Bill Text: IL SB2525 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Amends the Jury Act. Deletes language providing that jurors must be free from all legal exception, of fair character, of approved integrity, of sound judgment, and well informed. Provides that no person who is qualified and able to serve as a juror may be excluded from jury service on the basis of previous criminal conviction.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB2525 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB2525-Introduced.html

---

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB2525 Introduced 1/28/2020, by Sen. Robert Peters SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
705 ILCS 305/2 from Ch. 78, par. 2
Amends the Jury Act. Deletes language providing that jurors must be free from all legal exception, of fair character, of approved integrity, of sound judgment, and well informed. Provides that no person who is qualified and able to serve as a juror may be excluded from jury service on the basis of previous criminal conviction.
LRB101 18259 LNS 67704 b
A BILL FOR
SB2525 LRB101 18259 LNS 67704 b
AN ACT concerning courts.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Jury Act is amended by changing Section 2 as
follows:
(705 ILCS 305/2) (from Ch. 78, par. 2)
Sec. 2. Jury qualifications.
(a) At the September meeting of the county board in each
year in the respective counties in this State, except those
that have jury commissioners, the board shall select from the
list the number of persons as the judges of the circuit courts,
to be held in the county during the succeeding year, may by
joint action determine to serve as petit jurors. In counties
having jury commissioners, the persons to serve as petit jurors
shall be selected by the jury commissioners, as provided by
law. County boards, a jury administrator, and jury
commissioners may utilize the services of the Administrative
Office of the Illinois Courts in making these selections.
Jurors in all counties in Illinois must have the legal
qualifications herein prescribed. Jurors must be:
(1) Inhabitants of the county.
(2) Of the age of 18 years or upwards.
(3) Able Free from all legal exception, of fair

SB2525 - 2 - LRB101 18259 LNS 67704 b
character, of approved integrity, of sound judgment, well
informed, and able to understand the English language,
whether in spoken or written form or interpreted into sign
language.
(4) Citizens of the United States of America.
(b) Except as otherwise specifically provided by statute,
no person who is qualified and able to serve as a juror may be
excluded from jury service in any court of this State on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual
orientation, or economic status, or previous criminal
conviction. As used in this subsection, "religion", "sex",
"sexual orientation", and "national origin" have the meanings
provided in Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act.
(Source: P.A. 100-228, eff. 1-1-18; 101-327, eff. 1-1-20.)