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91_SB1543
LRB9111119RCpk
1 AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 by re-enacting
2 and changing Section 24-1.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 1. Purpose.
6 (1) The General Assembly finds and declares that:
7 (i) Public Act 88-680, effective January 1, 1995,
8 contained provisions amending various criminal statutes.
9 Public Act 88-680 also contained other provisions.
10 (ii) In addition, Public Act 88-680 was entitled
11 "AN ACT to create a Safe Neighborhoods Law". (A) Article
12 5 was entitled JUVENILE JUSTICE and amended the Juvenile
13 Court Act of 1987. (B) Article 15 was entitled GANGS and
14 amended various provisions of the Criminal Code of 1961
15 and the Unified Code of Corrections. (C) Article 20 was
16 entitled ALCOHOL ABUSE and amended various provisions of
17 the Illinois Vehicle Code. (D) Article 25 was entitled
18 DRUG ABUSE and amended the Cannabis Control Act and the
19 Illinois Controlled Substances Act. (E) Article 30 was
20 entitled FIREARMS and amended the Criminal Code of 1961
21 and the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. (F) Article
22 35 amended the Criminal Code of 1961, the Rights of Crime
23 Victims and Witnesses Act, and the Unified Code of
24 Corrections. (G) Article 40 amended the Criminal Code of
25 1961 to increase the penalty for compelling organization
26 membership of persons. (H) Article 45 created the Secure
27 Residential Youth Care Facility Licensing Act and amended
28 the State Finance Act, the Juvenile Court Act of 1987,
29 the Unified Code of Corrections, and the Private
30 Correctional Facility Moratorium Act. (I) Article 50
31 amended the WIC Vendor Management Act, the Firearm Owners
32 Identification Card Act, the Juvenile Court Act of 1987,
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1 the Criminal Code of 1961, the Wrongs to Children Act,
2 and the Unified Code of Corrections.
3 (iii) On December 2, 1999, the Illinois Supreme
4 Court, in People v. Cervantes, Docket No. 87229, ruled
5 that Public Act 88-680 violates the single subject clause
6 of the Illinois Constitution (Article IV, Section 8 (d))
7 and was unconstitutional in its entirety.
8 (iv) The criminal provisions of Public Act 88-680
9 are of vital concern to the people of this State and
10 legislative action concerning various criminal provisions
11 of Public Act 88-680 is necessary.
12 (2) It is the purpose of this Act to re-enact Section
13 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 contained in Public Act
14 88-680, including subsequent amendments. This re-enactment is
15 intended to remove any question as to the validity or
16 content of those provisions.
17 (3) This Act re-enacts Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code
18 of 1961 contained in Public Act 88-680, including subsequent
19 amendments, to remove any question as to the validity or
20 content of those provisions; it is not intended to supersede
21 any other Public Act that amends the text of the Section as
22 set forth in this Act. The material is shown as existing text
23 (i.e., without underscoring), except (i) for technical
24 changes having a revisory function and (ii) as provided in
25 subsection (4) of this Section.
26 (4) In addition to re-enacting Section 24-1 of the
27 Criminal Code of 1961, this Act amends that Section. The
28 amendments and additions are shown by underscoring and
29 striking text.
30 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
31 changing Section 24-1 as follows:
32 (720 ILCS 5/24-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24-1)
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1 Sec. 24-1. Unlawful Use of Weapons.
2 (a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of
3 weapons when he knowingly:
4 (1) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or
5 carries any bludgeon, black-jack, slung-shot, sand-club,
6 sand-bag, metal knuckles, throwing star, or any knife,
7 commonly referred to as a switchblade knife, which has a
8 blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied
9 to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the
10 knife, or a ballistic knife, which is a device that
11 propels a knifelike blade as a projectile by means of a
12 coil spring, elastic material or compressed gas; or
13 (2) Carries or possesses with intent to use the
14 same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy,
15 dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, broken bottle or other
16 piece of glass, stun gun or taser or any other dangerous
17 or deadly weapon or instrument of like character; or
18 (3) Carries on or about his person or in any
19 vehicle, a tear gas gun projector or bomb or any object
20 containing noxious liquid gas or substance, other than an
21 object containing a non-lethal noxious liquid gas or
22 substance designed solely for personal defense carried by
23 a person 18 years of age or older; or
24 (4) Carries or possesses in any vehicle or
25 concealed on or about his person except when on his land
26 or in his own abode or fixed place of business any
27 pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or other firearm; or
28 (5) Sets a spring gun; or
29 (6) Possesses any device or attachment of any kind
30 designed, used or intended for use in silencing the
31 report of any firearm; or
32 (7) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or
33 carries:
34 (i) a machine gun, which shall be defined for
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1 the purposes of this subsection as any weapon, which
2 shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily
3 restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot
4 without manually reloading by a single function of
5 the trigger, including the frame or receiver of any
6 such weapon, or sells, manufactures, purchases,
7 possesses, or carries any combination of parts
8 designed or intended for use in converting any
9 weapon into a machine gun, or any combination or
10 parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if
11 such parts are in the possession or under the
12 control of a person;
13 (ii) any rifle having one or more barrels less
14 than 16 inches in length or a shotgun having one or
15 more barrels less than 18 inches in length or any
16 weapon made from a rifle or shotgun, whether by
17 alteration, modification, or otherwise, if such a
18 weapon as modified has an overall length of less
19 than 26 inches; or
20 (iii) any bomb, bomb-shell, grenade, bottle or
21 other container containing an explosive substance of
22 over one-quarter ounce for like purposes, such as,
23 but not limited to, black powder bombs and Molotov
24 cocktails or artillery projectiles; or
25 (8) Carries or possesses any firearm, stun gun or
26 taser or other deadly weapon in any place which is
27 licensed to sell intoxicating beverages, or at any public
28 gathering held pursuant to a license issued by any
29 governmental body or any public gathering at which an
30 admission is charged, excluding a place where a showing,
31 demonstration or lecture involving the exhibition of
32 unloaded firearms is conducted; or
33 (9) Carries or possesses in a vehicle or on or
34 about his person any pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser
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1 or firearm or ballistic knife, when he is hooded, robed
2 or masked in such manner as to conceal his identity; or
3 (10) Carries or possesses on or about his person,
4 upon any public street, alley, or other public lands
5 within the corporate limits of a city, village or
6 incorporated town, except when an invitee thereon or
7 therein, for the purpose of the display of such weapon or
8 the lawful commerce in weapons, or except when on his
9 land or in his own abode or fixed place of business, any
10 pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or other firearm.
11 A "stun gun or taser", as used in this paragraph (a)
12 means (i) any device which is powered by electrical
13 charging units, such as, batteries, and which fires one
14 or several barbs attached to a length of wire and which,
15 upon hitting a human, can send out a current capable of
16 disrupting the person's nervous system in such a manner
17 as to render him incapable of normal functioning or (ii)
18 any device which is powered by electrical charging units,
19 such as batteries, and which, upon contact with a human
20 or clothing worn by a human, can send out current capable
21 of disrupting the person's nervous system in such a
22 manner as to render him incapable of normal functioning;
23 or
24 (11) Sells, manufactures or purchases any explosive
25 bullet. For purposes of this paragraph (a) "explosive
26 bullet" means the projectile portion of an ammunition
27 cartridge which contains or carries an explosive charge
28 which will explode upon contact with the flesh of a human
29 or an animal. "Cartridge" means a tubular metal case
30 having a projectile affixed at the front thereof and a
31 cap or primer at the rear end thereof, with the
32 propellant contained in such tube between the projectile
33 and the cap; or
34 (12) (Blank).
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1 (b) Sentence. A person convicted of a violation of
2 subsection 24-1(a)(1) through (3), subsection 24-1(a)(5),
3 subsection 24-1(a)(8), or subsection 24-1(a)(11) commits a
4 Class A misdemeanor. A person convicted of a violation of
5 subsection 24-1(a)(4), 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) commits a
6 Class 4 felony; a person convicted of a violation of
7 subsection 24-1(a)(6) or 24-1(a)(7)(ii) or (iii) commits a
8 Class 3 felony. A person convicted of a violation of
9 subsection 24-1(a)(7)(i) commits a Class 2 felony, unless the
10 weapon is possessed in the passenger compartment of a motor
11 vehicle as defined in Section 1-146 of the Illinois Vehicle
12 Code, or on the person, while the weapon is loaded, in which
13 case it shall be a Class X felony. A person convicted of a
14 second or subsequent violation of subsection 24-1(a)(4),
15 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) commits a Class 3 felony. Except
16 as otherwise provided in subsection (b-5), a person convicted
17 of a first offense for a violation of subsection 24-1(a)(4)
18 or 24-1(a)(10) commits a Class 4 felony.
19 (b-5) A defendant arrested for a violation of subsection
20 24-1(a)(4) or 24-1(a)(10) may petition the court for a
21 hearing to determine whether all of the following factors are
22 present:
23 (A) that the person was engaged in recreational
24 activity, including but not limited to, hunting or target
25 practice;
26 (B) that the person furnishes the court with
27 either: (i) a valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card
28 issued in the defendant's name or (ii) evidence that the
29 defendant had been in possession of a valid Firearm
30 Owner's Identification Card that has been issued in the
31 defendant's name and which has expired and that the
32 defendant is otherwise qualified for renewal of the
33 Firearm Owner's Identification Card;
34 (C) that the defendant has not committed a
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1 violation of this Section in the preceding 5 years; and
2 (D) that the defendant has no order of protection
3 issued against him or her in the preceding 2 years.
4 If the court finds that these factors are present, the
5 court shall immediately reduce the charge for the violation
6 of subsection 24-1(a)(4) or 24-1(a)(10) to a Class A
7 misdemeanor. The hearing on the petition must be held prior
8 to the indictment of the defendant on the felony charge. If
9 the court reduces a charge to a Class A misdemeanor under
10 this subsection (b-5), the court shall order that all records
11 of local law enforcement agencies, the circuit court, and the
12 Department of State Police concerning any reference to a
13 felony charge for a violation of subsection 24-1(a)(4) or
14 24-1(a)(10) are eliminated and the charge shall be referred
15 to as a misdemeanor charge.
16 (c) Violations in specific places.
17 (1) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(6) or
18 24-1(a)(7) in any school, regardless of the time of day
19 or the time of year, in residential property owned,
20 operated or managed by a public housing agency or leased
21 by a public housing agency as part of a scattered site or
22 mixed-income development, in a public park, in a
23 courthouse, on the real property comprising any school,
24 regardless of the time of day or the time of year, on
25 residential property owned, operated or managed by a
26 public housing agency or leased by a public housing
27 agency as part of a scattered site or mixed-income
28 development, on the real property comprising any public
29 park, on the real property comprising any courthouse, in
30 any conveyance owned, leased or contracted by a school to
31 transport students to or from school or a school related
32 activity, or on any public way within 1,000 feet of the
33 real property comprising any school, public park,
34 courthouse, or residential property owned, operated, or
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1 managed by a public housing agency or leased by a public
2 housing agency as part of a scattered site or
3 mixed-income development commits a Class 2 felony.
4 (1.5) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(4),
5 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) in any school, regardless of
6 the time of day or the time of year, in residential
7 property owned, operated, or managed by a public housing
8 agency or leased by a public housing agency as part of a
9 scattered site or mixed-income development, in a public
10 park, in a courthouse, on the real property comprising
11 any school, regardless of the time of day or the time of
12 year, on residential property owned, operated, or managed
13 by a public housing agency or leased by a public housing
14 agency as part of a scattered site or mixed-income
15 development, on the real property comprising any public
16 park, on the real property comprising any courthouse, in
17 any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a school
18 to transport students to or from school or a school
19 related activity, or on any public way within 1,000 feet
20 of the real property comprising any school, public park,
21 courthouse, or residential property owned, operated, or
22 managed by a public housing agency or leased by a public
23 housing agency as part of a scattered site or
24 mixed-income development commits a Class 3 felony.
25 (2) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(1),
26 24-1(a)(2), or 24-1(a)(3) in any school, regardless of
27 the time of day or the time of year, in residential
28 property owned, operated or managed by a public housing
29 agency or leased by a public housing agency as part of a
30 scattered site or mixed-income development, in a public
31 park, in a courthouse, on the real property comprising
32 any school, regardless of the time of day or the time of
33 year, on residential property owned, operated or managed
34 by a public housing agency or leased by a public housing
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1 agency as part of a scattered site or mixed-income
2 development, on the real property comprising any public
3 park, on the real property comprising any courthouse, in
4 any conveyance owned, leased or contracted by a school to
5 transport students to or from school or a school related
6 activity, or on any public way within 1,000 feet of the
7 real property comprising any school, public park,
8 courthouse, or residential property owned, operated, or
9 managed by a public housing agency or leased by a public
10 housing agency as part of a scattered site or
11 mixed-income development commits a Class 4 felony.
12 "Courthouse" means any building that is used by the
13 Circuit, Appellate, or Supreme Court of this State for
14 the conduct of official business.
15 (3) Paragraphs (1), (1.5), and (2) of this
16 subsection (c) shall not apply to law enforcement
17 officers or security officers of such school, college, or
18 university or to students carrying or possessing firearms
19 for use in training courses, parades, hunting, target
20 shooting on school ranges, or otherwise with the consent
21 of school authorities and which firearms are transported
22 unloaded enclosed in a suitable case, box, or
23 transportation package.
24 (4) For the purposes of this subsection (c),
25 "school" means any public or private elementary or
26 secondary school, community college, college, or
27 university.
28 (d) The presence in an automobile other than a public
29 omnibus of any weapon, instrument or substance referred to in
30 subsection (a)(7) is prima facie evidence that it is in the
31 possession of, and is being carried by, all persons occupying
32 such automobile at the time such weapon, instrument or
33 substance is found, except under the following circumstances:
34 (i) if such weapon, instrument or instrumentality is found
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1 upon the person of one of the occupants therein; or (ii) if
2 such weapon, instrument or substance is found in an
3 automobile operated for hire by a duly licensed driver in the
4 due, lawful and proper pursuit of his trade, then such
5 presumption shall not apply to the driver.
6 (e) Exemptions. Crossbows, Common or Compound bows and
7 Underwater Spearguns are exempted from the definition of
8 ballistic knife as defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (a)
9 of this Section.
10 (Source: P.A. 90-686, eff. 1-1-99; 91-673, eff. 12-22-99.)
11 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12 becoming law.