093_HB2183

                                     LRB093 05652 MKM 05745 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to retail theft.

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

 4        Section 5.  The Illinois Municipal  Code  is  amended  by
 5    adding Section 11-1-12 as follows:

 6        (65 ILCS 5/11-1-12 new)
 7        Sec. 11-1-12.  Retail theft. The corporate authorities of
 8    a  municipality  may,  by ordinance, declare retail theft, as
 9    defined by the Criminal Code of 1961, to  be  unlawful.  This
10    ordinance, however, shall not apply to any individual who has
11    previously  been  convicted  of  any  type of theft, robbery,
12    armed robbery, burglary, residential burglary, possession  of
13    burglary  tools,  or  home  invasion,  or in a case where the
14    theft is of property with a full retail value  in  excess  of
15    $150.  Citations  issued  for  a  violation of a retail theft
16    ordinance must be adjudicated in a court of law and  are  not
17    subject  to  adjudication  in any administrative adjudication
18    system of the municipality  that  enacted  the  retail  theft
19    ordinance.  This  Section  is  not  a limitation on home rule
20    powers.

21        Section 10.  The Criminal Code  of  1961  is  amended  by
22    changing Section 16A-7 as follows:

23        (720 ILCS 5/16A-7) (from Ch. 38, par. 16A-7)
24        Sec.  16A-7.   Civil Liability.  (a) A person who commits
25    the offense of retail  theft  as  defined  in  Section  16A-3
26    paragraphs  (a),  (b) or (c) of this Code, or Section 11-1-12
27    of the Illinois Municipal Code, shall be  civilly  liable  to
28    the merchant of the merchandise in an amount consisting of:
29        (i)  actual damages equal to the full retail value of the
 
                            -2-      LRB093 05652 MKM 05745 b
 1    merchandise as defined herein; plus
 2        (ii)  an  amount not less than $100 nor more than $1,000;
 3    plus
 4        (iii)  attorney's fees and court costs.
 5        (b)  If a minor commits the offense of retail theft,  the
 6    parents  or guardian of said minor shall be civilly liable as
 7    provided in this Section; provided, however that  a  guardian
 8    appointed  pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile
 9    Court Act of 1987 shall not be  liable  under  this  Section.
10    Total  recovery  under  this  Section  shall  not  exceed the
11    maximum recovery permitted under Section 5 of  the  "Parental
12    Responsibility  Law",  approved  October  6,  1969, as now or
13    hereafter amended.
14        (c)  A conviction or a plea of guilty to the  offense  of
15    retail theft is not a prerequisite to the bringing of a civil
16    suit hereunder.
17        (d)  Judgments   arising   under   this  Section  may  be
18    assigned.
19    (Source: P.A. 85-1209.)