ADR and Mediation

(Manar, D-Bunker Hill) allows all county boards to impose by ordinance a “judicial facilities fee” on all defendants convicted in traffic and criminal cases and all civil litigants. The fee may not be more than $30. It also expands the use of this fee from defraying new construction to include renovating existing judicial facilities. Under current law, only Will and Kane counties have authority to do impose this fee for new construction. Scheduled for hearing Tuesday in Senate Judiciary Committee. 

(Drury, D-Highwood) makes it perjury if a person knowingly under oath makes contradictory statements to the degree that one of them is necessarily false in the same or in different proceedings in which an oath or affirmation is required if: (1) each statement was material to the issue or point in question; and (2) each statement was made within the period of the statute of limitations for the offense charged. Makes it a defense if the defendant at the time he or she made each declaration believed the declaration to be true. Just introduced.

(Nybo, R-Lombard) amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act. It makes records and communications made or created in the course of providing mental health or developmental disabilities services protected from disclosure regardless of whether the records and communications are made or created in the course of a therapeutic relationship. It makes an exception if "unless otherwise expressly provided for in the Act." Just introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Assignments.

(Currie, D-Chicago) amends the FOIA Act to do two things. (1) It expands exemption (f) to include “correspondence” as exempt from a FOIA request. But this exemption is waived if and only if the specific record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. If the specific record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body, then only those portions of the specific record publicly cited and identified are no longer exempt. Records exempt from disclosure under this subsection and not publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body, including, but not limited to, purely factual material, remain exempt regardless of whether the record was adopted or incorporated into a final decision of the public body. (2) If the public body produces the records after a suit has been filed under this Section, but before the court renders a final judgment, the court must award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs if the court imposes a civil penalty under subsection (j). For purposes of this subsection (i), a requester “prevails” if the person obtains relief through: (a) a court-approved settlement or consent decree; or (b) a final unappealable judgment from a court of competent jurisdiction. House Amendment No. 3 remains in House Executive Committee.