Bill Text: IL SB2520 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Engrossed
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Amends the Counties Code. The court on its own motion, or an interested person in a cause, proceeding, or other matter, civil or criminal, (rather than only in a cause or proceeding, civil or criminal) may file a petition alleging that the State's Attorney has an actual conflict of interest in the cause or proceeding. Makes conforming changes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-08-27 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 102-0657 [SB2520 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SB2520-Engrossed.html
Bill Title: Amends the Counties Code. The court on its own motion, or an interested person in a cause, proceeding, or other matter, civil or criminal, (rather than only in a cause or proceeding, civil or criminal) may file a petition alleging that the State's Attorney has an actual conflict of interest in the cause or proceeding. Makes conforming changes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-08-27 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 102-0657 [SB2520 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SB2520-Engrossed.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning local government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Section 3-9008 as follows:
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6 | (55 ILCS 5/3-9008) (from Ch. 34, par. 3-9008)
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7 | Sec. 3-9008. Appointment of attorney to perform duties. | ||||||
8 | (a) (Blank). | ||||||
9 | (a-5) The court on its own motion, or an interested person | ||||||
10 | in a cause or proceeding, civil or criminal, may file a | ||||||
11 | petition alleging that the State's Attorney is sick, absent, | ||||||
12 | or unable to fulfill his or her duties. The court shall | ||||||
13 | consider the petition, any documents filed in response, and if | ||||||
14 | necessary, grant a hearing to determine whether the State's | ||||||
15 | Attorney is sick, absent, or otherwise unable to fulfill his | ||||||
16 | or her duties. If the court finds that the State's Attorney is | ||||||
17 | sick, absent, or otherwise unable to fulfill his or her | ||||||
18 | duties, the court may appoint some competent attorney to | ||||||
19 | prosecute or defend the cause or proceeding. | ||||||
20 | (a-10) The court on its own motion, or an interested | ||||||
21 | person in a cause , or proceeding, or other matter, civil or | ||||||
22 | criminal, may file a petition alleging that the State's | ||||||
23 | Attorney has an actual conflict of interest in the cause or |
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1 | proceeding. The court shall consider the petition, any | ||||||
2 | documents filed in response, and if necessary, grant a hearing | ||||||
3 | to determine whether the State's Attorney has an actual | ||||||
4 | conflict of interest in the cause or proceeding. If the court | ||||||
5 | finds that the petitioner has proven by sufficient facts and | ||||||
6 | evidence that the State's Attorney has an actual conflict of | ||||||
7 | interest in a specific case, the court may appoint some | ||||||
8 | competent attorney to prosecute or defend the cause , or | ||||||
9 | proceeding , or other matter . | ||||||
10 | (a-15) Notwithstanding subsections (a-5) and (a-10) of | ||||||
11 | this Section, the State's Attorney may file a petition to | ||||||
12 | recuse himself or herself from a cause or proceeding for any | ||||||
13 | other reason he or she deems appropriate and the court shall | ||||||
14 | appoint a special prosecutor as provided in this Section. | ||||||
15 | (a-20) Prior to appointing a private attorney under this | ||||||
16 | Section, the court shall contact public agencies, including, | ||||||
17 | but not limited to, the Office of Attorney General, Office of | ||||||
18 | the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, or local State's | ||||||
19 | Attorney's Offices throughout the State, to determine a public | ||||||
20 | prosecutor's availability to serve as a special prosecutor at | ||||||
21 | no cost to the county and shall appoint a public agency if they | ||||||
22 | are able and willing to accept the appointment. An attorney so | ||||||
23 | appointed shall have the same power and authority in relation | ||||||
24 | to the cause or proceeding as the State's Attorney would have | ||||||
25 | if present and attending to the cause or proceedings. | ||||||
26 | (b) In case of a vacancy of more than one year
occurring in |
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1 | any county in the office of State's attorney, by death,
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2 | resignation or otherwise, and it becomes necessary for the | ||||||
3 | transaction
of the public business, that some competent | ||||||
4 | attorney act as State's
attorney in and for such county during | ||||||
5 | the period between the time of
the occurrence of such vacancy | ||||||
6 | and the election and qualification of a
State's attorney, as | ||||||
7 | provided by law, the vacancy shall be filled upon
the written | ||||||
8 | request of a majority of the circuit judges of the circuit
in | ||||||
9 | which is located the county where such vacancy exists, by | ||||||
10 | appointment
as provided in The Election Code of some competent | ||||||
11 | attorney to perform
and discharge all the duties of a State's | ||||||
12 | attorney in the said county,
such appointment and all | ||||||
13 | authority thereunder to cease upon the election
and | ||||||
14 | qualification of a State's attorney, as provided by law. Any
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15 | attorney appointed for any reason under this Section shall
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16 | possess all the powers and discharge all the
duties of a | ||||||
17 | regularly elected State's attorney under the laws of the
State | ||||||
18 | to the extent necessary to fulfill the purpose of such
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19 | appointment, and shall be paid by the county he serves not to | ||||||
20 | exceed in
any one period of 12 months, for the reasonable | ||||||
21 | amount of time actually
expended in carrying out the purpose | ||||||
22 | of such appointment, the same compensation
as provided by law | ||||||
23 | for the State's attorney of the county, apportioned,
in the | ||||||
24 | case of lesser amounts of compensation,
as to the time of | ||||||
25 | service reasonably and actually expended. The county shall | ||||||
26 | participate in all agreements on the rate of compensation of a |
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1 | special prosecutor.
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2 | (c) An order granting authority to a special prosecutor | ||||||
3 | must be construed strictly and narrowly by the court. The | ||||||
4 | power and authority of a special prosecutor shall not be | ||||||
5 | expanded without prior notice to the county. In the case of the | ||||||
6 | proposed expansion of a special prosecutor's power and | ||||||
7 | authority, a county may provide the court with information on | ||||||
8 | the financial impact of an expansion on the county. Prior to | ||||||
9 | the signing of an order requiring a county to pay for | ||||||
10 | attorney's fees or litigation expenses, the county shall be | ||||||
11 | provided with a detailed copy of the invoice describing the | ||||||
12 | fees, and the invoice shall include all activities performed | ||||||
13 | in relation to the case and the amount of time spent on each | ||||||
14 | activity. | ||||||
15 | (Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16 .)
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