HB3663 amends the Illinois Court of Claims Act and the Code of Civil Procedure to expand and revise the process for obtaining compensation for wrongful convictions and, for the first time, wrongful juvenile delinquency adjudications. The bill updates the Court of Claims’ jurisdiction over claims by people who were wrongly convicted or adjudicated delinquent, and it revises the certificate-of-innocence process so that eligible petitioners may seek relief after a conviction or adjudication is reversed or vacated and the underlying charge is dismissed, or where the statute used to support the charge is found unconstitutional. It also changes terminology throughout the law to include juvenile delinquency adjudications alongside criminal convictions.
Impact
The bill broadens state law in two major ways: it extends certificate-of-innocence and compensation provisions to juvenile delinquency cases, and it revises the award structure for wrongful incarceration claims. Under the amended Court of Claims Act, compensation is set at up to $50,000 per year for wrongful incarceration in a state prison, county jail, county juvenile detention facility, or Illinois Youth Center, and up to $25,000 per year for wrongful parole, probation, or sex-offender registration, with companion-charge custody time deducted from the total award. The bill also changes how large awards are paid out over multiple fiscal years, updates attorney-fee limits, requires annual CPI-based adjustments to award amounts, and directs related notice and record-sealing procedures after a certificate of innocence is entered.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests strong bipartisan or at least overwhelming support for the bill: it passed Third Reading in the House by a vote of 114-0. No committee transcript is available, but the enrolled text indicates a policy direction focused on expanding remedies for wrongfully convicted people and wrongfully adjudicated juveniles, which is consistent with a generally favorable legislative posture toward the measure.
Contention
The main substantive issue in the bill is the expansion of eligibility from adult wrongful convictions to juvenile delinquency adjudications, including the use of terms such as “adjudicated delinquent,” “juvenile delinquency petition,” and “Illinois Youth Center.” The bill also revises compensation formulas and attorney-fee caps, which could affect the size and timing of state payouts and may be of interest to fiscal stakeholders. Another notable point is the change from requiring innocence of “all” offenses to “one or more” offenses in some provisions, which may raise questions about the scope of relief and how courts will apply the new standard in mixed-offense cases.