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    AN ACT concerning vehicles.

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



 
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    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended  by changing 
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Section 12-612 as follows:
 



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    (625 ILCS 5/12-612)



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    Sec. 12-612. False or secret compartment in a motor 
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vehicle. 

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    (a) Offenses.  It is unlawful for any person:
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        (1) to own or operate with criminal intent any motor

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    vehicle he or
she knows to contain a false or secret 
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    compartment that is used or has been used to conceal a 
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    firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1 
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    or paragraph (a)(1) of Section 24-1.6 of the Criminal Code 
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    of 1961, or controlled substance as prohibited by the 
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    Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Methamphetamine 
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    Control and Community Protection Act; or .
It is unlawful 
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    for any person
to knowingly
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        (2) to install, create, build, or fabricate in any 
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    motor vehicle a false
or secret compartment knowing that 
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    another person intends to use the compartment to conceal a 
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    firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1 
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    of the Criminal Code of 1961, or controlled substance as 
 


 






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    prohibited by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the 
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    Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act.

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    (b) Definitions.  For purposes of this Section: , a "false
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        (1) "False or secret
compartment" means an enclosure 
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    integrated into a vehicle that is a modification of the 
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    vehicle as built by the original manufacturer.
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        (2) "Vehicle" means any of the following vehicles 
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    without regard to whether the vehicles are private or 
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    commercial, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, 
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    buses, aircraft, and watercraft any
enclosure that is 
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    intended and designed to be used
to conceal, hide, and 
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    prevent discovery by law enforcement
officers of the false 
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    or secret compartment, or its contents, and which is

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    integrated into a vehicle.
For purpose of this Section,
a

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    person's intention to use a false or secret compartment to 
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    conceal the
contents of the compartment from a law 
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    enforcement officer may be inferred from
factors 
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    including, but not limited to, the discovery of a person, 
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    firearm,
controlled substance, or other contraband within 
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    the false or secret
compartment, or from the discovery of 
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    evidence of the previous placement of a
person, firearm, 
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    controlled substance, or other contraband within the false 
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    or
secret compartment.

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    (c) Forfeiture.  Any motor vehicle containing a false or 
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secret compartment used in violation of this Section,
as well 
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as any items within that compartment, shall be subject to 
 


 






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seizure by
the Department of State Police or by any municipal 
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or other local law
enforcement agency within whose jurisdiction 
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that property is found as provided
in Sections 36-1 and 36-2 of 
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the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/36-1 and
5/36-2).  The 
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removal of the false or secret compartment from the motor

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vehicle, or the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a 
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defense to
forfeiture of the motor vehicle under Section 36-2 
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of the Criminal Code of 1961
and shall not be the basis for the 
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court to release the vehicle to the owner.

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    (d) Sentence.  A violation of this Section is a Class 4 
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felony. The sentence imposed for violation of this Section 
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shall be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed in 
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connection with the firearm, controlled substance, or other 
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contraband concealed in the false or secret compartment.
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    (e) For purposes of this Section, a new owner is not 
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responsible for any conduct that occurred or knowledge of 
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conduct that occurred prior to transfer of title. 

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(Source: P.A. 93-276, eff. 1-1-04.)