HB4600 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 17676 RLC 31107 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4600

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Rep. Nicolle Grasse and Michelle Mussman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

720 ILCS 5/12-0.1
720 ILCS 5/12-2	from Ch. 38, par. 12-2
720 ILCS 5/12-3.05	was 720 ILCS 5/12-4
720 ILCS 5/12-9.5 new

Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Health Care at Home Workforce Protection Act. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides for enhancement of assault or battery to aggravated assault or aggravated battery under certain circumstances if the person knows that the individual assaulted or battered is a health care at home provider or the health care at home provider's family or household members. Creates the offense of threatening a health care at home provider. Provides that a person commits the offense when: (1) that person knowingly delivers or conveys, directly or indirectly, to a health care at home provider by any means a communication containing a threat that would place that person or a member of his or her immediate family in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint; (2) at the time of the threat, the person knows or should have known that the victim is a health care at home provider or is an immediate family member of a health care at home provider; (3) the threat was conveyed because of an action taken by the health care at home provider acting in his or her employment or volunteer capacity or because of the victim's professional or employment status; (4) there is no consent by the person threatened; and (5) the threat contains specific facts indicative of a unique threat to the health care at home provider or his or her immediate family and not a generalized threat of harm. Provides that threatening a health care at home provider is a Class 4 felony for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense. Defines "health care at home provider".

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 1. This Act may be referred to as the Health Care at Home Workforce Protection Act.

Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by changing Sections 12-0.1, 12-2, and 12-3.05 and by adding Section 12-9.5 as follows:

(720 ILCS 5/12-0.1)

Sec. 12-0.1. Definitions. In this Article, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

"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.

"Coach" means a person recognized as a coach by the sanctioning authority that conducts an athletic contest.

"Correctional institution employee" means a person employed by a penal institution.

"Emergency medical services personnel" has the meaning specified in Section 3.5 of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act and shall include all ambulance crew members, including drivers or pilots.

"Family or household members" include 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 have a child in common, persons who share or allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship, persons with disabilities and their personal assistants, and caregivers as defined in Section 12-4.4a of this Code. 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.

"Health care at home provider" means any employee or volunteer of an Illinois licensed hospice or home health program or a home nursing provider.

"In the presence of a child" means in the physical presence of a child or knowing or having reason to know that a child is present and may see or hear an act constituting an offense.

"Park district employee" means a supervisor, director, instructor, or other person employed by a park district.

"Person with a physical disability" means a person who suffers from a permanent and disabling physical characteristic, resulting from disease, injury, functional disorder, or congenital condition.

"Private security officer" means a registered employee of a private security contractor agency under the Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004.

"Probation officer" means a person as defined in the Probation and Probation Officers Act.

"Sports official" means a person at an athletic contest who enforces the rules of the contest, such as an umpire or referee.

"Sports venue" means a publicly or privately owned sports or entertainment arena, stadium, community or convention hall, special event center, or amusement facility, or a special event center in a public park, during the 12 hours before or after the sanctioned sporting event.

"Streetgang", "streetgang member", and "criminal street gang" have the meanings ascribed to those terms in Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act.

"Transit employee" means a driver, operator, or employee of any transportation facility or system engaged in the business of transporting the public for hire.

"Transit passenger" means a passenger of any transportation facility or system engaged in the business of transporting the public for hire, including a passenger using any area designated by a transportation facility or system as a vehicle boarding, departure, or transfer location.

"Utility worker" means any of the following:

(1) A person employed by a public utility as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.

(2) An employee of a municipally owned utility.

(3) An employee of a cable television company.

(4) An employee of an electric cooperative as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act.

(5) An independent contractor or an employee of an independent contractor working on behalf of a cable television company, public utility, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative.

(6) An employee of a telecommunications carrier as defined in Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act, or an independent contractor or an employee of an independent contractor working on behalf of a telecommunications carrier.

(7) An employee of a telephone or telecommunications cooperative as defined in Section 13-212 of the Public Utilities Act, or an independent contractor or an employee of an independent contractor working on behalf of a telephone or telecommunications cooperative.

(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-816, eff. 8-15-16.)

(720 ILCS 5/12-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-2)

Sec. 12-2. Aggravated assault.

(a) Offense based on location of conduct. A person commits aggravated assault when he or she commits an assault against an individual who is on or about a public way, public property, a public place of accommodation or amusement, or a sports venue, or in a church, synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place used for religious worship.

(b) Offense based on status of victim. A person commits aggravated assault when, in committing an assault, he or she knows the individual assaulted to be any of the following:

(1) A person with a physical disability or a person 60 years of age or older and the assault is without legal justification.

(2) A teacher or school employee upon school grounds or grounds adjacent to a school or in any part of a building used for school purposes.

(3) A park district employee upon park grounds or grounds adjacent to a park or in any part of a building used for park purposes.

(4) A community policing volunteer, private security officer, or utility worker:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(4.1) A peace officer, fireman, emergency management worker, or emergency medical services personnel:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(5) A correctional officer or probation officer:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(6) A correctional institution employee, a county juvenile detention center employee who provides direct and continuous supervision of residents of a juvenile detention center, including a county juvenile detention center employee who supervises recreational activity for residents of a juvenile detention center, or a Department of Human Services employee, Department of Human Services officer, or employee of a subcontractor of the Department of Human Services supervising or controlling sexually dangerous persons or sexually violent persons:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(7) An employee of the State of Illinois, a municipal corporation therein, or a political subdivision thereof, performing his or her official duties.

(8) A transit employee performing his or her official duties, or a transit passenger.

(9) A sports official or coach actively participating in any level of athletic competition within a sports venue, on an indoor playing field or outdoor playing field, or within the immediate vicinity of such a facility or field.

(10) A person authorized to serve process under Section 2-202 of the Code of Civil Procedure or a special process server appointed by the circuit court, while that individual is in the performance of his or her duties as a process server.

(11) A health care at home provider or the health care at home provider's family or household members under all of the following circumstances:

(A) the conduct is in response to an action by the health care at home provider acting in his or her capacity as a health care at home provider or because of the health care at home provider's professional or employment status;

(B) there is no consent by the person harmed or threatened by the conduct; and

(C) the conduct includes specific facts indicative of a unique threat to or action against the health care at home provider or his or her immediate family and not a generalized threat of harm.

(c) Offense based on use of firearm, device, or motor vehicle. A person commits aggravated assault when, in committing an assault, he or she does any of the following:

(1) Uses a deadly weapon, an air rifle as defined in Section 24.8-0.1 of this Act, or any device manufactured and designed to be substantially similar in appearance to a firearm, other than by discharging a firearm.

(2) Discharges a firearm, other than from a motor vehicle.

(3) Discharges a firearm from a motor vehicle.

(4) Wears a hood, robe, or mask to conceal his or her identity.

(5) Knowingly and without lawful justification shines or flashes a laser gun sight or other laser device attached to a firearm, or used in concert with a firearm, so that the laser beam strikes near or in the immediate vicinity of any person.

(6) Uses a firearm, other than by discharging the firearm, against a peace officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, private security officer, emergency management worker, emergency medical services personnel, employee of a police department, employee of a sheriff's department, or traffic control municipal employee:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(7) Without justification operates a motor vehicle in a manner which places a person, other than a person listed in subdivision (b)(4), in reasonable apprehension of being struck by the moving motor vehicle.

(8) Without justification operates a motor vehicle in a manner which places a person listed in subdivision (b)(4), in reasonable apprehension of being struck by the moving motor vehicle.

(9) Knowingly video or audio records the offense with the intent to disseminate the recording.

(d) Sentence. Aggravated assault as defined in subdivision (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(7), (b)(8), (b)(9), (c)(1), (c)(4), or (c)(9) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that aggravated assault as defined in subdivision (b)(4) and (b)(7) is a Class 4 felony if a Category I, Category II, or Category III weapon is used in the commission of the assault. Aggravated assault as defined in subdivision (b)(4.1), (b)(5), (b)(6), (b)(10), (b)(11), (c)(2), (c)(5), (c)(6), or (c)(7) is a Class 4 felony. Aggravated assault as defined in subdivision (c)(3) or (c)(8) is a Class 3 felony.

(e) For the purposes of this Section, "Category I weapon", "Category II weapon", and "Category III weapon" have the meanings ascribed to those terms in Section 33A-1 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 101-223, eff. 1-1-20; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)

(720 ILCS 5/12-3.05) (was 720 ILCS 5/12-4)

Sec. 12-3.05. Aggravated battery.

(a) Offense based on injury. A person commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, other than by the discharge of a firearm, he or she knowingly does any of the following:

(1) Causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement.

(2) Causes severe and permanent disability, great bodily harm, or disfigurement by means of a caustic or flammable substance, a poisonous gas, a deadly biological or chemical contaminant or agent, a radioactive substance, or a bomb or explosive compound.

(3) Causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to an individual whom the person knows to be a peace officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, private security officer, correctional institution employee, or Department of Human Services employee supervising or controlling sexually dangerous persons or sexually violent persons:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) battered to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) battered in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(4) Causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to an individual 60 years of age or older.

(5) Strangles another individual.

(b) Offense based on injury to a child or person with an intellectual disability. A person who is at least 18 years of age commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, he or she knowingly and without legal justification by any means:

(1) causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to any child under the age of 13 years, or to any person with a severe or profound intellectual disability; or

(2) causes bodily harm or disability or disfigurement to any child under the age of 13 years or to any person with a severe or profound intellectual disability.

(c) Offense based on location of conduct. A person commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, other than by the discharge of a firearm, he or she is or the person battered is on or about a public way, public property, a public place of accommodation or amusement, a sports venue, or a domestic violence shelter, or in a church, synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place used for religious worship.

(d) Offense based on status of victim. A person commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, other than by discharge of a firearm, he or she knows the individual battered to be any of the following:

(1) A person 60 years of age or older.

(2) A person who is pregnant or has a physical disability.

(3) A teacher or school employee upon school grounds or grounds adjacent to a school or in any part of a building used for school purposes.

(4) A peace officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, private security officer, correctional institution employee, or Department of Human Services employee supervising or controlling sexually dangerous persons or sexually violent persons:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) battered to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) battered in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(5) A judge, emergency management worker, emergency medical services personnel, or utility worker:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) battered to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) battered in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(6) An officer or employee of the State of Illinois, a unit of local government, or a school district, while performing his or her official duties.

(7) A transit employee performing his or her official duties, or a transit passenger.

(8) A taxi driver on duty.

(9) A merchant who detains the person for an alleged commission of retail theft under Section 16-26 of this Code and the person without legal justification by any means causes bodily harm to the merchant.

(10) A person authorized to serve process under Section 2-202 of the Code of Civil Procedure or a special process server appointed by the circuit court while that individual is in the performance of his or her duties as a process server.

(11) A nurse while in the performance of his or her duties as a nurse.

(12) A merchant: (i) while performing his or her duties, including, but not limited to, relaying directions for healthcare or safety from his or her supervisor or employer or relaying health or safety guidelines, recommendations, regulations, or rules from a federal, State, or local public health agency; and (ii) during a disaster declared by the Governor, or a state of emergency declared by the mayor of the municipality in which the merchant is located, due to a public health emergency and for a period of 6 months after such declaration.

(13) A health care at home provider or the health care at home provider's family or household members under all of the following circumstances:

(A) the act is in response to an action by the health care at home provider acting in his or her capacity as a health care at home provider or because of the health care at home provider's professional or employment status; and

(B) there is no consent by the person harmed.

(e) Offense based on use of a firearm. A person commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, he or she knowingly does any of the following:

(1) Discharges a firearm, other than a machine gun or a firearm equipped with a silencer, and causes any injury to another person.

(2) Discharges a firearm, other than a machine gun or a firearm equipped with a silencer, and causes any injury to a person he or she knows to be a peace officer, community policing volunteer, person summoned by a police officer, fireman, private security officer, correctional institution employee, or emergency management worker:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) battered to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) battered in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(3) Discharges a firearm, other than a machine gun or a firearm equipped with a silencer, and causes any injury to a person he or she knows to be emergency medical services personnel:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) battered to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) battered in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(4) Discharges a firearm and causes any injury to a person he or she knows to be a teacher, a student in a school, or a school employee, and the teacher, student, or employee is upon school grounds or grounds adjacent to a school or in any part of a building used for school purposes.

(5) Discharges a machine gun or a firearm equipped with a silencer, and causes any injury to another person.

(6) Discharges a machine gun or a firearm equipped with a silencer, and causes any injury to a person he or she knows to be a peace officer, community policing volunteer, person summoned by a police officer, fireman, private security officer, correctional institution employee or emergency management worker:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) battered to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) battered in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(7) Discharges a machine gun or a firearm equipped with a silencer, and causes any injury to a person he or she knows to be emergency medical services personnel:

(i) performing his or her official duties;

(ii) battered to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or

(iii) battered in retaliation for performing his or her official duties.

(8) Discharges a machine gun or a firearm equipped with a silencer, and causes any injury to a person he or she knows to be a teacher, or a student in a school, or a school employee, and the teacher, student, or employee is upon school grounds or grounds adjacent to a school or in any part of a building used for school purposes.

(f) Offense based on use of a weapon or device. A person commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, he or she does any of the following:

(1) Uses a deadly weapon other than by discharge of a firearm, or uses an air rifle as defined in Section 24.8-0.1 of this Code.

(2) Wears a hood, robe, or mask to conceal his or her identity.

(3) Knowingly and without lawful justification shines or flashes a laser gunsight or other laser device attached to a firearm, or used in concert with a firearm, so that the laser beam strikes upon or against the person of another.

(4) Knowingly video or audio records the offense with the intent to disseminate the recording.

(g) Offense based on certain conduct. A person commits aggravated battery when, other than by discharge of a firearm, he or she does any of the following:

(1) Violates Section 401 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act by unlawfully delivering a controlled substance to another and any user experiences great bodily harm or permanent disability as a result of the injection, inhalation, or ingestion of any amount of the controlled substance.

(2) Knowingly administers to an individual or causes him or her to take, without his or her consent or by threat or deception, and for other than medical purposes, any intoxicating, poisonous, stupefying, narcotic, anesthetic, or controlled substance, or gives to another person any food containing any substance or object intended to cause physical injury if eaten.

(3) Knowingly causes or attempts to cause a correctional institution employee or Department of Human Services employee to come into contact with blood, seminal fluid, urine, or feces by throwing, tossing, or expelling the fluid or material, and the person is an inmate of a penal institution or is a sexually dangerous person or sexually violent person in the custody of the Department of Human Services.

(h) Sentence. Unless otherwise provided, aggravated battery is a Class 3 felony.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (a)(4), (d)(4), or (g)(3) is a Class 2 felony.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (a)(3) or (g)(1) is a Class 1 felony.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (a)(1) is a Class 1 felony when the aggravated battery was intentional and involved the infliction of torture, as defined in paragraph (10) of subsection (b-5) of Section 5-8-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections, as the infliction of or subjection to extreme physical pain, motivated by an intent to increase or prolong the pain, suffering, or agony of the victim.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (a)(1) is a Class 2 felony when the person causes great bodily harm or permanent disability to an individual whom the person knows to be a member of a congregation engaged in prayer or other religious activities at a church, synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place used for religious worship.

Aggravated battery under subdivision (a)(5) is a Class 1 felony if:

(A) the person used or attempted to use a dangerous instrument while committing the offense;

(B) the person caused great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to the other person while committing the offense; or

(C) the person has been previously convicted of a violation of subdivision (a)(5) under the laws of this State or laws similar to subdivision (a)(5) of any other state.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (e)(1) is a Class X felony.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (a)(2) is a Class X felony for which a person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of a minimum of 6 years and a maximum of 45 years.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (e)(5) is a Class X felony for which a person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of a minimum of 12 years and a maximum of 45 years.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (e)(2), (e)(3), or (e)(4) is a Class X felony for which a person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 60 years.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (e)(6), (e)(7), or (e)(8) is a Class X felony for which a person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 60 years.

Aggravated battery as defined in subdivision (b)(1) is a Class X felony, except that:

(1) if the person committed the offense while armed with a firearm, 15 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court;

(2) if, during the commission of the offense, the person personally discharged a firearm, 20 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court;

(3) if, during the commission of the offense, the person personally discharged a firearm that proximately caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or death to another person, 25 years or up to a term of natural life shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court.

(i) Definitions. In this Section:

"Building or other structure used to provide shelter" has the meaning ascribed to "shelter" in Section 1 of the Domestic Violence Shelters Act.

"Domestic violence" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.

"Domestic violence shelter" means any building or other structure used to provide shelter or other services to victims or to the dependent children of victims of domestic violence pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 or the Domestic Violence Shelters Act, or any place within 500 feet of such a building or other structure in the case of a person who is going to or from such a building or other structure.

"Firearm" has the meaning provided under Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act, and does not include an air rifle as defined by Section 24.8-0.1 of this Code.

"Machine gun" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 24-1 of this Code.

"Merchant" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 16-0.1 of this Code.

"Strangle" means intentionally impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of an individual by applying pressure on the throat or neck of that individual or by blocking the nose or mouth of that individual.

(Source: P.A. 103-51, eff. 1-1-24.)

(720 ILCS 5/12-9.5 new)

Sec. 12-9.5. Threatening health care at home providers.

(a) A person commits threatening a health care at home provider when:

(1) that person knowingly delivers or conveys, directly or indirectly, to a health care at home provider by any means a communication containing a threat that would place the health care at home provider or a member of his or her immediate family in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint;

(2) at the time of the threat, the person knows or should have known that the victim is a health care at home provider or is an immediate family member of a health care at home provider;

(3) the threat was conveyed because of an action taken by the health care at home provider acting in his or her employment or volunteer capacity or because of the victim's professional or employment status;

(4) there is no consent by the person threatened; and

(5) the threat contains specific facts indicative of a unique threat to the health care at home provider or his or her immediate family and not a generalized threat of harm.

(b) As used in this Section, "immediate family" means a health care at home provider's parent, spouse, sibling, child, stepchild, or foster child.

(c) Sentence. Threatening a health care at home provider is a Class 4 felony for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense.