State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Engrossed ][ Enrolled ][ Senate Amendment 001 ]

91_SB1273

 
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 1        AN  ACT to amend the Harassing and Obscene Communications
 2    Act by changing Sections 1-1, 1-2, and 2.

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

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

 7        (720 ILCS 135/1-1) (from Ch. 134, par. 16.4-1)
 8        Sec.  1-1.  Harassment  by  telephone).   Harassment   by
 9    telephone  is  use  of telephone communication for any of the
10    following purposes:
11        (1)  Making any comment, request, suggestion or  proposal
12    which  is  obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent with
13    an intent to offend; or
14        (2)  Making a telephone call, whether or not conversation
15    ensues, with intent to abuse, threaten or harass  any  person
16    at the called number; or
17        (3)  Making   or   causing   the   telephone  of  another
18    repeatedly to ring, with intent to harass any person  at  the
19    called number; or
20        (4)  Making   repeated   telephone  calls,  during  which
21    conversation ensues, solely  to  harass  any  person  at  the
22    called number; or
23        (4.1)  Knowingly  inducing  a  person to make a telephone
24    call for the purpose of harassing another person  who  is  at
25    least 13 years of age without that person's consent; or
26        (4.2)  Knowingly  inducing  a  person to make a telephone
27    call for the purpose of harassing another person who is under
28    13 years of age, regardless of whether the  person  under  13
29    years of age consents to the harassment; or
30        (4.3)  Knowingly    making    a    telephone   call   and
31    impersonating another person with the intent to  harass  that
 
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 1    person; or
 2        (5)  Knowingly   permitting  any  telephone  under  one's
 3    control to be used for any of the purposes mentioned herein.
 4        Every telephone directory published for  distribution  to
 5    members  of the general public shall contain a notice setting
 6    forth a summary of the  provisions  of  this  Section.   Such
 7    notice  shall be printed in type which is no smaller than any
 8    other type on the same page and shall be preceded by the word
 9    "WARNING".  All  telephone  companies  in  this  State  shall
10    cooperate  with  law  enforcement  agencies  in  using  their
11    facilities  and personnel to detect and prevent violations of
12    this Act.
13    (Source: P.A. 80-795.)

14        (720 ILCS 135/1-2)
15        Sec. 1-2.  Harassment through electronic communications.
16        (a)  Harassment through electronic communications is  the
17    use  of  electronic  communication  for  any of the following
18    purposes:
19             (1)  Making  any  comment,  request,  suggestion  or
20        proposal which is obscene  with an intent to offend;
21             (2)  Interrupting, with the intent  to  harass,  the
22        telephone service or the electronic communication service
23        of any person;
24             (3)  Transmitting  to any person, with the intent to
25        harass and regardless of  whether  the  communication  is
26        read  in  its  entirety or at all, any file, document, or
27        other communication which prevents that person from using
28        his or her telephone service or electronic communications
29        device;
30             (3.1)  Knowingly inducing a person  to  transmit  an
31        electronic  communication  for  the  purpose of harassing
32        another person who is at least 13 years  of  age  without
33        that person's consent;
 
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 1             (3.2)  Knowingly  inducing  a  person to transmit an
 2        electronic communication for  the  purpose  of  harassing
 3        another  person  who is under 13 years of age, regardless
 4        of whether the person under 13 years of age  consents  to
 5        the harassment;
 6             (3.3)  Knowingly    transmitting    an    electronic
 7        communication  and  impersonating another person with the
 8        intent to harass that person;
 9             (4)  Threatening injury to  the  person  or  to  the
10        property   of   the   person   to   whom   an  electronic
11        communication is directed or to any of his or her  family
12        or household members; or
13             (5)  Knowingly     permitting     any     electronic
14        communications  device to be used for any of the purposes
15        mentioned in this subsection (a).
16        (b)  As used in this Act:
17             (1)  "Electronic communication" means  any  transfer
18        of  signs,  signals,  writings,  images,  sounds, data or
19        intelligence of any nature transmitted  in  whole  or  in
20        part  by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric or
21        photo-optical system.
22             (2)  "Family or household member" includes  spouses,
23        former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other
24        persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage,
25        persons  who  share or formerly shared a common dwelling,
26        persons who have or allegedly share a blood  relationship
27        through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or
28        engagement  relationship,  and  persons with disabilities
29        and their personal assistants.  For purposes of this Act,
30        neither   a   casual   acquaintanceship   nor    ordinary
31        fraternization  between  2  individuals  in  business  or
32        social  contexts  shall  be deemed to constitute a dating
33        relationship.
34    (Source: P.A. 90-578, eff. 6-1-98.)
 
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 1        (720 ILCS 135/2) (from Ch. 134, par. 16.5)
 2        Sec. 2. Sentence.
 3        (a)  Except as provided in subsection (b), a  person  who
 4    violates  any  of the provisions of Section 1, 1-1, or 1-2 of
 5    this Act is guilty  of  a  Class  B  misdemeanor.  Except  as
 6    provided  in subsection (b), a second or subsequent violation
 7    of Section  1,  1-1,  or  1-2  of  this  Act  is  a  Class  A
 8    misdemeanor, for which the court shall impose a minimum of 14
 9    days  in      jail  or,  if  public  or  community service is
10    established  in  the  county  in  which  the   offender   was
11    convicted, 240 hours of public or community service.
12        (b)  In  any of the following circumstances, a person who
13    violates Section 1, 1-1, or 1-2 of this Act shall  be  guilty
14    of a Class 4 felony:
15             (1)  The  person  has  3 or more prior violations in
16        the last  10  years  of  harassment  by  telephone  under
17        Section  1-1  of  this Act, harassment through electronic
18        communications under Section 1-2  of  this  Act,  or  any
19        similar offense of any state;
20             (2)  The   person   has   previously   violated  the
21        harassment by telephone provisions of Section 1-1 of this
22        Act or the harassment through  electronic  communications
23        provisions  of  Section  1-2 of this Act or committed any
24        similar offense in any state with the same  victim  or  a
25        member of the victim's family or household;
26             (3)  At  the  time  of the offense, the offender was
27        under conditions of bail, probation, mandatory supervised
28        release or was the subject of an order of protection,  in
29        this  or  any  other  state, prohibiting contact with the
30        victim or any member of the victim's family or household;
31             (4)  In the course  of  the  offense,  the  offender
32        threatened  to  kill  the  victim  or  any  member of the
33        victim's family or household; or
34             (5)  The person has been convicted in  the  last  10
 
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 1        years  of  a forcible felony as defined in Section 2-8 of
 2        the Criminal Code of 1961; or .
 3             (6)  The person violates paragraph (4.1), (4.2),  or
 4        (4.3)  of Section 1-1 or paragraph (3.1), (3.2), or (3.3)
 5        of subsection (a) of Section 1-2.
 6    (Source: P.A. 89-547, eff. 1-1-97; 90-578, eff. 6-1-98.)

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