SB2741 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 16302 RLC 29688 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB2741

Introduced 1/13/2026, by Sen. Linda Holmes

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

720 ILCS 5/12-7.1	from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1
720 ILCS 5/26.5-2
720 ILCS 5/26.5-5
720 ILCS 5/26.5-3 rep.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Combines harassment by telephone and harassment through electronic communications into one statute. Provides that a person also commits the offense by knowingly making any comment, request, suggestion, or proposal with the intent to harass another and that comment, request, suggestion, or proposal 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.

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 12-7.1, 26.5-2 and 26.5-5 as follows:

(720 ILCS 5/12-7.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1)

Sec. 12-7.1. Hate crime.

(a) A person commits hate crime when, by reason of the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, citizenship, immigration status, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors, he or she commits assault, battery, aggravated assault, intimidation, stalking, cyberstalking, misdemeanor theft, criminal trespass to residence, misdemeanor criminal damage to property, criminal trespass to vehicle, criminal trespass to real property, mob action, disorderly conduct, transmission of obscene messages, harassment by telephone, or harassment through electronic communications as these crimes are defined in Sections 12-1, 12-2, 12-3(a), 12-7.3, 12-7.5, 16-1, 19-4, 21-1, 21-2, 21-3, 25-1, 26-1, 26.5-1, 26.5-2, and paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(3) of Section 12-6, and paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(5) of Section 26.5-3 of this Code, respectively.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (b-5), hate crime is a Class 4 felony for a first offense and a Class 2 felony for a second or subsequent offense.

(b-5) Hate crime is a Class 3 felony for a first offense and a Class 2 felony for a second or subsequent offense if committed:

(1) in, or upon the exterior or grounds of, a church, synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place identified or associated with a particular religion or used for religious worship or other religious purpose;

(2) in a cemetery, mortuary, or other facility used for the purpose of burial or memorializing the dead;

(3) in a school or other educational facility, including an administrative facility or public or private dormitory facility of or associated with the school or other educational facility;

(4) in a public park or an ethnic or religious community center;

(5) on the real property comprising any location specified in clauses (1) through (4) of this subsection (b-5); or

(6) on a public way within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising any location specified in clauses (1) through (4) of this subsection (b-5).

(b-10) Upon imposition of any sentence, the trial court shall also either order restitution paid to the victim or impose a fine in an amount to be determined by the court based on the severity of the crime and the injury or damages suffered by the victim. In addition, any order of probation or conditional discharge entered following a conviction or an adjudication of delinquency shall include a condition that the offender perform public or community service of no less than 200 hours if that service is established in the county where the offender was convicted of hate crime. In addition, any order of probation or conditional discharge entered following a conviction or an adjudication of delinquency shall include a condition that the offender enroll in an educational program discouraging hate crimes involving the protected class identified in subsection (a) that gave rise to the offense the offender committed. The educational program must be attended by the offender in-person and may be administered, as determined by the court, by a university, college, community college, non-profit organization, the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission, or any other organization that provides educational programs discouraging hate crimes, except that programs administered online or that can otherwise be attended remotely are prohibited. The court may also impose any other condition of probation or conditional discharge under this Section. If the court sentences the offender to imprisonment or periodic imprisonment for a violation of this Section, as a condition of the offender's mandatory supervised release, the court shall require that the offender perform public or community service of no less than 200 hours and enroll in an educational program discouraging hate crimes involving the protected class identified in subsection (a) that gave rise to the offense the offender committed.

(c) Independent of any criminal prosecution or the result of a criminal prosecution, any person suffering injury to his or her person, damage to his or her property, intimidation as defined in paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(3) of Section 12-6 of this Code, stalking as defined in Section 12-7.3 of this Code, cyberstalking as defined in Section 12-7.5 of this Code, disorderly conduct as defined in paragraph (a)(1), (a)(4), (a)(5), or (a)(6) of Section 26-1 of this Code, transmission of obscene messages as defined in Section 26.5-1 of this Code, harassment by telephone or electronic communication, or both, as defined in Section 26.5-2 of this Code, or harassment through electronic communications as defined in paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(5) of Section 26.5-3 of this Code as a result of a hate crime may bring a civil action for damages, injunction or other appropriate relief. The court may award actual damages, including damages for emotional distress, as well as punitive damages. The court may impose a civil penalty up to $25,000 for each violation of this subsection (c). A judgment in favor of a person who brings a civil action under this subsection (c) shall include attorney's fees and costs. After consulting with the local State's Attorney, the Attorney General may bring a civil action in the name of the People of the State for an injunction or other equitable relief under this subsection (c). In addition, the Attorney General may request and the court may impose a civil penalty up to $25,000 for each violation under this subsection (c). The parents or legal guardians, other than guardians appointed pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, of an unemancipated minor shall be liable for the amount of any judgment for all damages rendered against such minor under this subsection (c) in any amount not exceeding the amount provided under Section 5 of the Parental Responsibility Law.

(d) "Sexual orientation" has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (O-1) of Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-235, eff. 1-1-22; 102-468, eff. 1-1-22; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)

(720 ILCS 5/26.5-2)

Sec. 26.5-2. Harassment by telephone or electronic communication, or both.

(a) A person commits harassment by telephone or electronic communication, or both, when he or she uses telephone communication or electronic communication, or both, for any of the following purposes:

(1) Making any comment, request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent with an intent to offend or knowingly making any comment, request, suggestion, or proposal with the intent to harass another and that comment, request, suggestion, or proposal 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;

(2) Making a telephone call or transmitting an electronic communication, or both, whether or not conversation or electronic communication ensues, with intent to abuse, threaten injury to, or the property of, any person to whom an electronic communication is directed or to any of his or her family or household members or harass any person at the called number or at the person's email or text message address;

(3) Making or causing the telephone or electronic communication, or both, of another repeatedly to ring or the electronic communication to be repeatedly made, with intent to harass any person at the called number or at the person's email or text message address;

(4) Making repeated telephone calls or electronic communications, or both, during which conversation or text or email messages ensue ensues, solely to harass any person at the called number or at the intended electronic address;

(5) Making a telephone call or electronic communication, or both, or knowingly inducing a person to make a telephone call or electronic communication, or both, 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; or

(6) Knowingly permitting any telephone or electronic communication, or both, under one's control to be used for any of the purposes mentioned herein.

(b) Every telephone directory published for distribution to members of the general public shall contain a notice setting forth a summary of the provisions of this Section. The notice shall be printed in type which is no smaller than any other type on the same page and shall be preceded by the word "WARNING". All telephone companies in this State shall cooperate with law enforcement agencies in using their facilities and personnel to detect and prevent violations of this Article.

(c) 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. 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 or , 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 or , 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 or , 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.

(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.)

(720 ILCS 5/26.5-3 rep.)

Section 10. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by repealing Section 26.5-3.