Bill Text: IL SB2488 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Provides that aggravated assault of a peace officer, community policing volunteer, private security officer, fireman, employee of a police or sheriff's department, or person who is employed by a municipality and whose duties include traffic control is also a Class 4 felony (rather than a Class A misdemeanor) when a knife with a blade of at least 3 inches in length, dagger, dirk, switchblade knife, stiletto, axe, hatchet, bludgeon, black-jack, slungshot, sand-bag, sand-club, metal knuckles, billy, or other dangerous weapon of like character is used in the commission of the assault.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2010-07-19 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 96-1109 [SB2488 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-SB2488-Enrolled.html

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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 1961 is amended by changing
Section 12-2 as follows:
(720 ILCS 5/12-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-2)
Sec. 12-2. Aggravated assault.
(a) A person commits an aggravated assault, when, in
committing an assault, he:
(1) Uses a deadly weapon or any device manufactured and
designed to be substantially similar in appearance to a
firearm, other than by discharging a firearm in the
direction of another person, a peace officer, a person
summoned or directed by a peace officer, a correctional
officer, a private security officer, or a fireman or in the
direction of a vehicle occupied by another person, a peace
officer, a person summoned or directed by a peace officer,
a correctional officer, a private security officer, or a
fireman while the officer or fireman is engaged in the
execution of any of his official duties, or to prevent the
officer or fireman from performing his official duties, or
in retaliation for the officer or fireman performing his
official duties;

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(2) Is hooded, robed or masked in such manner as to
conceal his identity or any device manufactured and
designed to be substantially similar in appearance to a
firearm;
(3) Knows the individual assaulted to be a teacher or
other person employed in any school and such teacher or
other employee is upon the grounds of a school or grounds
adjacent thereto, or is in any part of a building used for
school purposes;
(4) Knows the individual assaulted to be a supervisor,
director, instructor or other person employed in any park
district and such supervisor, director, instructor or
other employee is upon the grounds of the park or grounds
adjacent thereto, or is in any part of a building used for
park purposes;
(5) Knows the individual assaulted to be a caseworker,
investigator, or other person employed by the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services (formerly State Department
of Public Aid), a County Department of Public Aid, or the
Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
Illinois Department of Public Aid under the Department of
Human Services Act) and such caseworker, investigator, or
other person is upon the grounds of a public aid office or
grounds adjacent thereto, or is in any part of a building
used for public aid purposes, or upon the grounds of a home
of a public aid applicant, recipient or any other person

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being interviewed or investigated in the employees'
discharge of his duties, or on grounds adjacent thereto, or
is in any part of a building in which the applicant,
recipient, or other such person resides or is located;
(6) Knows the individual assaulted to be a peace
officer, a community policing volunteer, a private
security officer, or a fireman while the officer or fireman
is engaged in the execution of any of his official duties,
or to prevent the officer, community policing volunteer, or
fireman from performing his official duties, or in
retaliation for the officer, community policing volunteer,
or fireman performing his official duties, and the assault
is committed other than by the discharge of a firearm in
the direction of the officer or fireman or in the direction
of a vehicle occupied by the officer or fireman;
(7) Knows the individual assaulted to be an emergency
medical technician - ambulance, emergency medical
technician - intermediate, emergency medical technician -
paramedic, ambulance driver or other medical assistance or
first aid personnel engaged in the execution of any of his
official duties, or to prevent the emergency medical
technician - ambulance, emergency medical technician -
intermediate, emergency medical technician - paramedic,
ambulance driver, or other medical assistance or first aid
personnel from performing his official duties, or in
retaliation for the emergency medical technician -

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ambulance, emergency medical technician - intermediate,
emergency medical technician - paramedic, ambulance
driver, or other medical assistance or first aid personnel
performing his official duties;
(8) Knows the individual assaulted to be the driver,
operator, employee or passenger of any transportation
facility or system engaged in the business of
transportation of the public for hire and the individual
assaulted is then performing in such capacity or then using
such public transportation as a passenger or using any area
of any description designated by the transportation
facility or system as a vehicle boarding, departure, or
transfer location;
(9) Or the individual assaulted is on or about a public
way, public property, or public place of accommodation or
amusement;
(9.5) Is, or the individual assaulted is, in or about a
publicly or privately owned sports or entertainment arena,
stadium, community or convention hall, special event
center, amusement facility, or a special event center in a
public park during any 24-hour period when a professional
sporting event, National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA)-sanctioned sporting event, United States Olympic
Committee-sanctioned sporting event, or International
Olympic Committee-sanctioned sporting event is taking
place in this venue;

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(10) Knows the individual assaulted to be an employee
of the State of Illinois, a municipal corporation therein
or a political subdivision thereof, engaged in the
performance of his authorized duties as such employee;
(11) Knowingly and without legal justification,
commits an assault on a physically handicapped person;
(12) Knowingly and without legal justification,
commits an assault on a person 60 years of age or older;
(13) Discharges a firearm, other than from a motor
vehicle;
(13.5) Discharges a firearm from a motor vehicle;
(14) Knows the individual assaulted to be a
correctional officer, while the officer is engaged in the
execution of any of his or her official duties, or to
prevent the officer from performing his or her official
duties, or in retaliation for the officer performing his or
her official duties;
(15) Knows the individual assaulted to be a
correctional employee or an employee of the Department of
Human Services supervising or controlling sexually
dangerous persons or sexually violent persons, while the
employee is engaged in the execution of any of his or her
official duties, or to prevent the employee from performing
his or her official duties, or in retaliation for the
employee performing his or her official duties, and the
assault is committed other than by the discharge of a

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firearm in the direction of the employee or in the
direction of a vehicle occupied by the employee;
(16) Knows the individual assaulted to be an employee
of a police or sheriff's department, or a person who is
employed by a municipality and whose duties include traffic
control, engaged in the performance of his or her official
duties as such employee;
(17) Knows the individual assaulted to be a sports
official or coach at any level of competition and the act
causing the assault to the sports official or coach
occurred within an athletic facility or an indoor or
outdoor playing field or within the immediate vicinity of
the athletic facility or an indoor or outdoor playing field
at which the sports official or coach was an active
participant in the athletic contest held at the athletic
facility. For the purposes of this paragraph (17), "sports
official" means a person at an athletic contest who
enforces the rules of the contest, such as an umpire or
referee; and "coach" means a person recognized as a coach
by the sanctioning authority that conducted the athletic
contest;
(18) Knows the individual assaulted to be an emergency
management worker, while the emergency management worker
is engaged in the execution of any of his or her official
duties, or to prevent the emergency management worker from
performing his or her official duties, or in retaliation

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for the emergency management worker performing his or her
official duties, and the assault is committed other than by
the discharge of a firearm in the direction of the
emergency management worker or in the direction of a
vehicle occupied by the emergency management worker; or
(19) Knows the individual assaulted to be a utility
worker, while the utility worker is engaged in the
execution of his or her duties, or to prevent the utility
worker from performing his or her duties, or in retaliation
for the utility worker performing his or her duties. In
this paragraph (19), "utility worker" means a person
employed by a public utility as defined in Section 3-105 of
the Public Utilities Act and also includes an employee of a
municipally owned utility, an employee of a cable
television company, an employee of an electric cooperative
as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act, an
independent contractor or an employee of an independent
contractor working on behalf of a cable television company,
public utility, municipally owned utility, or an electric
cooperative, or an employee of a telecommunications
carrier as defined in Section 13-202 of the Public
Utilities Act, an independent contractor or an employee of
an independent contractor working on behalf of a
telecommunications carrier, or an employee of a telephone
or telecommunications cooperative as defined in Section
13-212 of the Public Utilities Act, or an independent

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contractor or an employee of an independent contractor
working on behalf of a telephone or telecommunications
cooperative.
(a-5) A person commits an aggravated assault when he or she
knowingly and without lawful justification shines or flashes a
laser gunsight or other laser device that is attached or
affixed to a firearm, or used in concert with a firearm, so
that the laser beam strikes near or in the immediate vicinity
of any person.
(b) Sentence.
Aggravated assault as defined in paragraphs (1) through (5)
and (8) through (12) and (17) and (19) of subsection (a) of
this Section is a Class A misdemeanor. Aggravated assault as
defined in paragraphs (13), (14), and (15) of subsection (a) of
this Section and as defined in subsection (a-5) of this Section
is a Class 4 felony. Aggravated assault as defined in
paragraphs (6) and (16) of subsection (a) of this Section is a
Class A misdemeanor if a Category I, Category II, or Category
III weapon is not used in the commission of the assault.
Aggravated assault as defined in paragraphs (6) and (16) of
subsection (a) of this Section is a Class 4 felony if a
Category I, Category II, or Category III weapon is used in the
commission of the assault. Aggravated assault as defined in
paragraphs (6), (7), (16), and (18) of subsection (a) of this
Section is a Class A misdemeanor if a firearm is not used in
the commission of the assault. Aggravated assault as defined in

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paragraphs (6), (7), (16), and (18) of subsection (a) of this
Section is a Class 4 felony if a firearm is used in the
commission of the assault. Aggravated assault as defined in
paragraph (13.5) of subsection (a) is a Class 3 felony. For the
purposes of this subsection (b), "Category I weapon", "Category
II weapon", and "Category III weapon" have the meanings
ascribed to those terms in subsection (c) of Section 33A-1 of
this Code.
(c) For the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (6) of
subsection (a), "private security officer" means a registered
employee of a private security contractor agency under the
Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security,
Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004.
(Source: P.A. 94-243, eff. 1-1-06; 94-482, eff. 1-1-06; 95-236,
eff. 1-1-08; 95-292, eff. 8-20-07; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07;
95-429, eff. 1-1-08; 95-591, eff. 9-10-07; 95-876, eff.
8-21-08.)