(a) Creation. There is created under the jurisdiction of the Governor the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council, hereinafter referred to as the Council.
     (b) Purposes and goals. The purpose of the Council is to review sentencing policies and practices and examine how these policies and practices impact the criminal justice system as a whole in the State of Illinois. In carrying out its duties, the Council shall be mindful of and aim to achieve the purposes of sentencing in Illinois, which are set out in Section 1-1-2 of this Code:
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Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 730 ILCS 5/5-8-8

  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.36
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • State: when applied to different parts of the United States, may be construed to include the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" may be construed to include the said district and territories. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.14

         (1) prescribe sanctions proportionate to the
    
seriousness of the offenses and permit the recognition of differences in rehabilitation possibilities among individual offenders;
        (2) forbid and prevent the commission of offenses;
         (3) prevent arbitrary or oppressive treatment of
    
persons adjudicated offenders or delinquents; and
        (4) restore offenders to useful citizenship.
     (c) Council composition.
         (1) The Council shall consist of the following
    
members:
            (A) the President of the Senate, or his or her
        
designee;
            (B) the Minority Leader of the Senate, or his or
        
her designee;
            (C) the Speaker of the House, or his or her
        
designee;
            (D) the Minority Leader of the House, or his or
        
her designee;
            (E) the Governor, or his or her designee;
             (F) the Attorney General, or his or her designee;
             (G) two retired judges, who may have been
        
circuit, appellate, or supreme court judges; retired judges shall be selected by the members of the Council designated in clauses (c)(1)(A) through (L);
            (G-5) (blank);
             (H) the Cook County State’s Attorney, or his or
        
her designee;
            (I) the Cook County Public Defender, or his or
        
her designee;
            (J) a State’s Attorney not from Cook County,
        
appointed by the State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor;
            (K) the State Appellate Defender, or his or her
        
designee;
            (L) the Director of the Administrative Office of
        
the Illinois Courts, or his or her designee;
            (M) a victim of a violent felony or a
        
representative of a crime victims’ organization, selected by the members of the Council designated in clauses (c)(1)(A) through (L);
            (N) a representative of a community-based
        
organization, selected by the members of the Council designated in clauses (c)(1)(A) through (L);
            (O) a criminal justice academic researcher, to be
        
selected by the members of the Council designated in clauses (c)(1)(A) through (L);
            (P) a representative of law enforcement from a
        
unit of local government to be selected by the members of the Council designated in clauses (c)(1)(A) through (L);
            (Q) a sheriff outside of Cook County selected by
        
the members of the Council designated in clauses (c)(1)(A) through (L); and
            (R) ex-officio members shall include:
                 (i) the Director of Corrections, or his or
            
her designee;
                (ii) the Chair of the Prisoner Review Board,
            
or his or her designee;
                (iii) the Director of the Illinois State
            
Police, or his or her designee;
                (iv) the Director of the Illinois Criminal
            
Justice Information Authority, or his or her designee; and
                (v) the Cook County Sheriff, or his or her
            
designee.
        (1.5) The Chair and Vice Chair shall be elected from
    
among its members by a majority of the members of the Council.
        (2) Members of the Council who serve because of their
    
public office or position, or those who are designated as members by such officials, shall serve only as long as they hold such office or position.
        (3) Council members shall serve without compensation
    
but shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses incurred in their work for the Council.
        (4) The Council may exercise any power, perform any
    
function, take any action, or do anything in furtherance of its purposes and goals upon the appointment of a quorum of its members. The term of office of each member of the Council ends on the date of repeal of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.
        (5) The Council shall determine the qualifications
    
for and hire the Executive Director.
    (d) Duties. The Council shall perform, as resources permit, duties including:
         (1) Collect and analyze information including
    
sentencing data, crime trends, and existing correctional resources to support legislative and executive action affecting the use of correctional resources on the State and local levels.
        (2) Prepare criminal justice population projections
    
annually, including correctional and community-based supervision populations.
        (3) Analyze data relevant to proposed sentencing
    
legislation and its effect on current policies or practices, and provide information to support evidence-based sentencing.
        (4) Ensure that adequate resources and facilities are
    
available for carrying out sentences imposed on offenders and that rational priorities are established for the use of those resources. To do so, the Council shall prepare criminal justice resource statements, identifying the fiscal and practical effects of proposed criminal sentencing legislation, including, but not limited to, the correctional population, court processes, and county or local government resources.
        (4.5) Study and conduct a thorough analysis of
    
sentencing under Section 5-4.5-110 of this Code. The Sentencing Policy Advisory Council shall provide annual reports to the Governor and General Assembly, including the total number of persons sentenced under Section 5-4.5-110 of this Code, the total number of departures from sentences under Section 5-4.5-110 of this Code, and an analysis of trends in sentencing and departures. On or before December 31, 2022, the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council shall provide a report to the Governor and General Assembly on the effectiveness of sentencing under Section 5-4.5-110 of this Code, including recommendations on whether sentencing under Section 5-4.5-110 of this Code should be adjusted or continued.
        (5) Perform such other studies or tasks pertaining to
    
sentencing policies as may be requested by the Governor or the Illinois General Assembly.
        (6) Perform such other functions as may be required
    
by law or as are necessary to carry out the purposes and goals of the Council prescribed in subsection (b).
        (7) Publish a report on the trends in sentencing for
    
offenders described in subsection (b-1) of Section 5-4-1 of this Code, the impact of the trends on the prison and probation populations, and any changes in the racial composition of the prison and probation populations that can be attributed to the changes made by adding subsection (b-1) of Section 5-4-1 to this Code by Public Act 99-861.
    (e) Authority.
         (1) The Council shall have the power to perform the
    
functions necessary to carry out its duties, purposes and goals under this Act. In so doing, the Council shall utilize information and analysis developed by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, and the Illinois Department of Corrections.
        (2) Upon request from the Council, each executive
    
agency and department of State and local government shall provide information and records to the Council in the execution of its duties.
    (f) Report. The Council shall report in writing annually to the General Assembly, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the Governor.
     (g) (Blank).
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