HB3746 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 10223 RLC 20297 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB3746

Introduced 2/18/2025, by Rep. Robert "Bob" Rita

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

720 ILCS 5/26.5-0.1
720 ILCS 5/26.5-3
720 ILCS 5/26.5-5
730 ILCS 5/5-5-3.2

Amends the Harassing and Obscene Communications Article of the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that in addition to any criminal penalties, a person who is the victim of harassment under the harassment through electronic communications statute may bring a civil action against the perpetrator of the harassment. Provides that in such an action, the victim may be awarded damages not to exceed $10,000,000 for each count of harassment. Provides that these damages may include compensation for any physical injury, emotional distress, reputational harm, or other damages directly resulting from the harassment. Provides that, in addition to compensatory damages, the court may award punitive damages if the defendant's conduct was willfully or maliciously intended to harm the victim. Provides that punitive damages may be awarded in an amount deemed appropriate by the court, not to exceed the statutory limit of $10,000,000 per count. Provides that in any civil action brought under this provision, the prevailing party may be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other expenses. Provides that the use of an end-to-end encryption messaging system or device to transmit harassing messages or communications is an aggravating factor in sentencing. Provides that a person who violates the harassment through electronic communications statute using an end-to-end encryption messaging system or device to engage in harassment is guilty of a Class 3 felony, regardless of other factors surrounding the offense. Defines "end-to-end encryption messaging system or device". Amends the Unified Code of Corrections to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.

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 Sections 26.5-0.1, 26.5-3, and 26.5-5 as follows:

(720 ILCS 5/26.5-0.1)

Sec. 26.5-0.1. Definitions. As used in this Article:

"Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, images, 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 through an electronic device including, but not limited to, a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager, which communication includes, but is not limited to, e-mail, instant message, text message, or voice mail.

"End-to-end encryption messaging system or device" means any form of communication technology or application that ensures that only the sender and intended recipient or recipients can access the content of the communication, preventing third parties, including service providers or intermediaries, from reading the messages.

"Family or household member" includes spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage, persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling, persons who have or allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship, and persons with disabilities and their personal assistants. For purposes of this Article, neither a casual acquaintanceship nor ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating relationship.

"Harass" or "harassing" means knowing conduct which is not necessary to accomplish a purpose that is reasonable under the circumstances, that would cause a reasonable person emotional distress and does cause emotional distress to another.

(Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13.)

(720 ILCS 5/26.5-3)

Sec. 26.5-3. Harassment through electronic communications.

(a) A person commits harassment through electronic communications when he or she uses electronic communication for any of the following purposes:

(1) Making any comment, request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene with an intent to offend;

(2) Interrupting, with the intent to harass, the telephone service or the electronic communication service of any person;

(3) Transmitting to any person, with the intent to harass and regardless of whether the communication is read in its entirety or at all, any file, document, or other communication which prevents that person from using his or her telephone service or electronic communications device;

(4) Transmitting an electronic communication or knowingly inducing a person to transmit an electronic communication for the purpose of harassing another person who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the person under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if the defendant is at least 16 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense;

(5) Threatening injury to the person or to the property of the person to whom an electronic communication is directed or to any of his or her family or household members; or

(6) Knowingly permitting any electronic communications device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in this subsection (a).

(b) 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.

(c) In addition to any criminal penalties, a person who is the victim of harassment under this Section may bring a civil action against the perpetrator of the harassment.

In such an action, the victim may be awarded damages not to exceed $10,000,000 for each count of harassment. These damages may include compensation for any physical injury, emotional distress, reputational harm, or other damages directly resulting from the harassment.

In addition to compensatory damages, the court may award punitive damages if the defendant's conduct was willfully or maliciously intended to harm the victim. Punitive damages may be awarded in an amount deemed appropriate by the court, not to exceed the statutory limit of $10,000,000 per count.

In any civil action brought under this Section, the prevailing party may be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other expenses.

(Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13.)

(720 ILCS 5/26.5-5)

Sec. 26.5-5. Sentence.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a person who violates any of the provisions of Section 26.5-1, 26.5-2, or 26.5-3 of this Article is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. Except as provided in subsection (b), a second or subsequent violation of Section 26.5-1, 26.5-2, or 26.5-3 of this Article is a Class A misdemeanor, for which the court shall impose a minimum of 14 days in jail or, if public or community service is established in the county in which the offender was convicted, 240 hours of public or community service.

(b) In any of the following circumstances, a person who violates Section 26.5-1, 26.5-2, or 26.5-3 of this Article shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony:

(1) The person has 3 or more prior violations in the last 10 years of harassment by telephone, harassment through electronic communications, or any similar offense of any other state;

(2) The person has previously violated the harassment by telephone provisions, or the harassment through electronic communications provisions, or committed any similar offense in any other state with the same victim or a member of the victim's family or household;

(3) At the time of the offense, the offender was under conditions of pretrial release, probation, conditional discharge, mandatory supervised release or was the subject of an order of protection, in this or any other state, prohibiting contact with the victim or any member of the victim's family or household;

(4) In the course of the offense, the offender threatened to kill the victim or any member of the victim's family or household;

(5) The person has been convicted in the last 10 years of a forcible felony as defined in Section 2-8 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012;

(6) The person violates paragraph (5) of Section 26.5-2 or paragraph (4) of Section 26.5-3; or

(7) The person was at least 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense and the victim was under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense.

(b-1) The use of an end-to-end encryption messaging system or device to transmit harassing messages or communications is an aggravating factor in sentencing under Section 5-5-3.2 of the Unified Code of Corrections.

A person who violates Section 26.5-3 using an end-to-end encryption messaging system or device to engage in harassment is guilty of a Class 3 felony, regardless of other factors surrounding the offense.

(c) The court may order any person convicted under this Article to submit to a psychiatric examination.

(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 1-1-23.)

Section 10. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by changing Section 5-5-3.2 as follows:

(730 ILCS 5/5-5-3.2)

Sec. 5-5-3.2. Factors in aggravation and extended-term sentencing.

(a) The following factors shall be accorded weight in favor of imposing a term of imprisonment or may be considered by the court as reasons to impose a more severe sentence under Section 5-8-1 or Article 4.5 of Chapter V:

(1) the defendant's conduct caused or threatened serious harm;

(2) the defendant received compensation for committing the offense;

(3) the defendant has a history of prior delinquency or criminal activity;

(4) the defendant, by the duties of his office or by his position, was obliged to prevent the particular offense committed or to bring the offenders committing it to justice;

(5) the defendant held public office at the time of the offense, and the offense related to the conduct of that office;

(6) the defendant utilized his professional reputation or position in the community to commit the offense, or to afford him an easier means of committing it;

(7) the sentence is necessary to deter others from committing the same crime;

(8) the defendant committed the offense against a person 60 years of age or older or such person's property;

(9) the defendant committed the offense against a person who has a physical disability or such person's property;

(10) by reason of another individual's actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or national origin, the defendant committed the offense against (i) the person or property of that individual; (ii) the person or property of a person who has an association with, is married to, or has a friendship with the other individual; or (iii) the person or property of a relative (by blood or marriage) of a person described in clause (i) or (ii). For the purposes of this Section, "sexual orientation" has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (O-1) of Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act;

(11) the offense took place in a place of worship or on the grounds of a place of worship, immediately prior to, during or immediately following worship services. For purposes of this subparagraph, "place of worship" shall mean any church, synagogue or other building, structure or place used primarily for religious worship;

(12) the defendant was convicted of a felony committed while he was on pretrial release or his own recognizance pending trial for a prior felony and was convicted of such prior felony, or the defendant was convicted of a felony committed while he was serving a period of probation, conditional discharge, or mandatory supervised release under subsection (d) of Section 5-8-1 for a prior felony;

(13) the defendant committed or attempted to commit a felony while he was wearing a bulletproof vest. For the purposes of this paragraph (13), a bulletproof vest is any device which is designed for the purpose of protecting the wearer from bullets, shot or other lethal projectiles;

(14) the defendant held a position of trust or supervision such as, but not limited to, family member as defined in Section 11-0.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012, teacher, scout leader, baby sitter, or day care worker, in relation to a victim under 18 years of age, and the defendant committed an offense in violation of Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-6, 11-11, 11-14.4 except for an offense that involves keeping a place of juvenile prostitution, 11-15.1, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20.1, 11-20.1B, 11-20.3, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15 or 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 against that victim;

(15) the defendant committed an offense related to the activities of an organized gang. For the purposes of this factor, "organized gang" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 10 of the Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act;

(16) the defendant committed an offense in violation of one of the following Sections while in a school, regardless of the time of day or time of year; on any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a school to transport students to or from school or a school related activity; on the real property of a school; or on a public way within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising any school: Section 10-1, 10-2, 10-5, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-14.4, 11-15.1, 11-17.1, 11-18.1, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 12-2, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-6, 12-6.1, 12-6.5, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 18-2, or 33A-2, or Section 12-3.05 except for subdivision (a)(4) or (g)(1), of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012;

(16.5) the defendant committed an offense in violation of one of the following Sections while in a day care center, regardless of the time of day or time of year; on the real property of a day care center, regardless of the time of day or time of year; or on a public way within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising any day care center, regardless of the time of day or time of year: Section 10-1, 10-2, 10-5, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-14.4, 11-15.1, 11-17.1, 11-18.1, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 12-2, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-6, 12-6.1, 12-6.5, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 18-2, or 33A-2, or Section 12-3.05 except for subdivision (a)(4) or (g)(1), of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012;

(17) the defendant committed the offense by reason of any person's activity as a community policing volunteer or to prevent any person from engaging in activity as a community policing volunteer. For the purpose of this Section, "community policing volunteer" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 2-3.5 of the Criminal Code of 2012;

(18) the defendant committed the offense in a nursing home or on the real property comprising a nursing home. For the purposes of this paragraph (18), "nursing home" means a skilled nursing or intermediate long term care facility that is subject to license by the Illinois Department of Public Health under the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community Care Act, or the MC/DD Act;

(19) the defendant was a federally licensed firearm dealer and was previously convicted of a violation of subsection (a) of Section 3 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act and has now committed either a felony violation of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act or an act of armed violence while armed with a firearm;

(20) the defendant (i) committed the offense of reckless homicide under Section 9-3 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds or any combination thereof under Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code or a similar provision of a local ordinance and (ii) was operating a motor vehicle in excess of 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit as provided in Article VI of Chapter 11 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;

(21) the defendant (i) committed the offense of reckless driving or aggravated reckless driving under Section 11-503 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and (ii) was operating a motor vehicle in excess of 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit as provided in Article VI of Chapter 11 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;

(22) the defendant committed the offense against a person that the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, was a member of the Armed Forces of the United States serving on active duty. For purposes of this clause (22), the term "Armed Forces" means any of the Armed Forces of the United States, including a member of any reserve component thereof or National Guard unit called to active duty;

(23) the defendant committed the offense against a person who was elderly or infirm or who was a person with a disability by taking advantage of a family or fiduciary relationship with the elderly or infirm person or person with a disability;

(24) the defendant committed any offense under Section 11-20.1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 and possessed 100 or more images;

(25) the defendant committed the offense while the defendant or the victim was in a train, bus, or other vehicle used for public transportation;

(26) the defendant committed the offense of child pornography or aggravated child pornography, specifically including paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), or (7) of subsection (a) of Section 11-20.1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 where a child engaged in, solicited for, depicted in, or posed in any act of sexual penetration or bound, fettered, or subject to sadistic, masochistic, or sadomasochistic abuse in a sexual context and specifically including paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), or (7) of subsection (a) of Section 11-20.1B or Section 11-20.3 of the Criminal Code of 1961 where a child engaged in, solicited for, depicted in, or posed in any act of sexual penetration or bound, fettered, or subject to sadistic, masochistic, or sadomasochistic abuse in a sexual context;

(26.5) the defendant committed the offense of obscene depiction of a purported child, specifically including paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Section 11-20.4 of the Criminal Code of 2012 if a child engaged in, solicited for, depicted in, or posed in any act of sexual penetration or bound, fettered, or subject to sadistic, masochistic, or sadomasochistic abuse in a sexual context;

(27) the defendant committed the offense of first degree murder, assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, robbery, armed robbery, or aggravated robbery against a person who was a veteran and the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, that the person was a veteran performing duties as a representative of a veterans' organization. For the purposes of this paragraph (27), "veteran" means an Illinois resident who has served as a member of the United States Armed Forces, a member of the Illinois National Guard, or a member of the United States Reserve Forces; and "veterans' organization" means an organization comprised of members of which substantially all are individuals who are veterans or spouses, widows, or widowers of veterans, the primary purpose of which is to promote the welfare of its members and to provide assistance to the general public in such a way as to confer a public benefit;

(28) the defendant committed the offense of assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, robbery, armed robbery, or aggravated robbery against a person that the defendant knew or reasonably should have known was a letter carrier or postal worker while that person was performing his or her duties delivering mail for the United States Postal Service;

(29) the defendant committed the offense of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual abuse, or aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a victim with an intellectual disability, and the defendant holds a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim;

(30) the defendant committed the offense of promoting juvenile prostitution, patronizing a prostitute, or patronizing a minor engaged in prostitution and at the time of the commission of the offense knew that the prostitute or minor engaged in prostitution was in the custody or guardianship of the Department of Children and Family Services;

(31) the defendant (i) committed the offense of driving while under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds or any combination thereof in violation of Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code or a similar provision of a local ordinance and (ii) the defendant during the commission of the offense was driving his or her vehicle upon a roadway designated for one-way traffic in the opposite direction of the direction indicated by official traffic control devices;

(32) the defendant committed the offense of reckless homicide while committing a violation of Section 11-907 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;

(33) the defendant was found guilty of an administrative infraction related to an act or acts of public indecency or sexual misconduct in the penal institution. In this paragraph (33), "penal institution" has the same meaning as in Section 2-14 of the Criminal Code of 2012; or

(34) the defendant committed the offense of leaving the scene of a crash in violation of subsection (b) of Section 11-401 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and the crash resulted in the death of a person and at the time of the offense, the defendant was: (i) driving under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds or any combination thereof as defined by Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code; or (ii) operating the motor vehicle while using an electronic communication device as defined in Section 12-610.2 of the Illinois Vehicle Code; or .

(35) the defendant committed the offense of harassment through electronic communications using an end-to-end encryption messaging system or device to transmit harassing messages or communications.

For the purposes of this Section:

"School" is defined as a public or private elementary or secondary school, community college, college, or university.

"Day care center" means a public or private State certified and licensed day care center as defined in Section 2.09 of the Child Care Act of 1969 that displays a sign in plain view stating that the property is a day care center.

"Intellectual disability" means significantly subaverage intellectual functioning which exists concurrently with impairment in adaptive behavior.

"Public transportation" means the transportation or conveyance of persons by means available to the general public, and includes paratransit services.

"Traffic control devices" means all signs, signals, markings, and devices that conform to the Illinois Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic.

(b) The following factors, related to all felonies, may be considered by the court as reasons to impose an extended term sentence under Section 5-8-2 upon any offender:

(1) When a defendant is convicted of any felony, after having been previously convicted in Illinois or any other jurisdiction of the same or similar class felony or greater class felony, when such conviction has occurred within 10 years after the previous conviction, excluding time spent in custody, and such charges are separately brought and tried and arise out of different series of acts; or

(2) When a defendant is convicted of any felony and the court finds that the offense was accompanied by exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty; or

(3) When a defendant is convicted of any felony committed against:

(i) a person under 12 years of age at the time of the offense or such person's property;

(ii) a person 60 years of age or older at the time of the offense or such person's property; or

(iii) a person who had a physical disability at the time of the offense or such person's property; or

(4) When a defendant is convicted of any felony and the offense involved any of the following types of specific misconduct committed as part of a ceremony, rite, initiation, observance, performance, practice or activity of any actual or ostensible religious, fraternal, or social group:

(i) the brutalizing or torturing of humans or animals;

(ii) the theft of human corpses;

(iii) the kidnapping of humans;

(iv) the desecration of any cemetery, religious, fraternal, business, governmental, educational, or other building or property; or

(v) ritualized abuse of a child; or

(5) When a defendant is convicted of a felony other than conspiracy and the court finds that the felony was committed under an agreement with 2 or more other persons to commit that offense and the defendant, with respect to the other individuals, occupied a position of organizer, supervisor, financier, or any other position of management or leadership, and the court further finds that the felony committed was related to or in furtherance of the criminal activities of an organized gang or was motivated by the defendant's leadership in an organized gang; or

(6) When a defendant is convicted of an offense committed while using a firearm with a laser sight attached to it. For purposes of this paragraph, "laser sight" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 26-7 of the Criminal Code of 2012; or

(7) When a defendant who was at least 17 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense is convicted of a felony and has been previously adjudicated a delinquent minor under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for an act that if committed by an adult would be a Class X or Class 1 felony when the conviction has occurred within 10 years after the previous adjudication, excluding time spent in custody; or

(8) When a defendant commits any felony and the defendant used, possessed, exercised control over, or otherwise directed an animal to assault a law enforcement officer engaged in the execution of his or her official duties or in furtherance of the criminal activities of an organized gang in which the defendant is engaged; or

(9) When a defendant commits any felony and the defendant knowingly video or audio records the offense with the intent to disseminate the recording.

(c) The following factors may be considered by the court as reasons to impose an extended term sentence under Section 5-8-2 (730 ILCS 5/5-8-2) upon any offender for the listed offenses:

(1) When a defendant is convicted of first degree murder, after having been previously convicted in Illinois of any offense listed under paragraph (c)(2) of Section 5-5-3 (730 ILCS 5/5-5-3), when that conviction has occurred within 10 years after the previous conviction, excluding time spent in custody, and the charges are separately brought and tried and arise out of different series of acts.

(1.5) When a defendant is convicted of first degree murder, after having been previously convicted of domestic battery (720 ILCS 5/12-3.2) or aggravated domestic battery (720 ILCS 5/12-3.3) committed on the same victim or after having been previously convicted of violation of an order of protection (720 ILCS 5/12-30) in which the same victim was the protected person.

(2) When a defendant is convicted of voluntary manslaughter, second degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, or reckless homicide in which the defendant has been convicted of causing the death of more than one individual.

(3) When a defendant is convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault or criminal sexual assault, when there is a finding that aggravated criminal sexual assault or criminal sexual assault was also committed on the same victim by one or more other individuals, and the defendant voluntarily participated in the crime with the knowledge of the participation of the others in the crime, and the commission of the crime was part of a single course of conduct during which there was no substantial change in the nature of the criminal objective.

(4) If the victim was under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, when a defendant is convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault or predatory criminal sexual assault of a child under subsection (a)(1) of Section 11-1.40 or subsection (a)(1) of Section 12-14.1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/11-1.40 or 5/12-14.1).

(5) When a defendant is convicted of a felony violation of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/24-1) and there is a finding that the defendant is a member of an organized gang.

(6) When a defendant was convicted of unlawful possession of weapons under Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/24-1) for possessing a weapon that is not readily distinguishable as one of the weapons enumerated in Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/24-1).

(7) When a defendant is convicted of an offense involving the illegal manufacture of a controlled substance under Section 401 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (720 ILCS 570/401), the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine under Section 25 of the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act (720 ILCS 646/25), or the illegal possession of explosives and an emergency response officer in the performance of his or her duties is killed or injured at the scene of the offense while responding to the emergency caused by the commission of the offense. In this paragraph, "emergency" means a situation in which a person's life, health, or safety is in jeopardy; and "emergency response officer" means a peace officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, emergency medical technician-ambulance, emergency medical technician-intermediate, emergency medical technician-paramedic, ambulance driver, other medical assistance or first aid personnel, or hospital emergency room personnel.

(8) When the defendant is convicted of attempted mob action, solicitation to commit mob action, or conspiracy to commit mob action under Section 8-1, 8-2, or 8-4 of the Criminal Code of 2012, where the criminal object is a violation of Section 25-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012, and an electronic communication is used in the commission of the offense. For the purposes of this paragraph (8), "electronic communication" shall have the meaning provided in Section 26.5-0.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

(d) For the purposes of this Section, "organized gang" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act.

(e) The court may impose an extended term sentence under Article 4.5 of Chapter V upon an offender who has been convicted of a felony violation of Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 when the victim of the offense is under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense and, during the commission of the offense, the victim was under the influence of alcohol, regardless of whether or not the alcohol was supplied by the offender; and the offender, at the time of the commission of the offense, knew or should have known that the victim had consumed alcohol.

(Source: P.A. 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-982, eff. 7-1-23; 103-822, eff. 1-1-25; 103-825, eff. 1-1-25; revised 11-26-24.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.