102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4166

 

Introduced 10/19/2021, by Rep. Michelle Mussman

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
720 ILCS 5/24-1  from Ch. 38, par. 24-1

    Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that carrying an object containing a non-lethal noxious liquid gas or substance designed solely for personal defense is exempt from the offense of unlawful use of weapons, regardless of the age of the person carrying it (currently, the exemption is limited to persons 18 years of age or older). Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by
5changing Section 24-1 as follows:
 
6    (720 ILCS 5/24-1)  (from Ch. 38, par. 24-1)
7    Sec. 24-1. Unlawful use of weapons.
8    (a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of
9weapons when he knowingly:
10        (1) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or
11    carries any bludgeon, black-jack, slung-shot, sand-club,
12    sand-bag, metal knuckles or other knuckle weapon
13    regardless of its composition, throwing star, or any
14    knife, commonly referred to as a switchblade knife, which
15    has a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure
16    applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle
17    of the knife, or a ballistic knife, which is a device that
18    propels a knifelike blade as a projectile by means of a
19    coil spring, elastic material or compressed gas; or
20        (2) Carries or possesses with intent to use the same
21    unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy,
22    dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, broken bottle or other
23    piece of glass, stun gun or taser or any other dangerous or

 

 

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1    deadly weapon or instrument of like character; or
2        (2.5) Carries or possesses with intent to use the same
3    unlawfully against another, any firearm in a church,
4    synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place
5    used for religious worship; or
6        (3) Carries on or about his person or in any vehicle, a
7    tear gas gun projector or bomb or any object containing
8    noxious liquid gas or substance, other than an object
9    containing a non-lethal noxious liquid gas or substance
10    designed solely for personal defense carried by a person
11    18 years of age or older; or
12        (4) Carries or possesses in any vehicle or concealed
13    on or about his person except when on his land or in his
14    own abode, legal dwelling, or fixed place of business, or
15    on the land or in the legal dwelling of another person as
16    an invitee with that person's permission, any pistol,
17    revolver, stun gun or taser or other firearm, except that
18    this subsection (a) (4) does not apply to or affect
19    transportation of weapons that meet one of the following
20    conditions:
21            (i) are broken down in a non-functioning state; or
22            (ii) are not immediately accessible; or
23            (iii) are unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm
24        carrying box, shipping box, or other container by a
25        person who has been issued a currently valid Firearm
26        Owner's Identification Card; or

 

 

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1            (iv) are carried or possessed in accordance with
2        the Firearm Concealed Carry Act by a person who has
3        been issued a currently valid license under the
4        Firearm Concealed Carry Act; or
5        (5) Sets a spring gun; or
6        (6) Possesses any device or attachment of any kind
7    designed, used or intended for use in silencing the report
8    of any firearm; or
9        (7) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or
10    carries:
11            (i) a machine gun, which shall be defined for the
12        purposes of this subsection as any weapon, which
13        shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily
14        restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot
15        without manually reloading by a single function of the
16        trigger, including the frame or receiver of any such
17        weapon, or sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses,
18        or carries any combination of parts designed or
19        intended for use in converting any weapon into a
20        machine gun, or any combination or parts from which a
21        machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the
22        possession or under the control of a person;
23            (ii) any rifle having one or more barrels less
24        than 16 inches in length or a shotgun having one or
25        more barrels less than 18 inches in length or any
26        weapon made from a rifle or shotgun, whether by

 

 

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1        alteration, modification, or otherwise, if such a
2        weapon as modified has an overall length of less than
3        26 inches; or
4            (iii) any bomb, bomb-shell, grenade, bottle or
5        other container containing an explosive substance of
6        over one-quarter ounce for like purposes, such as, but
7        not limited to, black powder bombs and Molotov
8        cocktails or artillery projectiles; or
9        (8) Carries or possesses any firearm, stun gun or
10    taser or other deadly weapon in any place which is
11    licensed to sell intoxicating beverages, or at any public
12    gathering held pursuant to a license issued by any
13    governmental body or any public gathering at which an
14    admission is charged, excluding a place where a showing,
15    demonstration or lecture involving the exhibition of
16    unloaded firearms is conducted.
17        This subsection (a)(8) does not apply to any auction
18    or raffle of a firearm held pursuant to a license or permit
19    issued by a governmental body, nor does it apply to
20    persons engaged in firearm safety training courses; or
21        (9) Carries or possesses in a vehicle or on or about
22    his or her person any pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser
23    or firearm or ballistic knife, when he or she is hooded,
24    robed or masked in such manner as to conceal his or her
25    identity; or
26        (10) Carries or possesses on or about his or her

 

 

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1    person, upon any public street, alley, or other public
2    lands within the corporate limits of a city, village, or
3    incorporated town, except when an invitee thereon or
4    therein, for the purpose of the display of such weapon or
5    the lawful commerce in weapons, or except when on his land
6    or in his or her own abode, legal dwelling, or fixed place
7    of business, or on the land or in the legal dwelling of
8    another person as an invitee with that person's
9    permission, any pistol, revolver, stun gun, or taser or
10    other firearm, except that this subsection (a) (10) does
11    not apply to or affect transportation of weapons that meet
12    one of the following conditions:
13            (i) are broken down in a non-functioning state; or
14            (ii) are not immediately accessible; or
15            (iii) are unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm
16        carrying box, shipping box, or other container by a
17        person who has been issued a currently valid Firearm
18        Owner's Identification Card; or
19            (iv) are carried or possessed in accordance with
20        the Firearm Concealed Carry Act by a person who has
21        been issued a currently valid license under the
22        Firearm Concealed Carry Act.
23        A "stun gun or taser", as used in this paragraph (a)
24    means (i) any device which is powered by electrical
25    charging units, such as, batteries, and which fires one or
26    several barbs attached to a length of wire and which, upon

 

 

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1    hitting a human, can send out a current capable of
2    disrupting the person's nervous system in such a manner as
3    to render him incapable of normal functioning or (ii) any
4    device which is powered by electrical charging units, such
5    as batteries, and which, upon contact with a human or
6    clothing worn by a human, can send out current capable of
7    disrupting the person's nervous system in such a manner as
8    to render him incapable of normal functioning; or
9        (11) Sells, manufactures, or purchases any explosive
10    bullet. For purposes of this paragraph (a) "explosive
11    bullet" means the projectile portion of an ammunition
12    cartridge which contains or carries an explosive charge
13    which will explode upon contact with the flesh of a human
14    or an animal. "Cartridge" means a tubular metal case
15    having a projectile affixed at the front thereof and a cap
16    or primer at the rear end thereof, with the propellant
17    contained in such tube between the projectile and the cap;
18    or
19        (12) (Blank); or
20        (13) Carries or possesses on or about his or her
21    person while in a building occupied by a unit of
22    government, a billy club, other weapon of like character,
23    or other instrument of like character intended for use as
24    a weapon. For the purposes of this Section, "billy club"
25    means a short stick or club commonly carried by police
26    officers which is either telescopic or constructed of a

 

 

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1    solid piece of wood or other man-made material.
2    (b) Sentence. A person convicted of a violation of
3subsection 24-1(a)(1) through (5), subsection 24-1(a)(10),
4subsection 24-1(a)(11), or subsection 24-1(a)(13) commits a
5Class A misdemeanor. A person convicted of a violation of
6subsection 24-1(a)(8) or 24-1(a)(9) commits a Class 4 felony;
7a person convicted of a violation of subsection 24-1(a)(6) or
824-1(a)(7)(ii) or (iii) commits a Class 3 felony. A person
9convicted of a violation of subsection 24-1(a)(7)(i) commits a
10Class 2 felony and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment
11of not less than 3 years and not more than 7 years, unless the
12weapon is possessed in the passenger compartment of a motor
13vehicle as defined in Section 1-146 of the Illinois Vehicle
14Code, or on the person, while the weapon is loaded, in which
15case it shall be a Class X felony. A person convicted of a
16second or subsequent violation of subsection 24-1(a)(4),
1724-1(a)(8), 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) commits a Class 3
18felony. A person convicted of a violation of subsection
1924-1(a)(2.5) commits a Class 2 felony. The possession of each
20weapon in violation of this Section constitutes a single and
21separate violation.
22    (c) Violations in specific places.
23        (1) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(6) or
24    24-1(a)(7) in any school, regardless of the time of day or
25    the time of year, in residential property owned, operated
26    or managed by a public housing agency or leased by a public

 

 

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1    housing agency as part of a scattered site or mixed-income
2    development, in a public park, in a courthouse, on the
3    real property comprising any school, regardless of the
4    time of day or the time of year, on residential property
5    owned, operated or managed by a public housing agency or
6    leased by a public housing agency as part of a scattered
7    site or mixed-income development, on the real property
8    comprising any public park, on the real property
9    comprising any courthouse, in any conveyance owned, leased
10    or contracted by a school to transport students to or from
11    school or a school related activity, in any conveyance
12    owned, leased, or contracted by a public transportation
13    agency, or on any public way within 1,000 feet of the real
14    property comprising any school, public park, courthouse,
15    public transportation facility, or residential property
16    owned, operated, or managed by a public housing agency or
17    leased by a public housing agency as part of a scattered
18    site or mixed-income development commits a Class 2 felony
19    and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not
20    less than 3 years and not more than 7 years.
21        (1.5) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(4),
22    24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) in any school, regardless of
23    the time of day or the time of year, in residential
24    property owned, operated, or managed by a public housing
25    agency or leased by a public housing agency as part of a
26    scattered site or mixed-income development, in a public

 

 

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1    park, in a courthouse, on the real property comprising any
2    school, regardless of the time of day or the time of year,
3    on residential property owned, operated, or managed by a
4    public housing agency or leased by a public housing agency
5    as part of a scattered site or mixed-income development,
6    on the real property comprising any public park, on the
7    real property comprising any courthouse, in any conveyance
8    owned, leased, or contracted by a school to transport
9    students to or from school or a school related activity,
10    in any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a public
11    transportation agency, or on any public way within 1,000
12    feet of the real property comprising any school, public
13    park, courthouse, public transportation facility, or
14    residential property owned, operated, or managed by a
15    public housing agency or leased by a public housing agency
16    as part of a scattered site or mixed-income development
17    commits a Class 3 felony.
18        (2) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(1),
19    24-1(a)(2), or 24-1(a)(3) in any school, regardless of the
20    time of day or the time of year, in residential property
21    owned, operated or managed by a public housing agency or
22    leased by a public housing agency as part of a scattered
23    site or mixed-income development, in a public park, in a
24    courthouse, on the real property comprising any school,
25    regardless of the time of day or the time of year, on
26    residential property owned, operated or managed by a

 

 

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1    public housing agency or leased by a public housing agency
2    as part of a scattered site or mixed-income development,
3    on the real property comprising any public park, on the
4    real property comprising any courthouse, in any conveyance
5    owned, leased or contracted by a school to transport
6    students to or from school or a school related activity,
7    in any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a public
8    transportation agency, or on any public way within 1,000
9    feet of the real property comprising any school, public
10    park, courthouse, public transportation facility, or
11    residential property owned, operated, or managed by a
12    public housing agency or leased by a public housing agency
13    as part of a scattered site or mixed-income development
14    commits a Class 4 felony. "Courthouse" means any building
15    that is used by the Circuit, Appellate, or Supreme Court
16    of this State for the conduct of official business.
17        (3) Paragraphs (1), (1.5), and (2) of this subsection
18    (c) shall not apply to law enforcement officers or
19    security officers of such school, college, or university
20    or to students carrying or possessing firearms for use in
21    training courses, parades, hunting, target shooting on
22    school ranges, or otherwise with the consent of school
23    authorities and which firearms are transported unloaded
24    enclosed in a suitable case, box, or transportation
25    package.
26        (4) For the purposes of this subsection (c), "school"

 

 

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1    means any public or private elementary or secondary
2    school, community college, college, or university.
3        (5) For the purposes of this subsection (c), "public
4    transportation agency" means a public or private agency
5    that provides for the transportation or conveyance of
6    persons by means available to the general public, except
7    for transportation by automobiles not used for conveyance
8    of the general public as passengers; and "public
9    transportation facility" means a terminal or other place
10    where one may obtain public transportation.
11    (d) The presence in an automobile other than a public
12omnibus of any weapon, instrument or substance referred to in
13subsection (a)(7) is prima facie evidence that it is in the
14possession of, and is being carried by, all persons occupying
15such automobile at the time such weapon, instrument or
16substance is found, except under the following circumstances:
17(i) if such weapon, instrument or instrumentality is found
18upon the person of one of the occupants therein; or (ii) if
19such weapon, instrument or substance is found in an automobile
20operated for hire by a duly licensed driver in the due, lawful
21and proper pursuit of his or her trade, then such presumption
22shall not apply to the driver.
23    (e) Exemptions.
24        (1) Crossbows, Common or Compound bows and Underwater
25    Spearguns are exempted from the definition of ballistic
26    knife as defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of

 

 

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1    this Section.
2        (2) The provision of paragraph (1) of subsection (a)
3    of this Section prohibiting the sale, manufacture,
4    purchase, possession, or carrying of any knife, commonly
5    referred to as a switchblade knife, which has a blade that
6    opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button,
7    spring or other device in the handle of the knife, does not
8    apply to a person who possesses a currently valid Firearm
9    Owner's Identification Card previously issued in his or
10    her name by the Department of State Police or to a person
11    or an entity engaged in the business of selling or
12    manufacturing switchblade knives.
13(Source: P.A. 100-82, eff. 8-11-17; 101-223, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15becoming law.