THE FIRST sweeping sentencing reform law since 1961, H.B. 1500 (called Class X), was passed into law before the General Assembly adjourned from its special and fall veto sessions. It was the result of a drawn-out, give-and-take compromise between the Republican governor and the Democratic-controlled legislature. While the governor hailed the bill as tough, some legislators who supported it called it "phony" insofar as the Class X provisions were concerned.

"I said from the beginning that Class X was a gimmick, and I haven't changed "my mind," said House Speaker William A. Redmond (D., Bensenville). Redmond and others also criticized the governor's methodology in negotiating the compromise. "This is an independent body and I strongly resent it," Redmond said of a letter sent by the governor to a number of Republican Legislators, reportedly offering campaign funds if they would support Class X and threatening to deny funds if they didn't support it.

The reform bill was worked out by Gov. James R. Thompson and Democratic committee leaders Harold Katz (D., Glencoe), in the House, and Dawn Clark Netsch (D., Chicago), in the Senate. The final product may prove to be of national significance since it is the first sweeping change in many decades in the way criminals are treated by society. It represents a strange mixture of "get tough" extensions of sentences for "heinous" crimes and "make it fair" provisions that remove judicial discretion from the process of sentencing, with the hope that minorities and poor people will get a better shake.

Although neither side seemed fully satisfied with the ingredients, all parties got something they desired. On his side, Gov. Thompson went away with a whole new class of crimes, called "X, that will automatically mean a long stretch in the slammer for those convicted. These Class X crimes include: rape, aggravated kidnapping for ransom, deviate sexual assault, heinous battery (newly-defined to make intentional disfigurement with a caustic substance, like acid, more abhorrent legally), armed robbery, aggravated arson, treason, armed violence with handguns or knives, making or peddling dangerous controlled substances, and calculated criminal drug conspiracy. Such X crimes will mean imprisonment for from 6 to 30 years, with a fixed sentence upon conviction — and the possibility of a doubling of this sentence under some aggravating circumstances.

Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee proposals, which set up determinate sentences for all felony convictions and abolished indeterminate sentences and most forms of parole, were adopted. A whole list of other reforms were worked out in compromises that neither satisfied nor outraged either side.

Briefly, the new sentencing law calls for:
* one day of good time credit for each day served correctly in prison;
* allows a judge to double the maximum sentence for heinous crimes and repeat offenders;
* allows consecutive sentences where a defendant is convicted of doing severe bodily harm in the course of a murder, Class X, or Class 1 felony;
* requires a presentence investigation in all felony convictions (unless both parties agree to a specific sentence and a finding is made on the defendant's criminal past);
*lists mitigating and aggravating circumstances that must be considered by a judge when imposing a felony sentence;
* requires judges to publicly tell why certain sentences were imposed; and
* permits all sentences to be appealed, but appellate courts may then impose an increased sentence if the defendant makes the sentence an issue in the appeal.

In addition, Class X does away with the Parole and Pardon Board as of February 1, 1978, the effective date of the act. It then creates an independent Prisoner Review Board to examine rules and regulations of good time credit and to hear appeals on such credit. The new board will also set release dates for certain prisoners sentenced under the prior law, recommend the denial or granting of executive clemency, establish rules for parole and mandatory supervised release, and take over functions of the former Parole and Pardon Board (mainly for those sentenced under the prior law).

Those sentenced under the prior law will now have a choice of either accepting a release date established by the Prison Review Board or remaining under the present parole system. All prisoners will receive copies of rules and regulations from the Department of Corrections explaining what behavior will not be tolerated which may slow or revoke good time credit. Prisoners will be subject to new disciplinary procedures as well. Class X prohibits corporal punishment and disciplinary restrictions on diet, medical or sanitary facilities, legal supplies and mail. Disciplinary cutbacks on work, visitation, education, program assignments or library facilities will be allowed only for conduct related to these privileges. For example, if a prisoner makes a weapon on work assignment, he could lose his prison job.

The ranges of sentences under Class X (H.B. 1500) is considerably changed from the old law, with longer sentences required for the most serious felonies and somewhat shorter sentences for the less serious ones (Class 3 and 4). Changes in sentence terms are:

Crime	New Law	Prior Law
Murder-Felony	20-40	14 min/ no max
Class X	6-30	4 min/ no max
Class 1	4-15	4 min/ no max
Class 2	3-7	1 min/20 max
Class 3	2-5	1 min/10 max
Class 4	1-3	1 min/4 max

(Under the new law, all the maximums listed above may be doubled for heinous criminals or repeat offenders.)

The practical effect of the new deter-

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minate sentences will be somewhat less severe than as written, just as the practical effect of the old .law was less severe (because of parole) than it appeared on paper. With full day-for-day good time credit under the new law, convicts can get out of prison in half the time they are sentenced for. The effective new median time served, and the changes from present time served (as found in a survey of 1971 through 1974 averages) are as follows:

Crime	New Law	Prior Law (from '71-'74 Avg.)
Murder	15	+3.3 years
Class X	9	+5.2 years
Class 1	4.75	+0.45 years
Class 2	2.5	+0.30 years
Class 3	1.75	-0.05 years
Class 4	1	-0.70 years

But before sentencing for any felony, the new law requires a presentence investigation to determine what sort of desperate rapscallion or innocent victim the convict was prior to his/ her act of lawlessness. Then a presentence report must be issued, showing what programs or resources may be appropriate in helping the outlaw rehabilitate himself, what effect the crime has had on the victim(s), and what sentence alternative would be best for them.

Finally, the new felony sentencing law mandates a 12-member Criminal Sentencing Commission to monitor the new system, recommend changes in length and class of sentences and develop standardized guidelines for sentencing.

The compromise bill passed the Senate 48-7 November 22. It then went to the House the next day for concurrence with the Senate amendment (8) which essentially rewrote H.B. 1500 in its entirety. The vote in the House was 145-24, to concur (It had passed 153-6 in the regular session).

Ironically, the bill was passed, not in a special session at all, though that had been the primary purpose of calling a special session in the first place. Instead, H.B. 1500 was simply revived in the so-called "fall veto session."

A second irony was that most lawmakers agreed that the new law "isn't. going to do a damn thing" for reducing crime on the streets. "I think it is deluding and deceiving the people of the State of Illinois," said Sen. Harold Washington (D., Chicago).

"Almost the whole bill deals with sentencing, it will not solve crime problems," explained Sen. Netsch.

Special Session No.2
IN THE six-topic Special Session Two, a number of important but not unexpected actions were taken. A bill to avert a critical economic crisis over federal unemployment insurance benefits, was adopted. It met a federal deadline for setting up a deferred repayment plan for funds the state has borrowed to cover unemployment program benefits. At the same time, it brought the state into compliance with new federal unemployment insurance requirements. (See December "Legislative Action.")

Funding for two new 750-bed prisons was also voted by the General Assembly, to meet a different kind of crisis overcrowding of Illinois' ancient prison system. Then new prisons will cost $58 million. They will located at Centralia and Hillsboro, and each will employ about 400 persons.

A third topic of Special Session, public aid fund abuse, saw adoption of a new law cracking down on providers of welfare medicaid who defraud or abuse the system. The state supreme court had declared last October that no law allowed the state Department of Public Aid to suspend providers of medical care, hospitals, dentists or others who were suspected of wrong-doing. The new bill

28 / January 1978 / Illinois Issues

A bill to consolidate elections, H.B. 3 of the Second Special Session, was also passed by both houses. It addresses itself, basically, to changes needed in H.B. 1149 (P.A. 80-936), adopted last spring. H.B. 3 allows for emergency referenda, corrects drafting errors in the earlier law and makes other minor changes. (See November "Legislative Action.") An attempt to change the effective date of P.A. 80-936 failed. It remains December 1, 1978.

Finally, a funding formula was passed for Community College Districts for fiscal 1978, which began last July 1. H.B. 2 of Special Session Two establishes a credit-hour grant rate of $17.61 per semester hour—the same rate as last year. It was necessary that the legislature establish a rate for this year, however, or else the Illinois Community College Board would have had no authority to distribute funds already appropriated for state Community colleges.

Action on vetoes

• The most emotionally-charged issues of the session were the governor's total vetoes of bills legalizing laetrile use (H.B. 1200) and disallowing public aid spending for nontherapeutic abortions (H.B. 333). Both vetoes were overridden by substantial margins, as everyone, including the governor himself, had expected. The outcome was so apparent — and irreversible in both houses — that Gov. James R. Thompson's forces did not even bother to put pressure on legislators to uphold his vetoes. Thompson himself admitted that both issues were clearly "matters of conscience," and no amount of lobbying on his part could have changed anyone's mind.

• Efforts to override Gov. Thompson's veto of a coal severance tax bill (S.B. 39) failed in the Senate November 8. The vote was 34-18 to override, two short of the necessary three-fifths majority required for a total veto override. Thus the bill was killed, despite pleas from its sponsor. Sen. Gene Johns (D., Marion). "Please, I ask you, don't turn your backs on Southern Illinois at a time when her lands are being ravaged and raped," Johns said before the fatal vote was cast. The bill would have taxed exports of Illinois coal with revenue earmarked for poor coal mining counties, to reclaim abandoned surface mines and to treat black lung victims. The governor had vetoed the bill because he said it would make Illinois coal uncompetitive in price with coal of other states.

• The House refused to override a total veto of S.B. 281, thus letting the veto stand. The bill would have allowed use of high sulphur coal in Illinois, thereby increasing sulphur dioxide pollution and reducing the need for importation of western low-sulphur coal. (Most Illinois coal is high-sulphur.) The veto was overridden in the Senate 43-8, but came 27 votes short in the House 80-77.

• Both houses approved amendatory veto changes in H.B. 286, giving stiffer new penalties for creators or sellers of child pornography. The bill provides a maximum 10-year prison term and a $50,000 fine upon conviction of making pornographic material featuring children. Sellers of such material face up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Those who solicit children to appear in pornography will face prison terms of 10 years and fines of $10,000.

• The legislature accepted amendatory veto changes by the governor in H.B. 760. Under the new law, a rape victim's prior sexual conduct or reputation is not admissible in a rape trial, unless the defendant was involved. The governor had deleted a section allowing inquiry into the victim's past if the issue of consent were raised.

• Another bill, H.B. 1185, died when the Senate refused to override a total veto of it. The bill would have reduced the penalty for rape involving only the threat of force, as opposed to rape with use of force or a weapon.

• The General Assembly concurred with amendatory changes offered by the governor in S.B. 1308, which grants nursing homes a "full, reasonable" cost reimbursement for patient care purchased by the Illinois Department of Public Aid.

• Amendatory changes in H.B. 212, which were purely technical, were accepted by both houses of the legislature. The new law increases penalties for those who commit welfare fraud. It is unrelated to the fraud law covering medical care providers, which had to be revised after a section was declared unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court last October 17 (see Special Session No. 2 topics).

• The Senate refused to override a full veto of H.B. 186, which would have given greater legislative control to state spending of federal funds. Federal aid accounts for nearly one out of five dollars in total state resources — about $2 billion annually. The bill would have required state appropriation of all such federal funds spent by state agencies, with few exceptions, notably colleges and universities. Overridden in the House 120-37 November 8, a similar attempt on the bill in the Senate failed 34-11 November 23. Much of the impetus for the proposal grew out of an Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission report issued last year (1977).

• The General Assembly overrode the governor's veto of H.B. 563, making the state responsible for indigent migrant workers' medical assistance. Dependents of migrants would also be eligible for care, if they are with the worker during his temporary residence and employment in the state. However, migrant workers and their dependents must show proof of citizenship or legal alien status to be eligible. The governor vetoed the bill because he said it would shift the burden of medical aid to the state from townships, thus cutting off federal matching funds.

• The Senate refused to override (and so accepted) an amendatory veto of S.B. 1142, which will make the state's energy division a part of the Department of Mines and Minerals. Thompson's changes delayed the effective date of the reorganization until next July 1. At present the state's energy functions are under the Department of Business and Economic Development. 

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