Bill Text: IL HB2539 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that the threshold amount of the property that was the subject of the theft must exceed $2,000 (rather than $300) in order to enhance the penalty for retail theft from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony or to a higher class of felony. Deletes enhancement of the penalties for retail theft for previous convictions for robbery, armed robbery, burglary, residential burglary, possession of burglary tools, home invasion, unlawful use of a credit card, or forgery.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-27 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB2539 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB2539-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 HB2539 Introduced , by Rep. Denyse Stoneback SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
720 ILCS 5/16-25
Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that the threshhold amount of the property that was the subject of the theft must exceed $2,000 (rather than $300) in order to enhance the penalty for retail theft from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony or to a higher class of felony. Deletes enhancement of the penalties for retail theft for previous convictions for robbery, armed robbery, burglary, residential burglary, possession of burglary tools, home invasion, unlawful use of a credit card, or forgery.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning criminal law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by
changing Section 16-25 as follows:
(720 ILCS 5/16-25)
Sec. 16-25. Retail theft.
(a) A person commits retail theft when he or she
knowingly:
(1) Takes possession of, carries away, transfers or
causes to be carried away or transferred any merchandise
displayed, held, stored or offered for sale in a retail
mercantile establishment with the intention of retaining
such merchandise or with the intention of depriving the
merchant permanently of the possession, use or benefit of
such merchandise without paying the full retail value of
such merchandise; or
(2) Alters, transfers, or removes any label, price
tag, marking, indicia of value or any other markings which
aid in determining value affixed to any merchandise
displayed, held, stored or offered for sale in a retail
mercantile establishment and attempts to purchase such
merchandise at less than the full retail value with the

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intention of depriving the merchant of the full retail
value of such merchandise; or
(3) Transfers any merchandise displayed, held, stored
or offered for sale in a retail mercantile establishment
from the container in or on which such merchandise is
displayed to any other container with the intention of
depriving the merchant of the full retail value of such
merchandise; or
(4) Under-rings with the intention of depriving the
merchant of the full retail value of the merchandise; or
(5) Removes a shopping cart from the premises of a
retail mercantile establishment without the consent of the
merchant given at the time of such removal with the
intention of depriving the merchant permanently of the
possession, use or benefit of such cart; or
(6) Represents to a merchant that he, she, or another
is the lawful owner of property, knowing that such
representation is false, and conveys or attempts to convey
that property to a merchant who is the owner of the
property in exchange for money, merchandise credit or
other property of the merchant; or
(7) Uses or possesses any theft detection shielding
device or theft detection device remover with the
intention of using such device to deprive the merchant
permanently of the possession, use or benefit of any
merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale in

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a retail mercantile establishment without paying the full
retail value of such merchandise; or
(8) Obtains or exerts unauthorized control over
property of the owner and thereby intends to deprive the
owner permanently of the use or benefit of the property
when a lessee of the personal property of another fails to
return it to the owner, or if the lessee fails to pay the
full retail value of such property to the lessor in
satisfaction of any contractual provision requiring such,
within 10 days after written demand from the owner for its
return. A notice in writing, given after the expiration of
the leasing agreement, by registered mail, to the lessee
at the address given by the lessee and shown on the leasing
agreement shall constitute proper demand.
(b) Theft by emergency exit. A person commits theft by
emergency exit when he or she commits a retail theft as defined
in subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(8) of this Section and to
facilitate the theft he or she leaves the retail mercantile
establishment by use of a designated emergency exit.
(c) Permissive inference. If any person:
(1) conceals upon his or her person or among his or her
belongings unpurchased merchandise displayed, held, stored
or offered for sale in a retail mercantile establishment;
and
(2) removes that merchandise beyond the last known
station for receiving payments for that merchandise in

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that retail mercantile establishment,
then the trier of fact may infer that the person possessed,
carried away or transferred such merchandise with the
intention of retaining it or with the intention of depriving
the merchant permanently of the possession, use or benefit of
such merchandise without paying the full retail value of such
merchandise.
To "conceal" merchandise means that, although there may be
some notice of its presence, that merchandise is not visible
through ordinary observation.
(d) Venue. Multiple thefts committed by the same person as
part of a continuing course of conduct in different
jurisdictions that have been aggregated in one jurisdiction
may be prosecuted in any jurisdiction in which one or more of
the thefts occurred.
(e) For the purposes of this Section, "theft detection
shielding device" means any laminated or coated bag or device
designed and intended to shield merchandise from detection by
an electronic or magnetic theft alarm sensor.
(f) Sentence.
(1) A violation of any of subdivisions (a)(1) through
(a)(6) and (a)(8) of this Section, the full retail value
of which does not exceed $2,000 $300 for property other
than motor fuel or $150 for motor fuel, is a Class A
misdemeanor. A violation of subdivision (a)(7) of this
Section is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a

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Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense. Theft
by emergency exit of property, the full retail value of
which does not exceed $2,000 $300, is a Class 4 felony.
(2) A person who has been convicted of retail theft of
property under any of subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(6)
and (a)(8) of this Section, the full retail value of which
does not exceed $2,000 $300 for property other than motor
fuel or $150 for motor fuel, and who has been previously
convicted of any type of felony theft, robbery, armed
robbery, burglary, residential burglary, possession of
burglary tools, home invasion, unlawful use of a credit
card, or forgery is guilty of a Class 4 felony. A person
who has been convicted of theft by emergency exit of
property, the full retail value of which does not exceed
$2,000 $300, and who has been previously convicted of any
type of theft, robbery, armed robbery, burglary,
residential burglary, possession of burglary tools, home
invasion, unlawful use of a credit card, or forgery is
guilty of a Class 3 felony.
(3) Any retail theft of property under any of
subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(6) and (a)(8) of this
Section, the full retail value of which exceeds $2,000
$300 for property other than motor fuel or $150 for motor
fuel in a single transaction, or in separate transactions
committed by the same person as part of a continuing
course of conduct from one or more mercantile

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establishments over a period of one year, is a Class 3
felony. Theft by emergency exit of property, the full
retail value of which exceeds $2,000 $300 in a single
transaction, or in separate transactions committed by the
same person as part of a continuing course of conduct from
one or more mercantile establishments over a period of one
year, is a Class 2 felony. When a charge of retail theft of
property or theft by emergency exit of property, the full
value of which exceeds $2,000 $300, is brought, the value
of the property involved is an element of the offense to be
resolved by the trier of fact as either exceeding or not
exceeding $2,000 $300.
(Source: P.A. 97-597, eff. 1-1-12.)