SB2847 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 37483 RLC 67606 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2847

Introduced 1/19/2024, by Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

720 ILCS 5/17-0.5
720 ILCS 5/17-2	from Ch. 38, par. 17-2

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that certain forms of false personation may be accomplished by artificial intelligence. Defines "artificial intelligence".

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by changing Sections 17-0.5 and 17-2 as follows:

(720 ILCS 5/17-0.5)

Sec. 17-0.5. Definitions. In this Article:

"Altered credit card or debit card" means any instrument or device, whether known as a credit card or debit card, which has been changed in any respect by addition or deletion of any material, except for the signature by the person to whom the card is issued.

"Artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments, and that uses machine and human-based inputs to do all of the following:

(1) perceive real and virtual environments;

(2) abstract such perceptions into models through analysis in an automated manner; and

(3) use model inference to formulate options for information or action.

"Cardholder" means the person or organization named on the face of a credit card or debit card to whom or for whose benefit the credit card or debit card is issued by an issuer.

"Computer" means a device that accepts, processes, stores, retrieves, or outputs data and includes, but is not limited to, auxiliary storage, including cloud-based networks of remote services hosted on the Internet, and telecommunications devices connected to computers.

"Computer network" means a set of related, remotely connected devices and any communications facilities including more than one computer with the capability to transmit data between them through the communications facilities.

"Computer program" or "program" means a series of coded instructions or statements in a form acceptable to a computer which causes the computer to process data and supply the results of the data processing.

"Computer services" means computer time or services, including data processing services, Internet services, electronic mail services, electronic message services, or information or data stored in connection therewith.

"Counterfeit" means to manufacture, produce or create, by any means, a credit card or debit card without the purported issuer's consent or authorization.

"Credit card" means any instrument or device, whether known as a credit card, credit plate, charge plate or any other name, issued with or without fee by an issuer for the use of the cardholder in obtaining money, goods, services or anything else of value on credit or in consideration or an undertaking or guaranty by the issuer of the payment of a check drawn by the cardholder.

"Data" means a representation in any form of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or instructions, including program documentation, which is prepared or has been prepared in a formalized manner and is stored or processed in or transmitted by a computer or in a system or network. Data is considered property and may be in any form, including, but not limited to, printouts, magnetic or optical storage media, punch cards, or data stored internally in the memory of the computer.

"Debit card" means any instrument or device, known by any name, issued with or without fee by an issuer for the use of the cardholder in obtaining money, goods, services, and anything else of value, payment of which is made against funds previously deposited by the cardholder. A debit card which also can be used to obtain money, goods, services and anything else of value on credit shall not be considered a debit card when it is being used to obtain money, goods, services or anything else of value on credit.

"Document" includes, but is not limited to, any document, representation, or image produced manually, electronically, or by computer.

"Electronic fund transfer terminal" means any machine or device that, when properly activated, will perform any of the following services:

(1) Dispense money as a debit to the cardholder's account; or

(2) Print the cardholder's account balances on a statement; or

(3) Transfer funds between a cardholder's accounts; or

(4) Accept payments on a cardholder's loan; or

(5) Dispense cash advances on an open end credit or a revolving charge agreement; or

(6) Accept deposits to a customer's account; or

(7) Receive inquiries of verification of checks and dispense information that verifies that funds are available to cover such checks; or

(8) Cause money to be transferred electronically from a cardholder's account to an account held by any business, firm, retail merchant, corporation, or any other organization.

"Electronic funds transfer system", hereafter referred to as "EFT System", means that system whereby funds are transferred electronically from a cardholder's account to any other account.

"Electronic mail service provider" means any person who (i) is an intermediary in sending or receiving electronic mail and (ii) provides to end-users of electronic mail services the ability to send or receive electronic mail.

"Expired credit card or debit card" means a credit card or debit card which is no longer valid because the term on it has elapsed.

"False academic degree" means a certificate, diploma, transcript, or other document purporting to be issued by an institution of higher learning or purporting to indicate that a person has completed an organized academic program of study at an institution of higher learning when the person has not completed the organized academic program of study indicated on the certificate, diploma, transcript, or other document.

"False claim" means any statement made to any insurer, purported insurer, servicing corporation, insurance broker, or insurance agent, or any agent or employee of one of those entities, and made as part of, or in support of, a claim for payment or other benefit under a policy of insurance, or as part of, or in support of, an application for the issuance of, or the rating of, any insurance policy, when the statement does any of the following:

(1) Contains any false, incomplete, or misleading information concerning any fact or thing material to the claim.

(2) Conceals (i) the occurrence of an event that is material to any person's initial or continued right or entitlement to any insurance benefit or payment or (ii) the amount of any benefit or payment to which the person is entitled.

"Financial institution" means any bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or other depository of money or medium of savings and collective investment.

"Governmental entity" means: each officer, board, commission, and agency created by the Constitution, whether in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of State government; each officer, department, board, commission, agency, institution, authority, university, and body politic and corporate of the State; each administrative unit or corporate outgrowth of State government that is created by or pursuant to statute, including units of local government and their officers, school districts, and boards of election commissioners; and each administrative unit or corporate outgrowth of the foregoing items and as may be created by executive order of the Governor.

"Incomplete credit card or debit card" means a credit card or debit card which is missing part of the matter other than the signature of the cardholder which an issuer requires to appear on the credit card or debit card before it can be used by a cardholder, and this includes credit cards or debit cards which have not been stamped, embossed, imprinted or written on.

"Institution of higher learning" means a public or private college, university, or community college located in the State of Illinois that is authorized by the Board of Higher Education or the Illinois Community College Board to issue post-secondary degrees, or a public or private college, university, or community college located anywhere in the United States that is or has been legally constituted to offer degrees and instruction in its state of origin or incorporation.

"Insurance company" means "company" as defined under Section 2 of the Illinois Insurance Code.

"Issuer" means the business organization or financial institution which issues a credit card or debit card, or its duly authorized agent.

"Merchant" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 16-0.1 of this Code.

"Person" means any individual, corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association or any other entity.

"Receives" or "receiving" means acquiring possession or control.

"Record of charge form" means any document submitted or intended to be submitted to an issuer as evidence of a credit transaction for which the issuer has agreed to reimburse persons providing money, goods, property, services or other things of value.

"Revoked credit card or debit card" means a credit card or debit card which is no longer valid because permission to use it has been suspended or terminated by the issuer.

"Sale" means any delivery for value.

"Scheme or artifice to defraud" includes a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right to honest services.

"Self-insured entity" means any person, business, partnership, corporation, or organization that sets aside funds to meet his, her, or its losses or to absorb fluctuations in the amount of loss, the losses being charged against the funds set aside or accumulated.

"Social networking website" means an Internet website containing profile web pages of the members of the website that include the names or nicknames of such members, photographs placed on the profile web pages by such members, or any other personal or personally identifying information about such members and links to other profile web pages on social networking websites of friends or associates of such members that can be accessed by other members or visitors to the website. A social networking website provides members of or visitors to such website the ability to leave messages or comments on the profile web page that are visible to all or some visitors to the profile web page and may also include a form of electronic mail for members of the social networking website.

"Statement" means any assertion, oral, written, or otherwise, and includes, but is not limited to: any notice, letter, or memorandum; proof of loss; bill of lading; receipt for payment; invoice, account, or other financial statement; estimate of property damage; bill for services; diagnosis or prognosis; prescription; hospital, medical, or dental chart or other record, x-ray, photograph, videotape, or movie film; test result; other evidence of loss, injury, or expense; computer-generated document; and data in any form.

"Universal Price Code Label" means a unique symbol that consists of a machine-readable code and human-readable numbers.

"With intent to defraud" means to act knowingly, and with the specific intent to deceive or cheat, for the purpose of causing financial loss to another or bringing some financial gain to oneself, regardless of whether any person was actually defrauded or deceived. This includes an intent to cause another to assume, create, transfer, alter, or terminate any right, obligation, or power with reference to any person or property.

(Source: P.A. 101-87, eff. 1-1-20.)

(720 ILCS 5/17-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 17-2)

Sec. 17-2. False personation; solicitation.

(a) False personation; solicitation.

(1) A person commits a false personation when he or she knowingly and falsely represents himself or herself to be a member or representative of any veterans' or public safety personnel organization or a representative of any charitable organization, or when he or she knowingly exhibits or uses in any manner any decal, badge or insignia of any charitable, public safety personnel, or veterans' organization when not authorized to do so by the charitable, public safety personnel, or veterans' organization. "Public safety personnel organization" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 1 of the Solicitation for Charity Act.

(2) A person commits a false personation when he or she knowingly and falsely represents himself or herself to be a veteran in seeking employment or public office. In this paragraph, "veteran" means a person who has served in the Armed Services or Reserve Forces of the United States.

(2.1) A person commits a false personation when he or she knowingly and falsely represents himself or herself to be:

(A) an active-duty member of the Armed Services or Reserve Forces of the United States or the National Guard or a veteran of the Armed Services or Reserve Forces of the United States or the National Guard; and

(B) obtains money, property, or another tangible benefit through that false representation.

In this paragraph, "member of the Armed Services or Reserve Forces of the United States" means a member of the United States Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard; and "veteran" means a person who has served in the Armed Services or Reserve Forces of the United States or the National Guard.

(2.5) A person commits a false personation when he or she knowingly and falsely represents himself or herself to be:

(A) another actual person and does an act in such assumed character with intent to intimidate, threaten, injure, defraud, or to obtain a benefit from another; or

(B) a representative of an actual person or organization and does an act in such false capacity with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another.

(3) No person shall knowingly use the words "Police", "Police Department", "Patrolman", "Sergeant", "Lieutenant", "Peace Officer", "Sheriff's Police", "Sheriff", "Officer", "Law Enforcement", "Trooper", "Deputy", "Deputy Sheriff", "State Police", or any other words to the same effect (i) in the title of any organization, magazine, or other publication without the express approval of the named public safety personnel organization's governing board or (ii) in combination with the name of any state, state agency, public university, or unit of local government without the express written authorization of that state, state agency, public university, or unit of local government.

(4) No person may knowingly claim or represent that he or she is acting on behalf of any public safety personnel organization when soliciting financial contributions or selling or delivering or offering to sell or deliver any merchandise, goods, services, memberships, or advertisements unless the chief of the police department, fire department, and the corporate or municipal authority thereof, or the sheriff has first entered into a written agreement with the person or with an organization with which the person is affiliated and the agreement permits the activity and specifies and states clearly and fully the purpose for which the proceeds of the solicitation, contribution, or sale will be used.

(5) No person, when soliciting financial contributions or selling or delivering or offering to sell or deliver any merchandise, goods, services, memberships, or advertisements may claim or represent that he or she is representing or acting on behalf of any nongovernmental organization by any name which includes "officer", "peace officer", "police", "law enforcement", "trooper", "sheriff", "deputy", "deputy sheriff", "State police", or any other word or words which would reasonably be understood to imply that the organization is composed of law enforcement personnel unless:

(A) the person is actually representing or acting on behalf of the nongovernmental organization;

(B) the nongovernmental organization is controlled by and governed by a membership of and represents a group or association of active duty peace officers, retired peace officers, or injured peace officers; and

(C) before commencing the solicitation or the sale or the offers to sell any merchandise, goods, services, memberships, or advertisements, a written contract between the soliciting or selling person and the nongovernmental organization, which specifies and states clearly and fully the purposes for which the proceeds of the solicitation, contribution, or sale will be used, has been entered into.

(6) No person, when soliciting financial contributions or selling or delivering or offering to sell or deliver any merchandise, goods, services, memberships, or advertisements, may knowingly claim or represent that he or she is representing or acting on behalf of any nongovernmental organization by any name which includes the term "fireman", "fire fighter", "paramedic", or any other word or words which would reasonably be understood to imply that the organization is composed of fire fighter or paramedic personnel unless:

(A) the person is actually representing or acting on behalf of the nongovernmental organization;

(B) the nongovernmental organization is controlled by and governed by a membership of and represents a group or association of active duty, retired, or injured fire fighters (for the purposes of this Section, "fire fighter" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 2 of the Illinois Fire Protection Training Act) or active duty, retired, or injured emergency medical technicians - ambulance, emergency medical technicians - intermediate, emergency medical technicians - paramedic, ambulance drivers, or other medical assistance or first aid personnel; and

(C) before commencing the solicitation or the sale or delivery or the offers to sell or deliver any merchandise, goods, services, memberships, or advertisements, the soliciting or selling person and the nongovernmental organization have entered into a written contract that specifies and states clearly and fully the purposes for which the proceeds of the solicitation, contribution, or sale will be used.

(7) No person may knowingly claim or represent that he or she is an airman, airline employee, airport employee, or contractor at an airport in order to obtain the uniform, identification card, license, or other identification paraphernalia of an airman, airline employee, airport employee, or contractor at an airport.

(8) No person, firm, copartnership, or corporation (except corporations organized and doing business under the Pawners Societies Act) shall knowingly use a name that contains in it the words "Pawners' Society".

(b) False personation; public officials and employees. A person commits a false personation if he or she knowingly and falsely represents himself or herself to be any of the following:

(1) An attorney authorized to practice law for purposes of compensation or consideration. This paragraph (b)(1) does not apply to a person who unintentionally fails to pay attorney registration fees established by Supreme Court Rule.

(2) A public officer or a public employee or an official or employee of the federal government.

(2.3) A public officer, a public employee, or an official or employee of the federal government, and the false representation is made in furtherance of the commission of felony.

(2.7) A public officer or a public employee, and the false representation is for the purpose of effectuating identity theft as defined in Section 16-30 of this Code.

(3) A peace officer.

(4) A peace officer while carrying a deadly weapon.

(5) A peace officer in attempting or committing a felony.

(6) A peace officer in attempting or committing a forcible felony.

(7) The parent, legal guardian, or other relation of a minor child to any public official, public employee, or elementary or secondary school employee or administrator.

(7.5) The legal guardian, including any representative of a State or public guardian, of a person with a disability appointed under Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975.

(8) A fire fighter.

(9) A fire fighter while carrying a deadly weapon.

(10) A fire fighter in attempting or committing a felony.

(11) An emergency management worker of any jurisdiction in this State.

(12) An emergency management worker of any jurisdiction in this State in attempting or committing a felony. For the purposes of this subsection (b), "emergency management worker" has the meaning provided under Section 2-6.6 of this Code.

(b-5) The trier of fact may infer that a person falsely represents himself or herself to be a public officer or a public employee or an official or employee of the federal government if the person:

(1) wears or displays without authority any uniform, badge, insignia, or facsimile thereof by which a public officer or public employee or official or employee of the federal government is lawfully distinguished; or

(2) falsely expresses by word or action that he or she is a public officer or public employee or official or employee of the federal government and is acting with approval or authority of a public agency or department.

(c) Fraudulent advertisement of a corporate name.

(1) A company, association, or individual commits fraudulent advertisement of a corporate name if he, she, or it, not being incorporated, puts forth a sign or advertisement and assumes, for the purpose of soliciting business, a corporate name.

(2) Nothing contained in this subsection (c) prohibits a corporation, company, association, or person from using a divisional designation or trade name in conjunction with its corporate name or assumed name under Section 4.05 of the Business Corporation Act of 1983 or, if it is a member of a partnership or joint venture, from doing partnership or joint venture business under the partnership or joint venture name. The name under which the joint venture or partnership does business may differ from the names of the members. Business may not be conducted or transacted under that joint venture or partnership name, however, unless all provisions of the Assumed Business Name Act have been complied with. Nothing in this subsection (c) permits a foreign corporation to do business in this State without complying with all Illinois laws regulating the doing of business by foreign corporations. No foreign corporation may conduct or transact business in this State as a member of a partnership or joint venture that violates any Illinois law regulating or pertaining to the doing of business by foreign corporations in Illinois.

(3) The provisions of this subsection (c) do not apply to limited partnerships formed under the Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act or under the Uniform Limited Partnership Act (2001).

(d) False law enforcement badges.

(1) A person commits false law enforcement badges if he or she knowingly produces, sells, or distributes a law enforcement badge without the express written consent of the law enforcement agency represented on the badge or, in case of a reorganized or defunct law enforcement agency, its successor law enforcement agency.

(2) It is a defense to false law enforcement badges that the law enforcement badge is used or is intended to be used exclusively: (i) as a memento or in a collection or exhibit; (ii) for decorative purposes; or (iii) for a dramatic presentation, such as a theatrical, film, or television production.

(e) False medals.

(1) A person commits a false personation if he or she knowingly and falsely represents himself or herself to be a recipient of, or wears on his or her person, any of the following medals if that medal was not awarded to that person by the United States Government, irrespective of branch of service: The Congressional Medal of Honor, The Distinguished Service Cross, The Navy Cross, The Air Force Cross, The Silver Star, The Bronze Star, or the Purple Heart.

(2) It is a defense to a prosecution under paragraph (e)(1) that the medal is used, or is intended to be used, exclusively:

(A) for a dramatic presentation, such as a theatrical, film, or television production, or a historical re-enactment; or

(B) for a costume worn, or intended to be worn, by a person under 18 years of age.

(f) Sentence.

(1) A violation of paragraph (a)(8) is a petty offense subject to a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $100, and the person, firm, copartnership, or corporation commits an additional petty offense for each day he, she, or it continues to commit the violation. A violation of paragraph (c)(1) is a petty offense, and the company, association, or person commits an additional petty offense for each day he, she, or it continues to commit the violation. A violation of paragraph (a)(2.1) or subsection (e) is a petty offense for which the offender shall be fined at least $100 and not more than $200.

(2) A violation of paragraph (a)(1), (a)(3), or (b)(7.5) is a Class C misdemeanor.

(3) A violation of paragraph (a)(2), (a)(2.5), (a)(7), (b)(2), or (b)(7) or subsection (d) is a Class A misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation of subsection (d) is a Class 3 felony.

(4) A violation of paragraph (a)(4), (a)(5), (a)(6), (b)(1), (b)(2.3), (b)(2.7), (b)(3), (b)(8), or (b)(11) is a Class 4 felony.

(5) A violation of paragraph (b)(4), (b)(9), or (b)(12) is a Class 3 felony.

(6) A violation of paragraph (b)(5) or (b)(10) is a Class 2 felony.

(7) A violation of paragraph (b)(6) is a Class 1 felony.

(g) A violation of subsection (a)(1) through (a)(7) or subsection (e) of this Section may be accomplished in person or by any means of communication, including but not limited to the use of an Internet website, artificial intelligence, or any form of electronic communication.

(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-561, eff. 7-15-16; 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)