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| Public Act 101-0471
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| HB2444 Enrolled | LRB101 10397 SLF 55503 b |
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AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Children's |
Best Interest Act.
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Section 3. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to: |
(1) prevent unnecessary harm to children caused by |
separation from parents during pre-trial detention or |
incarceration; and |
(2) ensure the fair and compassionate treatment of children |
whose parents are involved in the criminal justice system by |
affording certain basic considerations to these children when |
decisions are made that affect them.
Sentences that are based |
on evidence-based practices serve families and communities, as |
well as defendants. Parental incarceration is classified as an |
Adverse Childhood Experience. Multiple peer-reviewed studies |
connect Adverse Childhood Experiences, a set of specific |
traumatic events that occur during childhood, to poor mental |
and physical health outcomes such as chronic diseases, certain |
cancers, sexually transmitted infections, depression, and |
other mental health conditions. Allowing incarcerated mothers |
and babies to co-habitate during the baby's first year of life |
leads to babies having more secure attachments when compared to |
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those who have not co-habitated for a full year which improves |
long-term outcomes for both mothers and babies. |
Community-based residential parenting programs and day |
programs where parents can serve their sentences with their |
infants and children in a non-prison setting that offers |
housing and social services serve to enhance parent-child |
bonding and foster healthy child development. Family-based |
drug treatment programs that offer parenting skills training |
and home-based case management services are successful in |
reducing parental drug abuse and improving parenting skills. |
Parenting classes for fathers and mothers improve parent-child |
relationships and attachment, children's self-concept and |
behaviors, and feelings of competence among parents. Among |
parents who participate in residential drug treatment, those |
who have their children with them are far more likely to |
complete the program when compared to those who are separated |
from their children. Children of parents who participate in |
family-based drug treatment are less likely to develop |
substance abuse disorders.
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Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by |
changing Section 5-5-3.1 as follows:
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5-3.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 1005-5-3.1)
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Sec. 5-5-3.1. Factors in mitigation.
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(a) The following
grounds shall be accorded weight in favor |
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of withholding or
minimizing a sentence of imprisonment:
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(1) The defendant's criminal conduct neither caused |
nor
threatened serious physical harm to another.
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(2) The defendant did not contemplate that his criminal |
conduct would
cause or threaten serious physical harm to |
another.
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(3) The defendant acted under a strong provocation.
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(4) There were substantial grounds tending to excuse or |
justify
the defendant's criminal conduct, though failing |
to establish a
defense.
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(5) The defendant's criminal conduct was induced or |
facilitated
by someone other than the defendant.
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(6) The defendant has compensated or will compensate |
the victim
of his criminal conduct for the damage or injury |
that he sustained.
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(7) The defendant has no history of prior delinquency |
or
criminal activity or has led a law-abiding life for a |
substantial
period of time before the commission of the |
present crime.
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(8) The defendant's criminal conduct was the result of
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circumstances unlikely to recur.
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(9) The character and attitudes of the defendant |
indicate that he is
unlikely to commit another crime.
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(10) The defendant is particularly likely to comply |
with the terms of
a period of probation.
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(11) (Blank). The imprisonment of the defendant would |
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entail excessive
hardship to his dependents.
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(12) The imprisonment of the defendant would endanger |
his or her medical
condition.
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(13) The defendant was a person with an intellectual |
disability as defined in Section 5-1-13 of
this Code.
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(14) The defendant sought or obtained emergency |
medical assistance for an overdose and was convicted of a |
Class 3 felony or higher possession, manufacture, or |
delivery of a controlled, counterfeit, or look-alike |
substance or a controlled substance analog under the |
Illinois Controlled Substances Act or a Class 2 felony or |
higher possession, manufacture or delivery of |
methamphetamine under the Methamphetamine Control and |
Community Protection Act. |
(15) At the time of the offense, the defendant is or |
had been the victim of domestic violence and the effects of |
the domestic violence tended to excuse or justify the |
defendant's criminal conduct. As used in this paragraph |
(15), "domestic violence" means abuse as defined in Section |
103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. |
(16) At the time of the offense, the defendant was |
suffering from a serious mental illness which, though |
insufficient to establish the defense of insanity, |
substantially affected his or her ability to understand the |
nature of his or her acts or to conform his or her conduct |
to the requirements of the law. |
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(17) At the time of the offense, the defendant was |
suffering from post-partum depression or post-partum |
psychosis which was either undiagnosed or untreated, or |
both, and this temporary mental illness tended to excuse
or |
justify the defendant's criminal conduct and the defendant |
has been diagnosed as suffering from post-partum |
depression or
post-partum psychosis, or both, by a |
qualified medical person and the diagnoses or
testimony, or |
both, was not used at trial. In this paragraph (17): |
"Post-partum depression"
means a mood disorder |
which strikes many
women during and after pregnancy |
which 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, hyperactivity and rapid speech, or mania. |
(18) The defendant is the parent of a child or infant |
whose well-being will be negatively affected by the |
parent's absence. Circumstances to be considered in |
assessing this factor in mitigation include: |
(A) that the parent is breastfeeding the child; |
(B) the age of the child, with strong consideration |
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given to avoid disruption of the caregiving of an |
infant, pre-school or school-age child by a parent; |
(C) the role of the parent in the day-to-day |
educational and medical needs of the child; |
(D) the relationship of the parent and the child; |
(E) any special medical, educational, or |
psychological needs of the child; |
(F) the role of the parent in the financial support |
of the child. |
Under this Section, the defendant shall have the right to |
present a Family Impact Statement at sentencing, which the |
court shall consider prior to imposing any sentence and may |
include testimony from family and community members, written |
statements, video, and documentation.
Unless the court finds |
that the parent poses a significant risk to the community that |
outweighs the risk of harm from the parent's removal from the |
family, the court shall impose a sentence in accordance with |
subsection (b) that allows the parent to continue to care for |
the child or children. |
(19) The defendant serves as the caregiver for a |
relative who is ill, disabled, or elderly. |
(b) If the court, having due regard for the character of |
the
offender, the nature and circumstances of the offense and |
the
public interest finds that a sentence of imprisonment is |
the
most appropriate disposition of the offender, or where |
other
provisions of this Code mandate the imprisonment of the |
