§ 3-3-4 — Preparation for parole hearing

(a) The Prisoner Review Board shall consider the parole of each eligible person committed to the Department of Corrections at least 30 days prior to the date he or she shall first become eligible for parole. (b) A person eligible for parole shall, no less than 15 days in advance of his or her parole interview, prepare a parole plan in accordance with the rules of the Prisoner Review Board. The person shall be assisted in preparing his or her parole plan by personnel of the Department of Corrections, and may, for this purpose, be released on furlough under Article 11. The Department shall also provide assistance in obtaining information and records helpful to the individual for his or her parole hearing. If the person eligible for parole has a petition or any written submissions prepared on his or her behalf by an attorney or other representative, the attorney or representative for the person eligible for parole must serve by certified mail the State's Attorney of the county where he or she was prosecuted with the petition or any written submissions 15 days after his or her parole interview. The State's Attorney shall provide the attorney for the person eligible for parole with a copy of his or her letter in opposition to parole via certified mail within 5 business days of the en banc hearing. (c) Any member of the Board shall have access at all reasonable times to any committed person and to his or her master record file within the Department, and the Department shall furnish such a report to the Board concerning the conduct and character of any such person prior to his or her parole interview. (d) In making its determination of parole, the Board shall consider: (1) (blank); (2) the report under Section 3-8-2 or 3-10-2; (3) a report by the Department and any report by the chief administrative officer of the institution or facility; (4) a parole progress report; (5) a medical and psychological report, if requested by the Board; (6) material in writing, or on film, video tape or other electronic means in the form of a recording submitted by the person whose parole is being considered; (7) material in writing, or on film, video tape or other electronic means in the form of a recording or testimony submitted by the State's Attorney and the victim or a concerned citizen pursuant to the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act; and (8) the person's eligibility for commitment under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. (e) The prosecuting State's Attorney's office shall receive from the Board reasonable written notice not less than 30 days prior to the parole interview and may submit relevant information by oral argument or testimony of victims and concerned citizens, or both, in writing, or on film, video tape or other electronic means or in the form of a recording to the Board for its consideration. Upon written request of the State's Attorney's office, the Prisoner Review Board shall hear protests to parole, except in counties of 1,500,000 or more inhabitants where there shall be standing objections to all such petitions. If a State's Attorney who represents a county of less than 1,500,000 inhabitants requests a protest hearing, the inmate's counsel or other representative shall also receive notice of such request. This hearing shall take place the month following the inmate's parole interview. If the inmate's parole interview is rescheduled then the Prisoner Review Board shall promptly notify the State's Attorney of the new date. The person eligible for parole shall be heard at the next scheduled en banc hearing date. If the case is to be continued, the State's Attorney's office and the attorney or representative for the person eligible for parole will be notified of any continuance within 5 business days. The State's Attorney may waive the written notice. (f) The victim of the violent crime for which the prisoner has been sentenced shall receive notice of a parole hearing as provided in paragraph (4) of subsection (d) of Section 4.5 of the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act. (g) Any recording considered under the provisions of subsection (d)(6), (d)(7) or (e) of this Section shall be in the form designated by the Board. Such recording shall be both visual and aural. Every voice on the recording and person present shall be identified and the recording shall contain either a visual or aural statement of the person submitting such recording, the date of the recording and the name of the person whose parole eligibility is being considered. Such recordings shall be retained by the Board and shall be deemed to be submitted at any subsequent parole hearing if the victim or State's Attorney submits in writing a declaration clearly identifying such recording as representing the present position of the victim or State's Attorney regarding the issues to be considered at the parole hearing. (h) The Board shall not release any material to the inmate, the inmate's attorney, any third party, or any other person containing any information from a victim who has written objections, testified at any hearing, or submitted audio or visual objections to the inmate's parole, unless provided with a waiver from that victim. Victim statements provided to the Board shall be confidential and privileged, including any statements received prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, except if the statement was an oral statement made by the victim at a hearing open to the public. The Board shall not release the names or addresses of any person on its victim registry to any other person except the victim, a law enforcement agency, or other victim notification system.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 101-288, eff. 1-1-20 .)