from judgments provision or any other law otherwise available to him or her.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Napoleon Harris, III [SB2079 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2079-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2079 Introduced 2/9/2023, by Sen. Robert Peters SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-95 rep.
735 ILCS 5/2-1401 from Ch. 110, par. 2-1401
Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Repeals the general recidivism provisions of the Code. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that a movant may present a meritorious claim for relief from judgment if the allegations in the petition establish the following by a preponderance of the evidence that, prior to the effective date of the amendatory Act, the movant was sentenced to natural life imprisonment under the general recidivism provisions of the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that nothing in this provision prevents a movant from applying for any other relief under the relief from judgments provision or any other law otherwise available to him or her.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning criminal law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
(730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-95 rep.)
Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
repealing Section 5-4.5-95.
Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
changing Section 2-1401 as follows:
(735 ILCS 5/2-1401) (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1401)
Sec. 2-1401. Relief from judgments.
(a) Relief from final orders and judgments, after 30 days
from the entry thereof, may be had upon petition as provided in
this Section. Writs of error coram nobis and coram vobis,
bills of review, and bills in the nature of bills of review are
abolished. All relief heretofore obtainable and the grounds
for such relief heretofore available, whether by any of the
foregoing remedies or otherwise, shall be available in every
case, by proceedings hereunder, regardless of the nature of
the order or judgment from which relief is sought or of the
proceedings in which it was entered. Except as provided in the
Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, there shall be no distinction
between actions and other proceedings, statutory or otherwise,

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as to availability of relief, grounds for relief, or the
relief obtainable.
(b) The petition must be filed in the same proceeding in
which the order or judgment was entered but is not a
continuation thereof. The petition must be supported by an
affidavit or other appropriate showing as to matters not of
record. A petition to reopen a foreclosure proceeding must
include as parties to the petition, but is not limited to, all
parties in the original action in addition to the current
record title holders of the property, current occupants, and
any individual or entity that had a recorded interest in the
property before the filing of the petition. All parties to the
petition shall be notified as provided by rule.
(b-5) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
Section if the allegations in the petition establish each of
the following by a preponderance of the evidence:
(1) the movant was convicted of a forcible felony;
(2) the movant's participation in the offense was
related to him or her previously having been a victim of
domestic violence as perpetrated by an intimate partner;
(3) no evidence of domestic violence against the
movant was presented at the movant's sentencing hearing;
(4) the movant was unaware of the mitigating nature of
the evidence of the domestic violence at the time of
sentencing and could not have learned of its significance
sooner through diligence; and

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(5) the new evidence of domestic violence against the
movant is material and noncumulative to other evidence
offered at the sentencing hearing, and is of such a
conclusive character that it would likely change the
sentence imposed by the original trial court.
Nothing in this subsection (b-5) shall prevent a movant
from applying for any other relief under this Section or any
other law otherwise available to him or her.
As used in this subsection (b-5):
"Domestic violence" means abuse as defined in Section
103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
"Forcible felony" has the meaning ascribed to the term
in Section 2-8 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
"Intimate partner" means a spouse or former spouse,
persons who have or allegedly have had a child in common,
or persons who have or have had a dating or engagement
relationship.
(b-10) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
Section if the allegations in the petition establish each of
the following by a preponderance of the evidence:
(A) she was convicted of a forcible felony;
(B) her participation in the offense was a direct
result of her suffering from post-partum depression or
post-partum psychosis;
(C) no evidence of post-partum depression or
post-partum psychosis was presented by a qualified medical

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person at trial or sentencing, or both;
(D) she was unaware of the mitigating nature of the
evidence or, if aware, was at the time unable to present
this defense due to suffering from post-partum depression
or post-partum psychosis, or, at the time of trial or
sentencing, neither was a recognized mental illness and as
such, she was unable to receive proper treatment; and
(E) evidence of post-partum depression or post-partum
psychosis as suffered by the person is material and
noncumulative to other evidence offered at the time of
trial or sentencing, and it is of such a conclusive
character that it would likely change the sentence imposed
by the original court.
Nothing in this subsection (b-10) prevents a person from
applying for any other relief under this Article or any other
law otherwise available to her.
As used in this subsection (b-10):
"Post-partum depression" means a mood disorder which
strikes many women during and after pregnancy and usually
occurs during pregnancy and up to 12 months after
delivery. This depression can include anxiety disorders.
"Post-partum psychosis" means an extreme form of
post-partum depression which can occur during pregnancy
and up to 12 months after delivery. This can include
losing touch with reality, distorted thinking, delusions,
auditory and visual hallucinations, paranoia,

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hyperactivity and rapid speech, or mania.
(b-15) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
Section if the allegations in the petition establish the
following by a preponderance of the evidence that, prior to
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
Assembly, the movant was sentenced to natural life
imprisonment under Section 5-4.5-95 of the Unified Code of
Corrections. Nothing in this subsection (b-15) prevents a
movant from applying for any other relief under this Section
or any other law otherwise available to him or her.
(c) Except as provided in Section 20b of the Adoption Act
and Section 2-32 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, in a
petition based upon Section 116-3 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure of 1963 or subsection (b-10) of this Section, or in a
motion to vacate and expunge convictions under the Cannabis
Control Act as provided by subsection (i) of Section 5.2 of the
Criminal Identification Act, the petition must be filed not
later than 2 years after the entry of the order or judgment.
Time during which the person seeking relief is under legal
disability or duress or the ground for relief is fraudulently
concealed shall be excluded in computing the period of 2
years.
(c-5) Any individual may at any time file a petition and
institute proceedings under this Section if his or her final
order or judgment, which was entered based on a plea of guilty
or nolo contendere, has potential consequences under federal

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immigration law.
(d) The filing of a petition under this Section does not
affect the order or judgment, or suspend its operation.
(e) Unless lack of jurisdiction affirmatively appears from
the record proper, the vacation or modification of an order or
judgment pursuant to the provisions of this Section does not
affect the right, title, or interest in or to any real or
personal property of any person, not a party to the original
action, acquired for value after the entry of the order or
judgment but before the filing of the petition, nor affect any
right of any person not a party to the original action under
any certificate of sale issued before the filing of the
petition, pursuant to a sale based on the order or judgment.
When a petition is filed pursuant to this Section to reopen a
foreclosure proceeding, notwithstanding the provisions of
Section 15-1701 of this Code, the purchaser or successor
purchaser of real property subject to a foreclosure sale who
was not a party to the mortgage foreclosure proceedings is
entitled to remain in possession of the property until the
foreclosure action is defeated or the previously foreclosed
defendant redeems from the foreclosure sale if the purchaser
has been in possession of the property for more than 6 months.
(f) Nothing contained in this Section affects any existing
right to relief from a void order or judgment, or to employ any
existing method to procure that relief.
(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 101-411, eff. 8-16-19;

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102-639, eff. 8-27-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)