Public Act 93-0276

SB1175 Enrolled                      LRB093 10945 LRD 11512 b

    AN ACT concerning vehicles.

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

    Section  5.   The  Illinois  Vehicle  Code  is amended by
changing Section 12-612 as follows:

    (625 ILCS 5/12-612)
    Sec. 12-612.  False or  secret  compartment  in  a  motor
vehicle.
    (a)  Offenses.   It  is unlawful for any person to own or
operate any motor vehicle he or she knows to contain a  false
or  secret  compartment.  It  is  unlawful  for any person to
knowingly install, create, build, or fabricate in  any  motor
vehicle a false or secret compartment.
    (b)  Definitions.  For purposes of this Section, a "false
or  secret  compartment" means any enclosure that is intended
and designed  to  be  used  to  conceal,  hide,  and  prevent
discovery  by law enforcement officers of the false or secret
compartment, or its contents, and which is integrated into  a
vehicle.    For purpose of this Section, a person's intention
to use a false or secret compartment to conceal the  contents
of  the  compartment  from  a  law enforcement officer may be
inferred from factors including,  but  not  limited  to,  the
discovery  of  a  person,  firearm,  controlled substance, or
other contraband within the false or secret  compartment,  or
from the discovery of evidence of the previous placement of a
person,  firearm,  controlled  substance, or other contraband
within the false or secret compartment.
    (c)  Forfeiture.  Any motor vehicle containing a false or
secret  compartment,  as  well  as  any  items  within   that
compartment, shall be subject to seizure by the Department of
State   Police  or  by  any  municipal  or  other  local  law
enforcement agency within whose jurisdiction that property is
found as provided in Sections 36-1 and 36-2 of  the  Criminal
Code  of  1961  (720 ILCS 5/36-1 and 5/36-2).  The removal of
the false or secret compartment from the  motor  vehicle,  or
the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a defense to
forfeiture  of  the  motor  vehicle under Section 36-2 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 and shall not  be  the  basis  for  the
court to release the vehicle to the owner.
    (d)  Sentence.   A violation of this Section is a Class 4
felony C misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 91-359, eff. 1-1-00.)