97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB2052

 

Introduced , by Rep. Darlene J. Senger

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
720 ILCS 135/1-2
720 ILCS 135/2  from Ch. 134, par. 16.5

    Amends the Harassing and Obscene Communications Act. Includes additional factors that constitute violations of the Act by harassment through electronic communications. Establishes penalties for these additional offenses.


LRB097 02969 RLC 42994 b

CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2052LRB097 02969 RLC 42994 b

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 Harassing and Obscene Communications Act is
5amended by changing Sections 1-2 and 2 as follows:
 
6    (720 ILCS 135/1-2)
7    Sec. 1-2. Harassment through electronic communications.
8    (a) Harassment through electronic communications is the
9use of electronic communication for any of the following
10purposes:
11        (1) Making any comment, request, suggestion or
12    proposal which is obscene with an intent to offend;
13        (2) Interrupting, with the intent to harass, the
14    telephone service or the electronic communication service
15    of any person;
16        (3) Transmitting to any person, with the intent to
17    harass and regardless of whether the communication is read
18    in its entirety or at all, any file, document, or other
19    communication which prevents that person from using his or
20    her telephone service or electronic communications device;
21        (3.1) Transmitting an electronic communication or
22    knowingly inducing a person to transmit an electronic
23    communication for the purpose of harassing another person

 

 

HB2052- 2 -LRB097 02969 RLC 42994 b

1    who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the
2    person under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if
3    the defendant is at least 16 years of age at the time of
4    the commission of the offense;
5        (4) Threatening injury to the person or to the property
6    of the person to whom an electronic communication is
7    directed or to any of his or her family or household
8    members; or
9        (4.1) Knowingly frightening, intimidating, or causing
10    emotional distress to another person by anonymously making
11    a telephone call or any electronic communication; or making
12    false postings on an Internet website for longer than 24
13    hours regardless of that information being sent to the
14    victim;
15        (4.2) Knowingly communicating with another person by
16    any electronic means who is, or who purports to be under 18
17    years of age and in so doing and without good cause
18    recklessly frightening, intimidating, or causing emotional
19    distress to such other person;
20        (4.3) Knowingly making repeated unwanted communication
21    to another person;
22        (4.4) Without good cause engaging in any other act with
23    the purpose of frightening, intimidating, or causing
24    emotional distress to another person, causing such person
25    to be frightened, intimidated, or emotionally distressed,
26    and such person's response to the act is one of a person of

 

 

HB2052- 3 -LRB097 02969 RLC 42994 b

1    average sensibilities considering the age of such person;
2    or
3        (5) Knowingly permitting any electronic communications
4    device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in this
5    subsection (a).
6    (b) As used in this Act:
7        (1) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of
8    signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data or
9    intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part
10    by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric or
11    photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes
12    transmissions by a computer through the Internet to another
13    computer.
14        (2) "Family or household member" includes spouses,
15    former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other
16    persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage,
17    persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling,
18    persons who have or allegedly share a blood relationship
19    through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or
20    engagement relationship, and persons with disabilities and
21    their personal assistants. For purposes of this Act,
22    neither a casual acquaintanceship nor ordinary
23    fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social
24    contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating
25    relationship.
26    (c) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service

 

 

HB2052- 4 -LRB097 02969 RLC 42994 b

1providers, and providers of information services, including,
2but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting
3service providers, are not liable under this Section, except
4for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the
5transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications
6or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other
7related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
8information services used by others in violation of this
9Section.
10    (d) Paragraphs (4.1), (4.2), (4.3), and (4.4) of subsection
11(a) of this Section do not apply to activities of federal,
12state, county, or municipal law enforcement officers
13conducting investigations of a violation of federal, State,
14county, or municipal law.
15(Source: P.A. 95-849, eff. 1-1-09; 95-984, eff. 6-1-09; 96-328,
16eff. 8-11-09.)
 
17    (720 ILCS 135/2)  (from Ch. 134, par. 16.5)
18    Sec. 2. Sentence.
19    (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a person who
20violates any of the provisions of Section 1, 1-1, or 1-2 of
21this Act is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. Except as provided
22in subsection (b), a second or subsequent violation of Section
231, 1-1, or 1-2 of this Act is a Class A misdemeanor, for which
24the court shall impose a minimum of 14 days in jail or, if
25public or community service is established in the county in

 

 

HB2052- 5 -LRB097 02969 RLC 42994 b

1which the offender was convicted, 240 hours of public or
2community service.
3    (b) In any of the following circumstances, a person who
4violates Section 1, 1-1, or 1-2 of this Act shall be guilty of
5a Class 4 felony:
6        (1) The person has 3 or more prior violations in the
7    last 10 years of harassment by telephone under Section 1-1
8    of this Act, harassment through electronic communications
9    under Section 1-2 of this Act, or any similar offense of
10    any state;
11        (2) The person has previously violated the harassment
12    by telephone provisions of Section 1-1 of this Act or the
13    harassment through electronic communications provisions of
14    Section 1-2 of this Act or committed any similar offense in
15    any state with the same victim or a member of the victim's
16    family or household;
17        (3) At the time of the offense, the offender was under
18    conditions of bail, probation, mandatory supervised
19    release or was the subject of an order of protection, in
20    this or any other state, prohibiting contact with the
21    victim or any member of the victim's family or household;
22        (4) In the course of the offense, the offender
23    threatened to kill the victim or any member of the victim's
24    family or household;
25        (5) The person has been convicted in the last 10 years
26    of a forcible felony as defined in Section 2-8 of the

 

 

HB2052- 6 -LRB097 02969 RLC 42994 b

1    Criminal Code of 1961;
2        (6) The person violates paragraph (4.1) of Section 1-1
3    or paragraph (3.1) of subsection (a) of Section 1-2; or
4        (7) The person was at least 18 years of age at the time
5    of the commission of the offense and the victim was under
6    18 years of age at the time of the commission of the
7    offense.
8    (c)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (c),
9a person who violates paragraph (4.1), (4.2), (4.3), or (4.4)
10of subsection (a) of Section 1-2 of this Act is guilty of a
11Class A misdemeanor.
12    (2) A person who is 21 years of age or over who violates
13paragraph (4.1), (4.2), (4.3), or (4.4) of subsection (a) of
14Section 1-2 of this Act in which the victim of the offense, at
15the time of the commission of the offense, is under 17 years of
16age is guilty of a Class 4 felony.
17    (3) A person who violates paragraph (4.1), (4.2), (4.3), or
18(4.4) of subsection (a) of Section 1-2 of this Act who has
19previously pleaded guilty to or has been found guilty of a
20violation of paragraph (4.1), (4.2), (4.3), or (4.4) of
21subsection (a) of Section 1-2 of this Act or of any similar
22offense committed in violation of any county or municipal
23ordinance of this State or any other state, any similar state
24law of another state, or any similar federal law, including a
25violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, is guilty of
26a Class 4 felony.

 

 

HB2052- 7 -LRB097 02969 RLC 42994 b

1(Source: P.A. 95-984, eff. 6-1-09.)