725 ILCS 5/116-4
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 725 - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE|725 ILCS 5/ - Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963.|Title VI - Proceedings At Trial

Sec. 116-4. Preservation of evidence for forensic testing.(a) Before or after the trial in a prosecution for a violation of  Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1,  12-15, or 12-16 of the  Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or in a prosecution for an offense defined in Article 9  of  that Code,  or in a prosecution for an attempt in violation of Section 8-4 of that Code  of any of the above-enumerated  offenses, unless otherwise provided herein under subsection (b) or (c), a law  enforcement agency  or an agent acting on behalf of the law enforcement agency shall  preserve, subject to a continuous chain of  custody, any  physical evidence  in their possession or control that is reasonably likely to contain forensic  evidence,  including, but not limited to, fingerprints or biological material  secured in relation to a trial and with sufficient  documentation to locate  that evidence.(b) After a judgment of conviction is entered,  the evidence shall  either be impounded  with the Clerk of the Circuit Court or shall be securely retained by a law  enforcement agency.  Retention shall be  permanent in cases where a sentence of death is imposed.  Retention shall be  until the  completion of the sentence, including the period of mandatory supervised  release for the  offense, or January 1, 2006, whichever is later, for any conviction for an  offense or an attempt of an offense defined  in Article 9 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or in Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1,  12-15, or  12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or for 7 years following any conviction for any other felony for which  the  defendant's  genetic profile may be taken by a law enforcement agency and submitted for  comparison in a forensic DNA database for unsolved offenses.(c) After a judgment of conviction is entered, the  law  enforcement agency  required to retain evidence described in subsection  (a) may petition the court  with notice to the  defendant or, in cases where the defendant has died, his estate, his attorney  of record, or an attorney appointed for that purpose by the court  for entry  of an order allowing it to dispose of evidence if, after a  hearing, the court  determines by a preponderance of the evidence that:(1) it has no significant value for forensic science     analysis and should be returned to its rightful owner, destroyed, used for training purposes, or as otherwise provided by law; or(2) it has no significant value for forensic science     analysis and is of a size, bulk, or physical character not usually retained by the law enforcement agency and cannot practicably be retained by the law enforcement agency; or(3) there no longer exists a reasonable basis to     require the preservation of the evidence because of the death of the defendant;  however, this paragraph (3) does not apply if a sentence of death was imposed.(d) The court may order the disposition of the evidence if the  defendant is allowed  the opportunity to take reasonable measures to remove or preserve portions of  the evidence in  question for future testing.(d-5) Any order allowing the disposition of evidence pursuant to  subsection (c)  or (d)  shall be a final and appealable order.  No evidence shall be disposed of until  30 days after  the order is entered, and if a notice of appeal is filed, no evidence shall be  disposed of  until the mandate has been received by the circuit court from the appellate  court.(d-10) All records documenting the possession,  control, storage, and destruction of evidence and all police reports, evidence  control or inventory records, and other reports cited in this Section,  including computer records, must be  retained for as  long as the evidence exists and may not be disposed of without the approval of  the Local  Records Commission.(e) In this Section, "law enforcement agency"  includes any of the following or an agent acting on behalf of any of the  following:  a municipal police department, county sheriff's office, any prosecuting  authority,  the Illinois State Police, or any other State, university, county,  federal, or  municipal police  unit or police force."Biological material" includes, but is not limited to, any blood, hair,  saliva, or semen from which  genetic marker groupings may be obtained.  (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)