Public Act 096-0686
 
HB2542 Enrolled LRB096 10797 RLC 21009 b

    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 1961 is amended by changing
Sections 12-7.3, 12-7.4, and 12-7.5 as follows:
 
    (720 ILCS 5/12-7.3)  (from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.3)
    Sec. 12-7.3. Stalking.
    (a) A person commits stalking when he or she, knowingly
engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person,
and he or she knows or should know that this course of conduct
would cause a reasonable person to:
        (1) fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third
    person; or
        (2) suffer other emotional distress.
    (a-3) A person commits stalking when he or she, knowingly
and without lawful justification, on at least 2 separate
occasions follows another person or places the person under
surveillance or any combination thereof and:
        (1) at any time transmits a threat of immediate or
    future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement or
    restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or
    a family member of that person; or
        (2) places that person in reasonable apprehension of
    immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault,
    confinement or restraint; or
        (3) places that person in reasonable apprehension that
    a family member will receive immediate or future bodily
    harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint.
    (a-5) A person commits stalking when he or she has
previously been convicted of stalking another person and
knowingly and without lawful justification on one occasion:
        (1) follows that same person or places that same person
    under surveillance; and
        (2) transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily
    harm, sexual assault, confinement or restraint; and
        (3) the threat is directed towards that person or a
    family member of that person.
    (b) Sentence. Stalking is a Class 4 felony. A second or
subsequent conviction for stalking is a Class 3 felony.
    (c) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
        (1) "Course of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including
    but not limited to acts in which a defendant directly,
    indirectly, or through third parties, by any action,
    method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes,
    surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person,
    engages in other non-consensual contact, or interferes
    with or damages a person's property or pet. A course of
    conduct may include contact via electronic communications.
        (2) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of
    signs, signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of
    any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire,
    radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical
    system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions
    by a computer through the Internet to another computer.
        (3) "Emotional distress" means significant mental
    suffering, anxiety or alarm.
        (4) "Family member" means a parent, grandparent,
    brother, sister, or child, whether by whole blood,
    half-blood, or adoption and includes a step-grandparent,
    step-parent, step-brother, step-sister or step-child.
    "Family member" also means any other person who regularly
    resides in the household, or who, within the prior 6
    months, regularly resided in the household.
        (5) "Follows another person" means (i) to move in
    relative proximity to a person as that person moves from
    place to place or (ii) to remain in relative proximity to a
    person who is stationary or whose movements are confined to
    a small area. "Follows another person" does not include a
    following within the residence of the defendant.
        (6) "Non-consensual contact" means any contact with
    the victim that is initiated or continued without the
    victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the
    physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight
    of the victim; approaching or confronting the victim in a
    public place or on private property; appearing at the
    workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto or
    remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the
    victim; or placing an object on, or delivering an object
    to, property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim.
        (7) "Places a person under surveillance" means: (1)
    remaining present outside the person's school, place of
    employment, vehicle, other place occupied by the person, or
    residence other than the residence of the defendant; or (2)
    placing an electronic tracking device on the person or the
    person's property.
        (8) "Reasonable person" means a person in the victim's
    situation.
        (9) "Transmits a threat" means a verbal or written
    threat or a threat implied by a pattern of conduct or a
    combination of verbal or written statements or conduct.
    (d) Exemptions.
        (1) This Section does not apply to any individual or
    organization (i) monitoring or attentive to compliance
    with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour
    requirements, or other statutory requirements, or (ii)
    picketing occurring at the workplace that is otherwise
    lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor dispute,
    including any controversy concerning wages, salaries,
    hours, working conditions or benefits, including health
    and welfare, sick leave, insurance, and pension or
    retirement provisions, the making or maintaining of
    collective bargaining agreements, and the terms to be
    included in those agreements.
        (2) This Section does not apply to an exercise of the
    right to free speech or assembly that is otherwise lawful.
        (3) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile
    service providers, and providers of information services,
    including, but not limited to, Internet service providers
    and hosting service providers, are not liable under this
    Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by
    virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of
    electronic communications or messages of others or by
    virtue of the provision of other related
    telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
    information services used by others in violation of this
    Section.
    (d-5) (b-5) The incarceration of a person in a penal
institution who commits the course of conduct or transmits a
threat is not a bar to prosecution under this Section.
    (c) Exemption. This Section does not apply to picketing
occurring at the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises
out of a bona fide labor dispute, or any exercise of the right
of free speech or assembly that is otherwise lawful.
    (d) For the purpose of this Section, a defendant "places a
person under surveillance" by: (1) remaining present outside
the person's school, place of employment, vehicle, other place
occupied by the person, or residence other than the residence
of the defendant; or (2) placing an electronic tracking device
on the person or the person's property.
    (e) For the purpose of this Section, "follows another
person" means (i) to move in relative proximity to a person as
that person moves from place to place or (ii) to remain in
relative proximity to a person who is stationary or whose
movements are confined to a small area. "Follows another
person" does not include a following within the residence of
the defendant.
    (f) For the purposes of this Section and Section 12-7.4,
"bona fide labor dispute" means any controversy concerning
wages, salaries, hours, working conditions, or benefits,
including health and welfare, sick leave, insurance, and
pension or retirement provisions, the making or maintaining of
collective bargaining agreements, and the terms to be included
in those agreements.
    (g) For the purposes of this Section, "transmits a threat"
means a verbal or written threat or a threat implied by a
pattern of conduct or a combination of verbal or written
statements or conduct.
    (h) For the purposes of this Section, "family member" means
a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, or child, whether by
whole blood, half-blood, or adoption and includes a
step-grandparent, step-parent, step-brother, step-sister or
step-child. "Family member" also means any other person who
regularly resides in the household, or who, within the prior 6
months, regularly resided in the household.
(Source: P.A. 95-33, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (720 ILCS 5/12-7.4)  (from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.4)
    Sec. 12-7.4. Aggravated stalking.
    (a) A person commits aggravated stalking when he or she, in
conjunction with committing the offense of stalking, also does
any of the following:
        (1) causes bodily harm to the victim;
        (2) confines or restrains the victim; or
        (3) violates a temporary restraining order, an order of
    protection, a stalking no contact order, a civil no contact
    order, or an injunction prohibiting the behavior described
    in subsection (b)(1) of Section 214 of the Illinois
    Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
    (b) Sentence. Aggravated stalking is a Class 3 felony. A
second or subsequent conviction for aggravated stalking is a
Class 2 felony.
    (c) Exemptions Exemption.
        (1) This Section does not apply to any individual or
    organization (i) monitoring or attentive to compliance
    with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour
    requirements, or other statutory requirements, or (ii)
    picketing occurring at the workplace that is otherwise
    lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor dispute
    including any controversy concerning wages, salaries,
    hours, working conditions or benefits, including health
    and welfare, sick leave, insurance, and pension or
    retirement provisions, the managing or maintenance of
    collective bargaining agreements, and the terms to be
    included in those agreements. , or any
        (2) This Section does not apply to an exercise of the
    right of free speech or assembly that is otherwise lawful.
        (3) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile
    service providers, and providers of information services,
    including, but not limited to, Internet service providers
    and hosting service providers, are not liable under this
    Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by
    virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of
    electronic communications or messages of others or by
    virtue of the provision of other related
    telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
    information services used by others in violation of this
    Section.
    (d) For purposes of this Section, "bona fide labor dispute"
has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 12-7.3.
(Source: P.A. 88-402; 88-677, eff. 12-15-94; 89-377, eff.
8-18-95.)
 
    (720 ILCS 5/12-7.5)
    Sec. 12-7.5. Cyberstalking.
    (a) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she engages
in a course of conduct using electronic communication directed
at a specific person, and he or she knows or should know that
would cause a reasonable person to:
        (1) fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third
    person; or
        (2) suffer other emotional distress.
    (a-3) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she,
knowingly and without lawful justification, on at least 2
separate occasions, harasses another person through the use of
electronic communication and:
        (1) at any time transmits a threat of immediate or
    future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or
    restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or
    a family member of that person, or
        (2) places that person or a family member of that
    person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future
    bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint; or
        (3) at any time knowingly solicits the commission of an
    act by any person which would be a violation of this Code
    directed towards that person or a family member of that
    person.
    (a-5) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she,
knowingly and without lawful justification, creates and
maintains an Internet website or webpage which is accessible to
one or more third parties for a period of at least 24 hours,
and which contains statements harassing another person and:
        (1) which communicates a threat of immediate or future
    bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint,
    where the threat is directed towards that person or a
    family member of that person, or
        (2) which places that person or a family member of that
    person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future
    bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint, or
        (3) which knowingly solicits the commission of an act
    by any person which would be a violation of this Code
    directed towards that person or a family member of that
    person.
    (b) As used in this Section:
    "Harass" means to engage in a knowing and willful course of
conduct directed at a specific person that alarms, torments, or
terrorizes that person.
    "Third party" means any person other than the person
violating these provisions and the person or persons towards
whom the violator's actions are directed.
    "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs,
signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature
transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
electronmagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system.
"Electronic communication" includes transmissions by a
computer through the Internet to another computer.
    (b) (c) Sentence. Cyberstalking is a Class 4 felony. A
second or subsequent conviction for cyberstalking is a Class 3
felony.
    (c) For purposes of this Section:
        (1) "Course of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including
    but not limited to acts in which a defendant directly,
    indirectly, or through third parties, by any action,
    method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes,
    surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person,
    engages in other non-consensual contact, or interferes
    with or damages a person's property or pet. The
    incarceration in a penal institution of a person who
    commits the course of conduct is not a bar to prosecution
    under this Section.
        (2) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of
    signs, signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of
    any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire,
    radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical
    system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions
    by a computer through the Internet to another computer.
        (3) "Emotional distress" means significant mental
    suffering, anxiety or alarm.
        (4) "Harass" means to engage in a knowing and willful
    course of conduct directed at a specific person that
    alarms, torments, or terrorizes that person.
        (5) "Non-consensual contact" means any contact with
    the victim that is initiated or continued without the
    victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the
    physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight
    of the victim; approaching or confronting the victim in a
    public place or on private property; appearing at the
    workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto or
    remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the
    victim; or placing an object on, or delivering an object
    to, property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim.
        (6) "Reasonable person" means a person in the victim's
    circumstances, with the victim's knowledge of the
    defendant and the defendant's prior acts.
        (7) "Third party" means any person other than the
    person violating these provisions and the person or persons
    towards whom the violator's actions are directed.
    (d) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service
providers, and providers of information services, including,
but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting
service providers, are not liable under this Section, except
for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the
transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications
or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other
related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
information services used by others in violation of this
Section.
(Source: P.A. 95-849, eff. 1-1-09; revised 9-10-08.)
 
    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.