HB3161 - Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act

• Creates the Illinois Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission to provide guidance and support to regional domestic violence fatality review teams operating within judicial circuits statewide.

• Establishes regional domestic violence fatality review teams composed of multidisciplinary professionals (prosecutors, law enforcement, social services providers, health professionals, judges, and survivors) to review domestic violence-related fatalities and near-fatalities.

• Teams review eligible cases involving domestic violence fatalities or near-fatalities with qualifying relationships between offender and victim/survivor to identify systemic gaps and develop recommendations for legislative, policy, and community reform.

• Designates all information and communications related to fatality reviews as confidential and exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests, subpoenas, and use as evidence in legal proceedings, with penalties for unlawful disclosure.

• Amends the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act to exclude regional review team meetings conducted for domestic violence fatality review purposes from public meeting requirements and disclosure obligations.