Illinois
This page lists the most applicable state crimes addressing stalking. However, depending on the facts of the case, a stalker might also be charged with other crimes, such as trespassing, intimidation of a witness, breaking and entering, etc. Check your state code or consult with your local prosecutor about other charges that might apply in a particular case.
*See Legislative updates for
Illinois
720 ILCS 5/12-7.3. [Prior to 1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev.
Stat., Ch. 38,
para. 12-7.3]. Stalking. (2008)
(a) A person commits stalking
when he or she, knowingly and without lawful justification, on at least 2
separate occasions follows another person or places the person under
surveillance or any combination thereof and:
(1)
at any
time transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault,
confinement or restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or a
family member of that person; or
(2)
places
that person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm,
sexual assault, confinement or restraint; or
(3)
places
that person in reasonable apprehension that a family member will receive
immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or
restraint.
(a-5) A person commits stalking
when he or she has previously been convicted
of stalking
another person and knowingly and without lawful justification on one
occasion:
(1) follows that same person or places
that same person under surveillance; and
(2) transmits a threat of immediate or
future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement or restraint;
and
(3) the threat is directed towards
that person or a family member of that person.
(b) Sentence. Stalking
is a Class 4 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for stalking
is a Class 3 felony.
(b-5) The incarceration of a person in a penal
institution who transmits a threat
is not a bar to prosecution under this
Section.
(c) Exemption. This Section does not
apply to picketing occurring at the workplace that is otherwise lawful and
arises out of a bona fide labor dispute, or any exercise of the right of free
speech or assembly that is otherwise lawful.
(d) For the purpose of this Section, a
defendant "places a person under surveillance" by: (1) remaining present outside
the person's school, place of employment, vehicle, other place occupied by the
person, or residence other than the residence of the defendant; or (2) placing
an electronic tracking device on the person or the person's
property.
(e) For the purpose of this Section,
"follows another person" means (i) to move in relative proximity to a person as
that person moves from place to place or (ii) to remain in relative proximity to
a person who is stationary or whose movements are confined to a small area.
"Follows another person" does not include a following within the residence of
the defendant.
(f)
For the
purposes of this Section and Section 12-7.4 [720 ILCS
5/12-7.4], "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.
(g) For the purposes of this Section,
"transmits a threat" means a verbal or written threat or a threat implied by a
pattern of conduct or a combination of verbal or written statements or
conduct.
(h)
For the
purposes of this Section, "family member" means a parent, grandparent, brother,
sister, or child, whether by whole blood, half-blood, or adoption and includes a
step-grandparent, step-parent, step-brother, step-sister or step-child. "Family
member" also means any other person who regularly resides in the household, or
who, within the prior 6 months, regularly resided in the
household.
720 ILCS 5/12-7.4.
[Prior to 1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev. Stat., Ch. 38, para.
12-7.4]. Aggravated stalking.
(1995)
(a) A person commits aggravated stalking
when he or she, in conjunction with committing the offense of stalking,
also does any of the following:
(1)
causes
bodily harm to the victim;
(2)
confines or restrains the victim;
or
(3)
violates a temporary restraining
order, an order of protection, or an injunction prohibiting the behavior
described in subsection (b)(1) of Section 214 of the Illinois
Domestic Violence Act of 1986 [750 ILCS
60/214].
(b) Sentence. Aggravated stalking
is a Class 3 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for aggravated stalking
is a Class 2 felony.
(c) Exemption. This Section does not apply to
picketing occurring at the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of
a bona fide labor dispute, or any exercise of the right of free speech or
assembly that is otherwise lawful.
For purposes of this Section, "bona fide labor dispute" has the
meaning ascribed to it in Section 12-7.3 [720 ILCS
5/12-7.3].
720 ILCS 5/12-7.5.
Cyberstalking. (2008)
(a) A person commits cyberstalking
when he or she, knowingly and without lawful justification, on at least 2
separate occasions, harasses another person through the use of electronic
communication and:
(1)
at any
time transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault,
confinement, or restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or a
family member of that person, or
(2)
places
that person or a family member of that person in reasonable apprehension of
immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint;
or
(3)
at any
time knowingly solicits the commission of an act by any person which would be a
violation of this Code directed towards that person or a family member of that
person.
(a-5) A person commits
cyberstalking when he or she, knowingly and without
lawful justification,
creates and maintains an Internet website or webpage which is accessible to one
or more third parties for a period of at least 24 hours, and which contains
statements harassing another person and:
(1)
which
communicates a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault,
confinement, or restraint, where the threat is directed towards that person or a
family member of that person, or
(2)
which
places that person or a family member of that person in reasonable apprehension
of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint,
or
(3)
which
knowingly solicits the commission of an act by any person which would be a
violation of this Code directed towards that person or a family member of that
person.
(b) As used in this
Section:
"Harass" means to engage in a knowing and willful course of
conduct directed at a specific person that alarms, torments, or terrorizes that
person.
"Third party" means any person other than the person violating
these provisions and the person or persons towards whom the violator's actions
are directed.
"Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs,
signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in
whole or in part by a wire, radio, electronmagnetic, photoelectric, or
photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions by a
computer through the Internet to another computer.
(c) Sentence. Cyberstalking is a Class
4 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for cyberstalking is a Class 3
felony.
(d) 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
720 ILCS
135/1. [Prior to 1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev. Stat.,
Ch.
134, para. 16.4]. Sending obscene messages.
(1998)
Any
person in this State who sends messages or uses language or terms which are
obscene, lewd or immoral with the intent to offend by means of or while using a
telephone or telegraph facilities, equipment or wires of any person, firm or
corporation engaged in the transmission of news or messages between states or
within the State of Illinois
is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. The use of language or terms which are
obscene, lewd or immoral is prima facie evidence of the intent to offend.
720 ILCS 135/1-1.
[Prior to 1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev. Stat.,
Ch.
134, para. 16.4-1].
Harassment by telephone. (2001)
Harassment by
telephone is use of telephone communication 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
(2)
Making
a telephone call, whether or not conversation ensues, with intent to abuse,
threaten or harass any person at the called number;
or
(3)
Making
or causing the telephone of another repeatedly to ring, with intent to harass
any person at the called number; or
(4)
Making
repeated telephone calls, during which conversation ensues, solely to harass any
person at the called number; or
(4.1) Making a telephone call or
knowingly inducing a person to make a
telephone call
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
(5)
Knowingly permitting any telephone
under one's control to be used for any of the purposes mentioned
herein.
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. Such
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
Act.
720 ILCS 135/1-2.
Harassment through electronic
communications. (2009)
(a)
Harassment through electronic communications is the use of
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;
(3.1) 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;
(4)
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
(5)
Knowingly permitting any
electronic communications device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in
this subsection (a).
(a-5) 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.
(b) As used in this
Act:
(1)
"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 by a computer through the Internet to another
computer.
(2)
"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 Act, neither a casual acquaintanceship
nor ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social contexts
shall be deemed to constitute a dating
relationship.
(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.