102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2539

 

Introduced 2/19/2021, 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.


LRB102 10140 RLC 15462 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2539LRB102 10140 RLC 15462 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 16-25 as follows:
 
6    (720 ILCS 5/16-25)
7    Sec. 16-25. Retail theft.
8    (a) A person commits retail theft when he or she
9knowingly:
10        (1) Takes possession of, carries away, transfers or
11    causes to be carried away or transferred any merchandise
12    displayed, held, stored or offered for sale in a retail
13    mercantile establishment with the intention of retaining
14    such merchandise or with the intention of depriving the
15    merchant permanently of the possession, use or benefit of
16    such merchandise without paying the full retail value of
17    such merchandise; or
18        (2) Alters, transfers, or removes any label, price
19    tag, marking, indicia of value or any other markings which
20    aid in determining value affixed to any merchandise
21    displayed, held, stored or offered for sale in a retail
22    mercantile establishment and attempts to purchase such
23    merchandise at less than the full retail value with the

 

 

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

 

 

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1    a retail mercantile establishment without paying the full
2    retail value of such merchandise; or
3        (8) Obtains or exerts unauthorized control over
4    property of the owner and thereby intends to deprive the
5    owner permanently of the use or benefit of the property
6    when a lessee of the personal property of another fails to
7    return it to the owner, or if the lessee fails to pay the
8    full retail value of such property to the lessor in
9    satisfaction of any contractual provision requiring such,
10    within 10 days after written demand from the owner for its
11    return. A notice in writing, given after the expiration of
12    the leasing agreement, by registered mail, to the lessee
13    at the address given by the lessee and shown on the leasing
14    agreement shall constitute proper demand.
15    (b) Theft by emergency exit. A person commits theft by
16emergency exit when he or she commits a retail theft as defined
17in subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(8) of this Section and to
18facilitate the theft he or she leaves the retail mercantile
19establishment by use of a designated emergency exit.
20    (c) Permissive inference. If any person:
21        (1) conceals upon his or her person or among his or her
22    belongings unpurchased merchandise displayed, held, stored
23    or offered for sale in a retail mercantile establishment;
24    and
25        (2) removes that merchandise beyond the last known
26    station for receiving payments for that merchandise in

 

 

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1    that retail mercantile establishment,
2then the trier of fact may infer that the person possessed,
3carried away or transferred such merchandise with the
4intention of retaining it or with the intention of depriving
5the merchant permanently of the possession, use or benefit of
6such merchandise without paying the full retail value of such
7merchandise.
8    To "conceal" merchandise means that, although there may be
9some notice of its presence, that merchandise is not visible
10through ordinary observation.
11    (d) Venue. Multiple thefts committed by the same person as
12part of a continuing course of conduct in different
13jurisdictions that have been aggregated in one jurisdiction
14may be prosecuted in any jurisdiction in which one or more of
15the thefts occurred.
16    (e) For the purposes of this Section, "theft detection
17shielding device" means any laminated or coated bag or device
18designed and intended to shield merchandise from detection by
19an electronic or magnetic theft alarm sensor.
20    (f) Sentence.
21        (1) A violation of any of subdivisions (a)(1) through
22    (a)(6) and (a)(8) of this Section, the full retail value
23    of which does not exceed $2,000 $300 for property other
24    than motor fuel or $150 for motor fuel, is a Class A
25    misdemeanor. A violation of subdivision (a)(7) of this
26    Section is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a

 

 

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1    Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense. Theft
2    by emergency exit of property, the full retail value of
3    which does not exceed $2,000 $300, is a Class 4 felony.
4        (2) A person who has been convicted of retail theft of
5    property under any of subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(6)
6    and (a)(8) of this Section, the full retail value of which
7    does not exceed $2,000 $300 for property other than motor
8    fuel or $150 for motor fuel, and who has been previously
9    convicted of any type of felony theft, robbery, armed
10    robbery, burglary, residential burglary, possession of
11    burglary tools, home invasion, unlawful use of a credit
12    card, or forgery is guilty of a Class 4 felony. A person
13    who has been convicted of theft by emergency exit of
14    property, the full retail value of which does not exceed
15    $2,000 $300, and who has been previously convicted of any
16    type of theft, robbery, armed robbery, burglary,
17    residential burglary, possession of burglary tools, home
18    invasion, unlawful use of a credit card, or forgery is
19    guilty of a Class 3 felony.
20        (3) Any retail theft of property under any of
21    subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(6) and (a)(8) of this
22    Section, the full retail value of which exceeds $2,000
23    $300 for property other than motor fuel or $150 for motor
24    fuel in a single transaction, or in separate transactions
25    committed by the same person as part of a continuing
26    course of conduct from one or more mercantile

 

 

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