Public Act 096-0202
 
SB0243 Enrolled LRB096 03507 RLC 13532 b

    AN ACT concerning vehicles.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Section 12-612 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/12-612)
    Sec. 12-612. False or secret compartment in a motor
vehicle.
    (a) Offenses. It is unlawful for any person:
        (1) to own or operate with criminal intent any motor
    vehicle he or she knows to contain a false or secret
    compartment that is used or has been used to conceal a
    firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1
    or paragraph (a)(1) of Section 24-1.6 of the Criminal Code
    of 1961, or controlled substance as prohibited by the
    Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Methamphetamine
    Control and Community Protection Act; or . It is unlawful
    for any person to knowingly
        (2) to install, create, build, or fabricate in any
    motor vehicle a false or secret compartment knowing that
    another person intends to use the compartment to conceal a
    firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1
    of the Criminal Code of 1961, or controlled substance as
    prohibited by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the
    Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act.
    (b) Definitions. For purposes of this Section: , a "false
        (1) "False or secret compartment" means an enclosure
    integrated into a vehicle that is a modification of the
    vehicle as built by the original manufacturer.
        (2) "Vehicle" means any of the following vehicles
    without regard to whether the vehicles are private or
    commercial, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks,
    buses, aircraft, and watercraft any enclosure that is
    intended and designed to be used to conceal, hide, and
    prevent discovery by law enforcement officers of the false
    or secret compartment, or its contents, and which is
    integrated into a vehicle. For purpose of this Section, a
    person's intention to use a false or secret compartment to
    conceal the contents of the compartment from a law
    enforcement officer may be inferred from factors
    including, but not limited to, the discovery of a person,
    firearm, controlled substance, or other contraband within
    the false or secret compartment, or from the discovery of
    evidence of the previous placement of a person, firearm,
    controlled substance, or other contraband within the false
    or secret compartment.
    (c) Forfeiture. Any motor vehicle containing a false or
secret compartment used in violation of this Section, as well
as any items within that compartment, shall be subject to
seizure by the Department of State Police or by any municipal
or other local law enforcement agency within whose jurisdiction
that property is found as provided in Sections 36-1 and 36-2 of
the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/36-1 and 5/36-2). The
removal of the false or secret compartment from the motor
vehicle, or the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a
defense to forfeiture of the motor vehicle under Section 36-2
of the Criminal Code of 1961 and shall not be the basis for the
court to release the vehicle to the owner.
    (d) Sentence. A violation of this Section is a Class 4
felony. The sentence imposed for violation of this Section
shall be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed in
connection with the firearm, controlled substance, or other
contraband concealed in the false or secret compartment.
    (e) For purposes of this Section, a new owner is not
responsible for any conduct that occurred or knowledge of
conduct that occurred prior to transfer of title.
(Source: P.A. 93-276, eff. 1-1-04.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2010