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1 | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by changing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Section 48-3 as follows: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | (720 ILCS 5/48-3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 48-3. Hunter or fisherman interference. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | (a) Definitions. As used in this Section: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | "Aquatic life" means all fish, reptiles, amphibians, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | crayfish, and mussels the taking of which is
authorized
by | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | the Fish and Aquatic Life Code. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | "Interfere with" means to take any action that | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | physically impedes, hinders,
or obstructs the lawful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | taking of wildlife or aquatic life. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | "Taking" means the capture or killing of wildlife or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | aquatic life and
includes
travel, camping, and other acts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | preparatory to taking which occur on lands
or waters upon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | which the affected person has the right or privilege to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | take
such wildlife or aquatic life. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | "Wildlife" means any wildlife the taking of which is
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21 | authorized
by the Wildlife Code and includes those species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | that are lawfully
released by properly licensed permittees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | of the Department of Natural
Resources. |
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1 | (b) A person commits hunter or fisherman interference when | ||||||
2 | he or she intentionally or knowingly: | ||||||
3 | (1) obstructs or interferes with the lawful taking of
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4 | wildlife or aquatic life by another person with the | ||||||
5 | specific
intent to prevent that lawful taking; | ||||||
6 | (2) drives or disturbs wildlife or aquatic life for the | ||||||
7 | purpose of disrupting a lawful
taking of wildlife or | ||||||
8 | aquatic life; | ||||||
9 | (3) blocks, impedes, or physically harasses another | ||||||
10 | person who is engaged
in the process of lawfully taking | ||||||
11 | wildlife or aquatic life; | ||||||
12 | (4) uses natural or artificial visual, aural, | ||||||
13 | olfactory, gustatory, or
physical stimuli to affect | ||||||
14 | wildlife or aquatic life behavior in order to hinder or | ||||||
15 | prevent the
lawful taking of wildlife or aquatic life; | ||||||
16 | (5) erects barriers with the intent to deny ingress or | ||||||
17 | egress to or from
areas where the lawful taking of wildlife | ||||||
18 | or aquatic life may occur; | ||||||
19 | (6) intentionally interjects himself or herself into | ||||||
20 | the line of fire or fishing lines of a
person lawfully | ||||||
21 | taking wildlife or aquatic life; | ||||||
22 | (7) affects the physical condition or placement of | ||||||
23 | personal or public
property intended for use in the lawful | ||||||
24 | taking of wildlife or aquatic life in order to
impair the | ||||||
25 | usefulness of the property or prevent the use of the | ||||||
26 | property; |
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1 | (8) enters or remains upon or over private lands | ||||||
2 | without the permission of
the
owner or the owner's agent, | ||||||
3 | with the intent to violate this subsection; | ||||||
4 | (9) fails to obey the order of a peace officer to | ||||||
5 | desist from conduct
in violation of this subsection (b) if | ||||||
6 | the officer observes the conduct,
or has reasonable grounds | ||||||
7 | to believe that the person has engaged in the conduct that | ||||||
8 | day or that the person plans or intends to engage in the | ||||||
9 | conduct
that day on a specific premises; or | ||||||
10 | (10) uses a drone in a way that interferes with another | ||||||
11 | person's lawful taking of
wildlife or aquatic life. For the | ||||||
12 | purposes of this paragraph (10), "drone" means any aerial | ||||||
13 | vehicle that does not carry a human operator. | ||||||
14 | (c) Exemptions; defenses. | ||||||
15 | (1) This Section does not apply to actions performed by | ||||||
16 | authorized employees of
the Department of Natural | ||||||
17 | Resources, duly accredited officers of the U.S. Fish
and | ||||||
18 | Wildlife Service, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, or other | ||||||
19 | peace officers if the
actions are authorized by law and are | ||||||
20 | necessary for the performance of their
official duties. | ||||||
21 | (2) This Section does not apply to landowners, tenants, | ||||||
22 | or lease holders
exercising their legal rights to the | ||||||
23 | enjoyment of land, including, but not
limited to, farming | ||||||
24 | and restricting trespass , except when those actions are | ||||||
25 | knowingly or intentionally interfering with the lawful | ||||||
26 | taking of wildlife or aquatic life by an adjacent |
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1 | landowner, tenant, or lease holder . | ||||||
2 | (3) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution for a | ||||||
3 | violation of this
Section that the defendant's conduct is | ||||||
4 | protected by his or her right to
freedom of speech under | ||||||
5 | the constitution of this State or the United States. | ||||||
6 | (4) Any interested parties may engage in protests or | ||||||
7 | other free speech activities
adjacent to or on the | ||||||
8 | perimeter of the location where the lawful taking of | ||||||
9 | wildlife or aquatic life is taking place, provided that | ||||||
10 | none of the provisions of this Section
are being violated. | ||||||
11 | (d) Sentence. A first violation of paragraphs (1) through | ||||||
12 | (8) of subsection (b) is a Class B misdemeanor. A second or | ||||||
13 | subsequent violation of
paragraphs (1) through (8) of | ||||||
14 | subsection (b) is a Class A misdemeanor for which imprisonment | ||||||
15 | for not less than 7 days shall be imposed. A
person guilty of a | ||||||
16 | second or subsequent violation of paragraphs (1) through (8) of | ||||||
17 | subsection (b) is not
eligible for court
supervision. A | ||||||
18 | violation of paragraph (9) or (10) of subsection (b) is a Class | ||||||
19 | A misdemeanor. A court shall revoke, for a period of one year | ||||||
20 | to 5 years, any Illinois
hunting, fishing, or trapping | ||||||
21 | privilege, license or permit of any person
convicted of | ||||||
22 | violating any provision of this Section. For
purposes of this | ||||||
23 | subsection, a "second or subsequent violation" means a | ||||||
24 | conviction
under paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (b) | ||||||
25 | of this Section within 2 years of a prior violation arising | ||||||
26 | from a separate set
of circumstances. |
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1 | (e) Injunctions; damages. | ||||||
2 | (1) Any court may enjoin conduct which would be in | ||||||
3 | violation
of paragraphs (1) through (8) or (10) of | ||||||
4 | subsection (b) upon petition by a person affected or who | ||||||
5 | reasonably
may be affected by the conduct, upon a showing | ||||||
6 | that the conduct is threatened
or that it has occurred on a | ||||||
7 | particular premises in the past and that it
is not | ||||||
8 | unreasonable to expect that under similar circumstances it | ||||||
9 | will be
repeated. | ||||||
10 | (2) A court shall award all resulting costs and damages | ||||||
11 | to any person
adversely affected by a violation of | ||||||
12 | paragraphs (1) through (8) or (10) of subsection (b), which | ||||||
13 | may include an award for
punitive damages. In addition to | ||||||
14 | other items of special damage, the measure of
damages may | ||||||
15 | include expenditures of the affected person for license and | ||||||
16 | permit
fees, travel, guides, special equipment and | ||||||
17 | supplies, to the extent that these
expenditures were | ||||||
18 | rendered futile by prevention of the taking of wildlife or | ||||||
19 | aquatic life.
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20 | (Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13; 98-402, eff. 8-16-13.)
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