(a) Hearings shall be open to the public unless the Court of Claims determines that a closed hearing should be held because:
         (1) the alleged assailant has not been brought to
    
trial and a public hearing would adversely affect either his apprehension or his trial;
        (2) the offense allegedly perpetrated against the
    
victim is one defined in Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 12-13, 12-14, or 12-14.1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 and the interests of the victim or of persons dependent on his support require that the public be excluded from the hearing;
        (3) the victim or the alleged assailant is a minor; or

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Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 740 ILCS 45/14.1

  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

         (4) the interests of justice would be frustrated,
    
rather than furthered, if the hearing were open to the public.
    (b) A transcript shall be kept of the hearings held before the Court of Claims. No part of the transcript of any hearing before the Court of Claims may be used for any purpose in a criminal proceeding except in the prosecution of a person alleged to have perjured himself in his testimony before the Court of Claims. A copy of the transcript may be furnished to the applicant upon his written request to the court reporter, accompanied by payment of a charge established by the Court of Claims in accordance with the prevailing commercial charge for a duplicate transcript. Where the interests of justice require, the Court of Claims may refuse to disclose the names of victims or other material in the transcript by which the identity of the victim could be discovered.