HB5842 Summary: State Public Defender Act

• Creates the Office of State Public Defender as an independent agency within Illinois' judicial branch with records subject to the Freedom of Information Act, headed by a State Public Defender earning the same salary as the Attorney General.

• Establishes the State Public Defender Commission with 11 members appointed by the Governor, Supreme Court, and legislative leaders to oversee the office, approve budgets, appoint the State Public Defender for 6-year terms, and remove only for cause after a hearing.

• Initial State Public Defender serves a 2-year term nominated by a nonprofit organization of Illinois public defenders and appointed by the Supreme Court; subsequent State Public Defenders appointed by the Commission for 6-year terms.

• Reforms county public defender system by allowing 2 or more counties within the same judicial circuit to collaborate, with vacancies filled by State Public Defender nomination and Commission appointment using a standardized selection process.

• Modifies the Public Defender Fund to be administered by the State Public Defender (rather than the Illinois Supreme Court) to provide supplemental funding to counties for public defense services including investigators, social workers, and training, with funds neither reducing nor offsetting existing county budgets.