SB4243 Summary

• Adds comprehensive "Fitness to Stand Trial" procedures for children under 21 in Illinois juvenile and criminal courts, recognizing developmental differences between children and adults.

• Defines unfitness based on inability to consult with attorney or understand proceedings, considering conditions including mental illness, substance use disorder, developmental disability, chronological/relative immaturity, and child traumatic stress.

• Requires court-ordered fitness evaluations by licensed psychologists or psychiatrists with forensics and child development expertise, completed within 30 days, with reports kept confidential and statements made during evaluation inadmissible.

• Establishes maximum 1-year period for children charged with felonies to receive court-ordered fitness services in least restrictive settings, with mandatory 30-day initial progress reports and periodic court hearings every 90 days.

• Requires dismissal of charges with prejudice if child cannot attain fitness within the prescribed period, but allows time credit for custody and services toward any eventual sentence if fitness is attained; effective July 1, 2023.