Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

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725 ILCS 5/111-3

(725 ILCS 5/111-3) (from Ch. 38, par. 111-3)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 103-51)
Sec. 111-3. Form of charge.

(a) A charge shall be in writing and allege the commission of an
offense by:

(1) Stating the name of the offense;

(2) Citing the statutory provision alleged to have

been violated;

(3) Setting forth the nature and elements of the

offense charged;

(4) Stating the date and county of the offense as

definitely as can be done; and

(5) Stating the name of the accused, if known, and if

not known, designate the accused by any name or description by which he can be identified with reasonable certainty.

(a-5) If the victim is alleged to have been subjected to an offense involving an illegal sexual act including, but not limited to, a sexual offense defined in Article 11 or Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012, the charge shall state the identity of the victim by name, initials, or description.

(b) An indictment shall be signed by the foreman of the Grand Jury and
an information shall be signed by the State's Attorney and sworn to by him
or another. A complaint shall be sworn to and signed by the complainant; provided, that when a peace officer observes the commission of a misdemeanor
and is the complaining witness, the signing of the complaint by the peace
officer is sufficient to charge the defendant with the commission of the
offense, and the complaint need not be sworn to if the officer signing the
complaint certifies that the statements set forth in the complaint are true and
correct and are subject to the penalties provided by law for false
certification
under Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure and perjury under Section
32-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012; and further provided, however, that when a citation is issued on a Uniform Traffic
Ticket or Uniform Conservation Ticket (in a form prescribed by the
Conference of Chief Circuit Judges and filed with the Supreme Court), the
copy of such Uniform Ticket which is filed with the circuit court
constitutes a complaint to which the defendant may plead, unless he
specifically requests that a verified complaint be filed.

(c) When the State seeks an enhanced sentence because of a prior
conviction, the charge shall also state the intention to seek an enhanced
sentence and shall state such prior conviction so as to give notice to the
defendant.  However, the fact of such prior conviction and the State's
intention to seek an enhanced sentence are not elements of the offense and
may not be disclosed to the jury during trial unless otherwise permitted by
issues properly raised during such trial.
For the purposes of this Section, "enhanced sentence" means a sentence
which is increased by a prior conviction from one classification of offense
to another higher level classification of offense set forth in Section
5-4.5-10
 of the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-10); it does not include an increase in the sentence applied within the
same level of classification of offense.

(c-5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in all cases in which
the
imposition of the death penalty is not a possibility, if an alleged fact (other
than the fact of a prior conviction) is not an element of an offense but is
sought to be used to increase the range of penalties for the offense beyond the
statutory maximum that could otherwise be imposed for the offense, the alleged
fact must be included in the charging instrument or otherwise provided to the
defendant through a written notification before trial, submitted to a trier
of fact as an aggravating factor, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Failure to prove the fact beyond a reasonable doubt is not a bar to a
conviction
for commission of the offense, but is a bar to increasing, based on that fact,
the range of penalties for the offense beyond the statutory maximum that could
otherwise be imposed for that offense.  Nothing in this subsection (c-5)
requires the
imposition of a sentence that increases the range of penalties for the offense
beyond the statutory maximum that could otherwise be imposed for the offense if
the imposition of that sentence is not required by law.

(d) At any time prior to trial, the State on motion shall be permitted
to amend the charge, whether brought by indictment, information or
complaint, to make the charge comply with subsection (c) or (c-5) of this
Section.  Nothing in Section 103-5 of this Code precludes such an
amendment or a written notification made in accordance with subsection (c-5) of
this Section.

(e) The provisions of subsection (a) of Section 5-4.5-95 of the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-95)
 shall not be affected by this Section.

(Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; 98-416, eff. 1-1-14.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-51)
Sec. 111-3. Form of charge.

(a) A charge shall be in writing and allege the commission of an
offense by: