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91_SB1575 LRB9111670RCmb 1 AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 by changing 2 Section 24-1. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by 6 changing Section 24-1 as follows: 7 (720 ILCS 5/24-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24-1) 8 Sec. 24-1. Unlawful Use of Weapons. 9 (a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of 10 weapons when he knowingly: 11 (1) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or 12 carries any bludgeon, black-jack, slung-shot, sand-club, 13 sand-bag, metal knuckles, throwing star, or any knife, 14 commonly referred to as a switchblade knife, which has a 15 blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied 16 to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the 17 knife, or a ballistic knife, which is a device that 18 propels a knifelike blade as a projectile by means of a 19 coil spring, elastic material or compressed gas; or 20 (2) Carries or possesses with intent to use the 21 same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, 22 dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, broken bottle or other 23 piece of glass, stun gun or taser or any other dangerous 24 or deadly weapon or instrument of like character; or 25 (3) Carries on or about his person or in any 26 vehicle, a tear gas gun projector or bomb or any object 27 containing noxious liquid gas or substance, other than an 28 object containing a non-lethal noxious liquid gas or 29 substance designed solely for personal defense carried by 30 a person 18 years of age or older; or 31 (4) Carries or possesses in any vehicle or -2- LRB9111670RCmb 1 concealed on or about his person except when on his land 2 or in his own abode or fixed place of business any 3 pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or other firearm; or 4 (5) Sets a spring gun; or 5 (6) Possesses any device or attachment of any kind 6 designed, used or intended for use in silencing the 7 report of any firearm; or 8 (7) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or 9 carries: 10 (i) a machine gun, which shall be defined for 11 the purposes of this subsection as any weapon, which 12 shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily 13 restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot 14 without manually reloading by a single function of 15 the trigger, including the frame or receiver of any 16 such weapon, or sells, manufactures, purchases, 17 possesses, or carries any combination of parts 18 designed or intended for use in converting any 19 weapon into a machine gun, or any combination or 20 parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if 21 such parts are in the possession or under the 22 control of a person; 23 (ii) any rifle having one or more barrels less 24 than 16 inches in length or a shotgun having one or 25 more barrels less than 18 inches in length or any 26 weapon made from a rifle or shotgun, whether by 27 alteration, modification, or otherwise, if such a 28 weapon as modified has an overall length of less 29 than 26 inches; or 30 (iii) any bomb, bomb-shell, grenade, bottle or 31 other container containing an explosive substance of 32 over one-quarter ounce for like purposes, such as, 33 but not limited to, black powder bombs and Molotov 34 cocktails or artillery projectiles; or -3- LRB9111670RCmb 1 (8) Carries or possesses any firearm, stun gun or 2 taser or other deadly weapon in any place which is 3 licensed to sell intoxicating beverages, or at any public 4 gathering held pursuant to a license issued by any 5 governmental body or any public gathering at which an 6 admission is charged, excluding a place where a showing, 7 demonstration or lecture involving the exhibition of 8 unloaded firearms is conducted; or 9 (9) Carries or possesses in a vehicle or on or 10 about his person any pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser 11 or firearm or ballistic knife, when he is hooded, robed 12 or masked in such manner as to conceal his identity; or 13 (10) Carries or possesses on or about his person, 14 upon any public street, alley, or other public lands 15 within the corporate limits of a city, village or 16 incorporated town, except when an invitee thereon or 17 therein, for the purpose of the display of such weapon or 18 the lawful commerce in weapons, or except when on his 19 land or in his own abode or fixed place of business, any 20 pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or other firearm. 21 A "stun gun or taser", as used in this paragraph (a) 22 means (i) any device which is powered by electrical 23 charging units, such as, batteries, and which fires one 24 or several barbs attached to a length of wire and which, 25 upon hitting a human, can send out a current capable of 26 disrupting the person's nervous system in such a manner 27 as to render him incapable of normal functioning or (ii) 28 any device which is powered by electrical charging units, 29 such as batteries, and which, upon contact with a human 30 or clothing worn by a human, can send out current capable 31 of disrupting the person's nervous system in such a 32 manner as to render him incapable of normal functioning; 33 or 34 (11) Sells, manufactures or purchases any explosive -4- LRB9111670RCmb 1 bullet. For purposes of this paragraph (a) "explosive 2 bullet" means the projectile portion of an ammunition 3 cartridge which contains or carries an explosive charge 4 which will explode upon contact with the flesh of a human 5 or an animal. "Cartridge" means a tubular metal case 6 having a projectile affixed at the front thereof and a 7 cap or primer at the rear end thereof, with the 8 propellant contained in such tube between the projectile 9 and the cap; or 10 (12) (Blank). 11 (b) Sentence. A person convicted of a violation of 12 subsection 24-1(a)(1) through (3), subsection 24-1(a)(5), 13 subsection 24-1(a)(8), or subsection 24-1(a)(11) commits a 14 Class A misdemeanor. A person convicted of a violation of 15 subsection 24-1(a)(4), 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) commits a 16 Class 4 felony; a person convicted of a violation of 17 subsection 24-1(a)(6) or 24-1(a)(7)(ii) or (iii) commits a 18 Class 3 felony. A person convicted of a violation of 19 subsection 24-1(a)(7)(i) commits a Class 2 felony, unless the 20 weapon is possessed in the passenger compartment of a motor 21 vehicle as defined in Section 1-146 of the Illinois Vehicle 22 Code, or on the person, while the weapon is loaded, in which 23 case it shall be a Class X felony. A person convicted of a 24 second or subsequent violation of subsection 24-1(a)(4), 25 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) commits a Class 3 felony. 26 (c) Violations in specific places. 27 (1) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(6) or 28 24-1(a)(7) in any school, regardless of the time of day 29 or the time of year, in residential property owned, 30 operated or managed by a public housing agency or leased 31 by a public housing agency as part of a scattered site or 32 mixed-income development, in a public park, in a 33 courthouse, on the real property comprising any school, 34 regardless of the time of day or the time of year, on -5- LRB9111670RCmb 1 residential property owned, operated or managed by a 2 public housing agency or leased by a public housing 3 agency as part of a scattered site or mixed-income 4 development, on the real property comprising any public 5 park, on the real property comprising any courthouse, in 6 any conveyance owned, leased or contracted by a school to 7 transport students to or from school or a school related 8 activity, or on any public way within 1,000 feet of the 9 real property comprising any school, public park, 10 courthouse, or residential property owned, operated, or 11 managed by a public housing agency or leased by a public 12 housing agency as part of a scattered site or 13 mixed-income development commits a Class 2 felony. 14 (1.5) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(4), 15 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) in any school, regardless of 16 the time of day or the time of year, in residential 17 property owned, operated, or managed by a public housing 18 agency or leased by a public housing agency as part of a 19 scattered site or mixed-income development, in a public 20 park, in a courthouse, on the real property comprising 21 any school, regardless of the time of day or the time of 22 year, on residential property owned, operated, or managed 23 by a public housing agency or leased by a public housing 24 agency as part of a scattered site or mixed-income 25 development, on the real property comprising any public 26 park, on the real property comprising any courthouse, in 27 any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a school 28 to transport students to or from school or a school 29 related activity, or on any public way within 1,000 feet 30 of the real property comprising any school, public park, 31 courthouse, or residential property owned, operated, or 32 managed by a public housing agency or leased by a public 33 housing agency as part of a scattered site or 34 mixed-income development commits a Class 3 felony. -6- LRB9111670RCmb 1 (2) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(1), 2 24-1(a)(2), or 24-1(a)(3) in any school, regardless of 3 the time of day or the time of year, in residential 4 property owned, operated or managed by a public housing 5 agency or leased by a public housing agency as part of a 6 scattered site or mixed-income development, in a public 7 park, in a courthouse, on the real property comprising 8 any school, regardless of the time of day or the time of 9 year, on residential property owned, operated or managed 10 by a public housing agency or leased by a public housing 11 agency as part of a scattered site or mixed-income 12 development, on the real property comprising any public 13 park, on the real property comprising any courthouse, in 14 any conveyance owned, leased or contracted by a school to 15 transport students to or from school or a school related 16 activity, or on any public way within 1,000 feet of the 17 real property comprising any school, public park, 18 courthouse, or residential property owned, operated, or 19 managed by a public housing agency or leased by a public 20 housing agency as part of a scattered site or 21 mixed-income development commits a Class 4 felony. 22 "Courthouse" means any building that is used by the 23 Circuit, Appellate, or Supreme Court of this State for 24 the conduct of official business. 25 (3) Paragraphs (1), (1.5), and (2) of this 26 subsection (c) shall not apply to law enforcement 27 officers or security officers of such school, college, or 28 university or to students carrying or possessing firearms 29 for use in training courses, parades, hunting, target 30 shooting on school ranges, or otherwise with the consent 31 of school authorities and which firearms are transported 32 unloaded enclosed in a suitable case, box, or 33 transportation package. 34 (4) For the purposes of this subsection (c), -7- LRB9111670RCmb 1 "school" means any public or private elementary or 2 secondary school, community college, college, or 3 university. 4 (d) The presence in an automobile other than a public 5 omnibus of any weapon, instrument or substance referred to in 6 subsection (a)(7) is prima facie evidence that it is in the 7 possession of, and is being carried by, all persons occupying 8 such automobile at the time such weapon, instrument or 9 substance is found, except under the following circumstances: 10 (i) if such weapon, instrument or instrumentality is found 11 upon the person of one of the occupants therein; or (ii) if 12 such weapon, instrument or substance is found in an 13 automobile operated for hire by a duly licensed driver in the 14 due, lawful and proper pursuit of his trade, then such 15 presumption shall not apply to the driver. 16 (e) Exemptions. 17 (1) Crossbows, Common or Compound bows and 18 Underwater Spearguns are exempted from the definition of 19 ballistic knife as defined in paragraph (1) of subsection 20 (a) of this Section. 21 (2) Subsections 24-1(a)(4) and 24-1(a)(10) do not 22 apply to any person whose business pursuits or employment 23 necessitate the depositing of cash receipts of a business 24 at a financial institution on a regular basis. The 25 exemption in this paragraph (2) applies only while the 26 person is traveling between the place of business and the 27 financial institution. 28 (Source: P.A. 90-686, eff. 1-1-99; 91-673, eff. 12-22-99.) 29 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 30 becoming law.