103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2138

 

Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Andrew S. Chesney

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
720 ILCS 5/31-1  from Ch. 38, par. 31-1

    Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Deletes the mental state of "knowingly" from the elements of the offense of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee.


LRB103 27171 RLC 53541 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2138LRB103 27171 RLC 53541 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by
5changing Section 31-1 as follows:
 
6    (720 ILCS 5/31-1)  (from Ch. 38, par. 31-1)
7    Sec. 31-1. Resisting or obstructing a peace officer,
8firefighter, or correctional institution employee.
9    (a) A person who knowingly:
10        (1) resists arrest, or
11        (2) obstructs the performance by one known to the
12    person to be a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional
13    institution employee of any authorized act within his or
14    her official capacity commits a Class A misdemeanor.
15    (a-5) In addition to any other sentence that may be
16imposed, a court shall order any person convicted of resisting
17or obstructing a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional
18institution employee to be sentenced to a minimum of 48
19consecutive hours of imprisonment or ordered to perform
20community service for not less than 100 hours as may be
21determined by the court. The person shall not be eligible for
22probation in order to reduce the sentence of imprisonment or
23community service.

 

 

SB2138- 2 -LRB103 27171 RLC 53541 b

1    (a-7) A person convicted for a violation of this Section
2whose violation was the proximate cause of an injury to a peace
3officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee is
4guilty of a Class 4 felony.
5    (b) For purposes of this Section, "correctional
6institution employee" means any person employed to supervise
7and control inmates incarcerated in a penitentiary, State
8farm, reformatory, prison, jail, house of correction, police
9detention area, half-way house, or other institution or place
10for the incarceration or custody of persons under sentence for
11offenses or awaiting trial or sentence for offenses, under
12arrest for an offense, a violation of probation, a violation
13of parole, a violation of aftercare release, a violation of
14mandatory supervised release, or awaiting a hearing or
15preliminary hearing on setting the conditions of pretrial
16release, or who are sexually dangerous persons or who are
17sexually violent persons; and "firefighter" means any
18individual, either as an employee or volunteer, of a regularly
19constituted fire department of a municipality or fire
20protection district who performs fire fighting duties,
21including, but not limited to, the fire chief, assistant fire
22chief, captain, engineer, driver, ladder person, hose person,
23pipe person, and any other member of a regularly constituted
24fire department. "Firefighter" also means a person employed by
25the Office of the State Fire Marshal to conduct arson
26investigations.

 

 

SB2138- 3 -LRB103 27171 RLC 53541 b

1    (c) It is an affirmative defense to a violation of this
2Section if a person resists or obstructs the performance of
3one known by the person to be a firefighter by returning to or
4remaining in a dwelling, residence, building, or other
5structure to rescue or to attempt to rescue any person.
6    (d) A person shall not be subject to arrest for resisting
7arrest under this Section unless there is an underlying
8offense for which the person was initially subject to arrest.
9(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 1-1-23; 102-28, eff. 6-25-21.)