Public Act 096-1132
 
HB4987 EnrolledLRB096 17720 AJT 33085 b

    AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Section 18c-7502 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/18c-7502)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7502)
    Sec. 18c-7502. Malicious removal of or damage to railroad
property or freight.
    (a) Malicious removal of or damage to railroad property or
freight.
    A person is guilty of an offense if he or she is found to
have:
        (i) removed, taken, stolen, changed, added to, taken
    from, or in any manner changed, defaced, or interfered with
    any of the parts or attachments of any locomotive or car,
    or any plant or property used in or in connection with the
    operation of any railroad carrier, locomotive, car, or
    train, or shoots, throws, or drops any object onto or at
    any train, locomotive, or car;
        (ii) willfully and with intent to permanently deprive
    the owner thereof, taken or removed railroad freight from
    any freight car, including a boxcar, container, or flatbed;
    or
        (iii) bought or received any of the railroad freight
    described in item (ii), having reason to know that such
    freight was stolen; or .
        (iv) willfully placed upon an active railroad track or
    railroad right of way any object or objects that would
    adversely affect safe railroad operations.
    (b) Penalties.
            (1) If the railroad property damage does not exceed
        $500 and no bodily injury occurs to another as a result
        of a violation of this Section, the person shall be
        guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Upon being found in
        violation of item (i) of subsection (a), the person
        shall, in addition to such other sanctions as may be
        deemed appropriate by the court, be subject to pay the
        railroad carrier involved the cost to repair any
        railroad property damaged, and to perform community
        service for not less than 30 hours or more than 120
        hours. If community service is not available in the
        jurisdiction where the offense was committed, that
        person shall be subject to pay a fine of not less than
        $150 or more than $1,000, or imprisonment for not less
        than 5 days or more than 1 year, or both. If railroad
        property damage exceeds $500 or bodily injury occurs to
        another as a result of a violation of this Section, the
        person shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony. Upon being
        found in violation of item (i) of subsection (a), the
        person shall, in addition to such other sanctions as
        may be deemed appropriate by the court, be subject to
        pay the railroad carrier involved for the cost to
        repair any railroad property damaged, and shall be
        fined not less than $1,000, nor more than $25,000, or
        imprisonment for not less than 1 year, or more than 3
        years, or both. If serious bodily injury or death
        occurs to another as a result of a violation of item
        (i) of subsection (a), the person shall be guilty of a
        Class 2 felony and shall, in addition to such sanctions
        as may be deemed appropriate by the court, be subject
        to pay the railroad carrier involved the cost to repair
        any railroad property damaged, and shall be fined not
        less than $5,000 nor more than $25,000, or imprisonment
        for not less than 3 years nor more than 7 years, or
        both. If any such action is malicious and is the cause
        of wrecking any train, locomotive, or car in this State
        whereby the life of any person is lost, the person
        found guilty thereof shall be liable for first degree
        murder and the person shall be subject to pay the
        railroad carrier involved the cost to repair any
        railroad property damaged.
            (2) Upon being found in violation of item (ii), or
        (iii), or (iv) the person shall be guilty of a Class 4
        felony. In addition to such other sanctions as may be
        deemed appropriate by the court, the person shall be
        subject to pay the railroad carrier involved for the
        cost to repair any railroad property damaged, and shall
        be fined not less than $1,000, nor more than $25,000,
        or imprisoned for not less than 1 year nor more than 3
        years.
            (3) Local authorities shall impose fines as
        established in this subsection (b) for persons found in
        violation of this Section or any similar local
        ordinance.
    (c) Definitions. As used in this Section:
    "Bodily injury" means:
        (i) a cut, abrasion, bruise, bump, or disfigurement;
        (ii) physical pain;
        (iii) illness;
        (iv) impairment of the function of a bodily member,
    organ, or mental faculty; or
        (v) any other injury to the body, no matter how
    temporary.
    "Railroad" means any form of nonhighway ground
transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic
guideways, including:
        (i) commuter or other short-haul railroad passenger
    service in a metropolitan or urban area; and
        (ii) high-speed ground transportation systems that
    connect metropolitan areas, but does not include rapid
    transit operations in an urban area that are not connected
    to the general railroad system of transportation.
    "Railroad carrier" means a person providing railroad
transportation.
    "Railroad property" means all tangible property owned,
leased, or operated by a railroad carrier including a right of
way, track, bridge, yard, shop, station, tunnel, viaduct,
trestle, depot, warehouse, terminal, or any other structure,
appurtenance, or equipment owned, leased, or used in the
operation of any railroad carrier including trains,
locomotives, engines, railroad cars, work equipment, rolling
stock, or safety devices. "Railroad property" does not include
a railroad carrier's administrative buildings or offices,
office equipment, or intangible property such as software or
other information.
    "Right of way" means the track or roadbed owned, leased, or
operated by a rail carrier that is located on either side of
its tracks and that is readily recognizable to a reasonable
person as being railroad property or is reasonably identified
as such by fencing or appropriate signs.
    "Yard" means a system of parallel tracks, crossovers, and
switches where railroad cars are switched and made up into
trains, and where railroad cars, locomotives, and other rolling
stock is kept when not in use or when awaiting repair.
    "Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury that involves:
        (i) a substantial risk of death;
        (ii) extreme physical pain;
        (iii) protracted and obvious disfigurement; or
        (iv) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a
    bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
(Source: P.A. 90-691, eff. 1-1-99; 91-532, eff. 1-1-00.)