HB4550 Summary

• Creates the Department of Returning Resident Affairs and the "Second Chance State Program" to provide comprehensive support services to returning residents (those detained, prosecuted, incarcerated, or previously incarcerated in Illinois).

• Establishes 13 hub sites statewide operated by community-based organizations to deliver services including job training, housing assistance, education, behavioral health, substance abuse treatment, and pretrial/reentry navigation.

• Requires law enforcement, courts, sheriffs, and the Department of Corrections to inform eligible individuals about the program and facilitate referrals within specified timeframes (within 2 hours of arrest, at first court appearance, and 6 months before release).

• Creates the Second Chance State Transportation Task Force to develop no-cost or low-cost transportation options for returning residents and establishes the Returning Residents Interagency Council with representatives from 29 state agencies to coordinate resources.

• Director must have 1+ year prior incarceration in an Illinois correctional facility and community-based organization experience; Director, Assistant Director, and General Counsel serve 7-year terms removable only for misconduct; prohibits all relationships with for-profit correctional entities.