§2000.10. Definition of Terms

"Act" means the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission Act [775 ILCS 40].

 

"Alternate member" means an individual appointed by the Governor to serve in the stead of a Commission member who cannot participate in a Commission vote due to scheduling conflicts, conflict of interest, disability or other disqualifications (see 2 Ill. Adm. 3500.10(c)).

 

"Chair" means the chair of the Commission, who is the retired judge appointed to the Commission by the Governor.

 

"Claim of torture" means a claim on behalf of a living person convicted of a felony in Illinois asserting that the person was tortured into confessing to the crime for which the person was convicted and the tortured confession was used to obtain the conviction and for which there is some credible evidence related to allegations of torture occurring within a county of more than 3,000,000 inhabitants. [775 ILCS 40/5(1)]

 

"Commission" or "TIRC" means the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission. [775 ILCS 40/5(2)]

 

"Convicted person" means the person asserting a claim of torture under the Act. [775 ILCS 40/5(3)]

 

"Director" means the Director of the Commission, who is an attorney licensed to practice in Illinois. The Director assists the Commission in developing rules and standards for cases accepted for review, coordinating investigation of cases accepted for review, maintaining records for all case investigation, preparing reports outlining Commission investigations and recommendations to the trial court, and applying for and accepting on behalf of the Commission any funds that may become available from government grants, private gifts, donations, or bequests from any source. [775 ILCS 40/30]

 

"Occurring within a county of more than 3,000,000 inhabitants" means that the felony conviction at issue in the claim of torture occurred in the courts of a county of more than 3,000,000 inhabitants. (See Section 5(1) of the Act.)

 

"Tortured Confession" includes any incriminating statement, vocalization or gesture alleged by police or prosecutors to have been made by a convicted person that the convicted person alleges were a result of (or, if the convicted person denies making the statements, occurred shortly after) interrogation that the convicted person claims included torture. (See 775 ILCS 40/5(1).)

 

"Torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for the purpose of obtaining from that person a confession to a crime. (See 775 ILCS 40/5(1).)

 

"Victim" means the victim of the crime of which the person claiming torture has been convicted, including, if that person is deceased, the next of kin of that person, which shall be the parent, spouse, child, or sibling of the deceased. [775 ILCS 40/5(5)]

 

(Source:  Amended at 41 Ill. Reg. 3951, effective March 17, 2017)