Public Act 095-0984
 		





SB2855 Enrolled
LRB095 19679 RLC 46030 b






    AN ACT concerning criminal law.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:


 
    Section 5. The Harassing and Obscene Communications Act is 
amended  by changing Sections 1-2 and 2 as follows:
 



    (720 ILCS 135/1-2)



    Sec. 1-2. Harassment through electronic communications. 

    (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.


        (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.

(Source: P.A. 90-578, eff. 6-1-98; 91-878, eff. 1-1-01.)

 



    (720 ILCS 135/2)  (from Ch. 134, par. 16.5)



    Sec. 2. Sentence. 

    (a) Except as provided in
subsection (b), a
person who 
violates any of the provisions of
Section 1, 1-1, or 1-2 of 
this Act
is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
Except as provided

in subsection (b), a second or subsequent
violation of Section 
1, 1-1, or 1-2 of this
Act 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 1,
1-1, or
1-2 of this Act 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 under Section 1-1 
    of this Act, harassment through electronic
communications 
    under Section 1-2 of this Act, or any similar offense of 
    any
state;


        (2) The person has previously violated the harassment 
    by telephone
provisions of Section 1-1 of this Act or the 
    harassment through electronic
communications provisions of 
    Section 1-2 of this Act or committed any similar
offense in 
    any 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 bail,
probation, 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


        (6) The person violates paragraph (4.1) of Section 1-1 
    or paragraph
(3.1) of subsection (a) of Section 1-2; 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.

(Source: P.A. 90-578, eff. 6-1-98; 91-878, eff. 1-1-01.)