Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB3785

LRB104 10659 RLC 20737 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB3785

Introduced 2/18/2025, by Rep. Justin Slaughter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

720 ILCS 5/5-2

from Ch. 38, par. 5-2

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that, with certain exceptions, the sentence for an offense based upon legal accountability for the conduct of another person in which the accountability is determined by the trier of fact beyond a reasonable doubt is as follows: (1) the sentence for first degree murder based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class X felony; (2) the sentence for a Class X felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class 1 felony; (3) the sentence for a Class 1 felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class 3 felony; (4) the sentence for a Class 2 felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class 4 felony; (5) the sentence for a Class 3 felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class A misdemeanor; (6) the sentence for a Class 4 felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class B misdemeanor; (7) the sentence for a Class A misdemeanor based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class C misdemeanor; and (8) the sentence for a Class B misdemeanor, Class C misdemeanor, or a petty offense based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a petty offense.

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 Section 5-2 as follows:

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

Sec. 5-2. When accountability exists.

(a) A person is legally accountable for the conduct of another when:

(1) (a) having a mental state described by the statute defining the offense, he or she causes another to perform the conduct, and the other person in fact or by reason of legal incapacity lacks such a mental state;

(2) (b) the statute defining the offense makes him or her so accountable; or

(3) (c) either before or during the commission of an offense, and with the intent to promote or facilitate that commission, he or she solicits, aids, abets, agrees, or attempts to aid that other person in the planning or commission of the offense.

(b) When 2 or more persons engage in a common criminal design or agreement, any acts in the furtherance of that common design committed by one party are considered to be the acts of all parties to the common design or agreement and all are equally responsible for the consequences of those further acts. Mere presence at the scene of a crime does not render a person accountable for an offense; a person's presence at the scene of a crime, however, may be considered with other circumstances by the trier of fact when determining accountability.

(c) A person is not so accountable, however, unless the statute defining the offense provides otherwise, if:

(1) he or she is a victim of the offense committed;

(2) the offense is so defined that his or her conduct was inevitably incident to its commission; or

(3) before the commission of the offense, he or she terminates his or her effort to promote or facilitate that commission and does one of the following: (i) wholly deprives his or her prior efforts of effectiveness in that commission, (ii) gives timely warning to the proper law enforcement authorities, or (iii) otherwise makes proper effort to prevent the commission of the offense.

(d) Sentence. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (f) of Section 12-3.4, subsection (d) of Section 12-3.8, subsection (d) of Section 12-3.9, subsection (d-10) of Section 12-7.3, subsection (d) of Section 12-7.4, and subsection (e) of Section 12-7.5 of this Code and paragraph (1) of subsection (a) and subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4) of subsection (b-5) of Section 5-8-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections, the sentence for an offense based upon legal accountability for the conduct of another person in which the accountability is determined by the trier of fact beyond a reasonable doubt is as follows:

(1) the sentence for first degree murder based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class X felony;

(2) the sentence for a Class X felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class 1 felony;

(3) the sentence for a Class 1 felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class 3 felony;

(4) the sentence for a Class 2 felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class 4 felony;

(5) the sentence for a Class 3 felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class A misdemeanor;

(6) the sentence for a Class 4 felony based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class B misdemeanor;

(7) the sentence for a Class A misdemeanor based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a Class C misdemeanor; and

(8) the sentence for a Class B misdemeanor, Class C misdemeanor, or a petty offense based upon legal accountability is the sentence for a petty offense.

(Source: P.A. 96-710, eff. 1-1-10.)