Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.
HB3043 • 2026
DISABILITIES CRIMINAL JUSTICE
This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.
Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.
DISABILITIES CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Camille Y. Lilly
Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
Assigned to Appropriations-Health and Human Services Committee
Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
Assigned to Appropriations-Health and Human Services Committee
Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Maurice A. West, II
First Reading
Referred to Rules Committee
DISABILITIES CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB3043 Select Language × The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein. Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet. The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website. NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window. Choose Language English Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Bengali Bosnian Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Esperanto Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Georgian German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Interlingua Interlingue Inuktitut Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Khmer Korean Latin Latvian Lithuanian Luxembourgish Macedonian Malagasy Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Myanmar Nepali Norwegian Odia Pashto Punjabi Romanian Russian Samoan Sango Sanskrit Sardinian Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Southern Sotho Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tamil Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tonga Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu Powered by Translate Close Illinois General Assembly Top Navigation Bar Translate Learn Select General Assembly Search the 104th General Assembly Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules. ILGA.GOV LEGISLATION & LAWS Bills & Resolutions Public Acts Illinois Compiled Statutes Illinois Constitution Search Legislation Glossary Guide Reports & Inquiry Legislative Reports Special Reports FTP Site Legislator Lookup Capitol Complex Phone Numbers Rules & Regulations Illinois Register Administrative Rules Senate Members Schedules Committees Request for Remote Testimony Journals Transcripts Rules Audio/Video FOIA Information Senate Employment Opportunities Media Guidelines House Members Schedules Committees Submit testimony for House Committees Journals Transcripts Rules Audio/Video FOIA Information House Employment Opportunities Log In Mobile Top Bar Search the 104th General Assembly Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website. Full Text of HB3043 Home Legislation Full Text HB3043 - 104th General Assembly Bill Status Full Text Votes Witness Slips Select Menu Bill Status Full Text Votes Witness Slips Printer Friendly Version Introduced Printer Friendly Version Introduced Open PDF 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3043 Introduced 2/6/2025, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act Creates the Criminal Justice Special Advocates Program for People with Disabilities Act. Provides that subject to appropriation for this purpose, the Department of Human Services shall establish a 3-year, 5-county pilot program to provide a minimum of one criminal justice special advocate in each selected county to serve the advocacy and support needs of an individual with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved in the criminal justice system of the county. Contains provisions concerning the selection of counties; the qualifications and duties of criminal justice special advocates; and Department evaluation and reporting requirements. LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b A BILL FOR HB3043 LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b 1 AN ACT concerning criminal justice. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5 Criminal Justice Special Advocates Program for People with 6 Disabilities Act. 7 Section 5. Legislative findings and purpose. 8 (a) The General Assembly finds that people with an 9 intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved 10 in the criminal justice system face unique challenges in 11 understanding and navigating all phases of the criminal 12 justice process. The General Assembly further finds that it is 13 essential that the State of Illinois commence and evaluate a 14 pilot program in which special advocates in selected counties 15 assist people with intellectual disabilities or developmental 16 disabilities while they are involved in the criminal justice 17 system through advocacy, education, supports, and referrals to 18 appropriate services. 19 This pilot program is being established as a direct result 20 of recommendations made by the Protection of Individuals with 21 Disabilities in the Criminal Justice System Task Force 22 convened by the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. 23 The report of the Task Force issued in September 2021 HB3043 - 2 - LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b 1 emphasized the need for specialized advocacy services for 2 individuals with disabilities who are involved in the criminal 3 justice system. 4 (b) The purpose of this Act is to create and evaluate a 5 5-county pilot program that provides criminal justice advocacy 6 services and supports to people with an intellectual 7 disability or a developmental disability who are involved in 8 the criminal justice system in a participating county. The 9 advocates will assist people with an intellectual disability 10 or a developmental disability and their guardians, families, 11 caregivers, and supported decision-makers to better understand 12 each phase of the criminal justice process, ensure that their 13 disabilities are understood by officials involved in each 14 phase of the process, and ensure that medication is provided 15 as prescribed and other unique health needs are met for the 16 individual throughout their involvement in the criminal 17 justice process. 18 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: 19 "Criminal justice special advocate" means a non-attorney 20 who is trained to provide support and advocacy services to 21 people with an intellectual disability or a developmental 22 disability who is involved in the criminal justice system in a 23 pilot county. 24 "Department" means the Department of Human Services. 25 "Developmental disability" has the same meaning ascribed HB3043 - 3 - LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b 1 to it in Section 1-106 of the Mental Health and Developmental 2 Disabilities Code. 3 "Intellectual disability" has the same meaning ascribed to 4 it in Section 1-116 of the Mental Health and Developmental 5 Disabilities Code. 6 Section 15. Pilot program. Subject to appropriation for 7 this purpose, the Department of Human Services shall establish 8 a 3-year, 5-county pilot program to provide a minimum of one 9 criminal justice special advocate in each selected county to 10 serve the advocacy and support needs of an individual with an 11 intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved 12 in the criminal justice system of the county. Funding shall 13 cover the reasonable costs of the pilot county for the 14 criminal justice special advocate's salary, benefits, 15 training, supervision, equipment and supplies, as approved by 16 the Department. 17 Section 20. Selection of counties. The Department shall 18 select 5 counties to participate in the 3-year pilot program 19 based on an application process established by the Department. 20 Criteria for evaluating applications and the selection of 21 counties shall be established by the Department. The counties 22 selected must be geographically diverse and demonstrate the 23 need for a Criminal Justice Special Advocate program. Counties 24 shall indicate on their applications where the criminal HB3043 - 4 - LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b 1 justice special advocate's office will be located and identify 2 the official or officer who will be providing supervision. 3 Section 25. Criminal justice special advocates. 4 (a) Criminal justice special advocates shall be employed 5 by the participating county and shall be independent of any 6 county official or officer who is directly involved in the 7 criminal justice system in the county. 8 (b) Criminal justice special advocates must be 9 non-attorneys with some experience and training working with 10 people with intellectual disabilities or developmental 11 disabilities, preferably with a background in social work, 12 counseling, or a related field. 13 (c) The primary duties of the criminal justice special 14 advocate shall include, but are not limited to: 15 (1) Assisting people with an intellectual disability 16 or a developmental disability and their guardians, family 17 members, caregivers, and supported decision-makers in 18 understanding the legal process and their rights within 19 the criminal justice system. 20 (2) Advocating for accommodations and necessary 21 services to ensure that people with an intellectual 22 disability or a developmental disability can effectively 23 participate in their defense and the overall legal 24 process. 25 (3) Coordinating with prosecutors, defense attorneys, HB3043 - 5 - LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b 1 law enforcement, courts, and service providers to ensure 2 their understanding of the person's disability and 3 facilitate access to appropriate services. 4 (4) Providing referrals to mental health, disability 5 services, and other community resources. 6 (5) Offering support during court proceedings, 7 interviews, and other phases of the criminal justice 8 process. 9 Section 30. Evaluation and reporting. The Department shall 10 evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program by collecting 11 annual data as requested by the Department from each 12 participating county beginning in 2027 on a date established 13 by the Department. The Department shall report to the General 14 Assembly and the Governor after the second full year of the 15 pilot program has been completed with a recommendation for 16 continuation, expansion, or non-continuation of the program 17 and detailed reasons for its recommendations. Footer Disclaimer This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Contact ILGA Webmaster ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies. Read About Cookies ILGA.GOV 2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved | ADA | Disclaimers | Learn This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Contact ILGA Webmaster ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies. Read About Cookies ILGA.GOV 2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved | ADA | Disclaimers | Learn