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.
Stalking. (2010)
(a) A person commits
stalking when he or she knowingly engages in a course of conduct directed at a
specific person, and he or she knows or should know that this course of conduct
would cause a reasonable person to:
(1)
fear for
his or her safety or the safety of a third person;
or
(2)
suffer
other emotional distress.
(a-3) 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.
(c) Definitions. For purposes of this
Section:
(1)
"Course
of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including but not limited to acts in which a
defendant directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method,
device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or
communicates to or about, a person, engages in other non-consensual contact, or
interferes with or damages a person's property or pet. A course of conduct may
include contact via electronic
communications.
(2)
"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, electromagnetic,
photoelectric, or photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes
transmissions by a computer through the Internet to another
computer.
(3)
"Emotional distress" means
significant mental suffering, anxiety or
alarm.
(4)
"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.
(5)
"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.
(6)
"Non-consensual contact" means any
contact with the victim that is initiated or continued without the victim's
consent, including but not limited to being in the physical presence of the
victim; appearing within the sight of the victim; approaching or confronting the
victim in a public place or on private property; appearing at the workplace or
residence of the victim; entering onto or remaining on property owned, leased,
or occupied by the victim; or placing an object on, or delivering an object to,
property owned, leased, or occupied by the
victim.
(7)
"Places a
person under surveillance" means: (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.
(8)
"Reasonable person" means a person
in the victim's situation.
(9)
"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.
(d) Exemptions.
(1)
This
Section does not apply to any individual or organization (i) monitoring or
attentive to compliance with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour
requirements, or other statutory requirements, or (ii) picketing occurring at
the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor
dispute, including 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.
(2)
This
Section does not apply to an exercise of the right to free speech or assembly
that is otherwise lawful.
(3)
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.
(d-5) The
incarceration of a person in a penal institution who commits the course of
conduct
or transmits a threat is not a bar to prosecution under this
Section.
720 ILCS 5/12-7.4.
Aggravated stalking. (2010)
(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, a stalking no contact
order, a civil no contact order, 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)
Exemptions.
(1)
This
Section does not apply to any individual or organization (i) monitoring or
attentive to compliance with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour
requirements, or other statutory requirements, or (ii) picketing occurring at
the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor
dispute including any controversy concerning wages, salaries, hours, working
conditions or benefits, including health and welfare, sick leave, insurance, and
pension or retirement provisions, the managing or maintenance of collective
bargaining agreements, and the terms to be included in those
agreements.
(2)
This
Section does not apply to an exercise of the right of free speech or assembly
that is otherwise lawful.
(3)
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 5/12-7.5. Cyberstalking. (2010)
(a)
A
person commits cyberstalking when he or she engages in a course of conduct using
electronic communication directed at a specific person, and he or she knows or
should know that would cause a reasonable person to:
(1)
fear
for his or her safety or the safety of a third person; or
(2)
suffer
other emotional distress.
(a-3) 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)
Sentence.
Cyberstalking is a Class 4 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for
cyberstalking is a Class 3 felony.
(c)
For
purposes of this Section:
(1)
"Course
of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including but not limited to acts in which a
defendant directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method,
device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or
communicates to or about, a person, engages in other non-consensual contact, or
interferes with or damages a person's property or pet. The incarceration in a
penal institution of a person who commits the course of conduct is not a bar to
prosecution under this Section.
(2)
"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,
electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system. "Electronic
communication" includes transmissions by a computer through the Internet to
another computer.
(3)
"Emotional
distress" means significant mental suffering, anxiety or
alarm.
(4)
"Harass"
means to engage in a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a
specific person that alarms, torments, or terrorizes that
person.
(5)
"Non-consensual
contact" means any contact with the victim that is initiated or continued
without the victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the physical
presence of the victim; appearing within the sight of the victim; approaching or
confronting the victim in a public place or on private property; appearing at
the workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto or remaining on property
owned, leased, or occupied by the victim; or placing an object on, or delivering
an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied by the
victim.
(6)
"Reasonable
person" means a person in the victim's circumstances, with the victim's
knowledge of the defendant and the defendant's prior acts.
(7)
"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.
(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. 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.
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.