Sen. Ira I. Silverstein

Filed: 4/11/2008

 

 


 

 


 
09500SB2426sam003 LRB095 19685 RLC 49425 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2426

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2426 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
5 changing Section 12-7.5 as follows:
 
6     (720 ILCS 5/12-7.5)
7     Sec. 12-7.5. Cyberstalking.
8     (a) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she,
9 knowingly and without lawful justification, on at least 2
10 separate occasions, harasses another person through the use of
11 electronic communication and:
12         (1) at any time transmits a threat of immediate or
13     future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or
14     restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or
15     a family member of that person, or
16         (2) places that person or a family member of that

 

 

09500SB2426sam003 - 2 - LRB095 19685 RLC 49425 a

1     person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future
2     bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint; or
3     .
4         (3) at any time knowingly solicits the commission of an
5     act by any person which would be a violation of this Code
6     directed towards that person or a family member of that
7     person.
8     (a-5) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she,
9 knowingly and without lawful justification, creates and
10 maintains an Internet website or webpage which is accessible to
11 one or more third parties for a period of at least 24 hours,
12 and which contains statements harassing another person and:
13         (1) which communicates a threat of immediate or future
14     bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint,
15     where the threat is directed towards that person or a
16     family member of that person, or
17         (2) which places that person or a family member of that
18     person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future
19     bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint, or
20         (3) which knowingly solicits the commission of an act
21     by any person which would be a violation of this Code
22     directed towards that person or a family member of that
23     person.
24     (b) As used in this Section:
25     "Harass" means to engage in a knowing and willful course of
26 conduct directed at a specific person that alarms, torments, or

 

 

09500SB2426sam003 - 3 - LRB095 19685 RLC 49425 a

1 terrorizes that person.
2     "Third party" means any person other than the person
3 violating these provisions and the person or persons towards
4 whom the violator's actions are directed.
5     "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs,
6 signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature
7 transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
8 electronmagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system.
9 "Electronic communication" includes transmissions by a
10 computer through the Internet to another computer.
11     (c) Sentence. Cyberstalking is a Class 4 felony. A second
12 or subsequent conviction for cyberstalking is a Class 3 felony.
13     (d) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service
14 providers, and providers of information services, including,
15 but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting
16 service providers, are not liable under this Section, except
17 for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the
18 transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications
19 or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other
20 related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
21 information services used by others in violation of this
22 Section.
23 (Source: P.A. 92-199, eff. 8-1-01.)
 
24     Section 10. The Harassing and Obscene Communications Act is
25 amended by changing Section 1-2 as follows:
 

 

 

09500SB2426sam003 - 4 - LRB095 19685 RLC 49425 a

1     (720 ILCS 135/1-2)
2     Sec. 1-2. Harassment through electronic communications.
3     (a) Harassment through electronic communications is the
4 use of electronic communication for any of the following
5 purposes:
6         (1) Making any comment, request, suggestion or
7     proposal which is obscene with an intent to offend;
8         (2) Interrupting, with the intent to harass, the
9     telephone service or the electronic communication service
10     of any person;
11         (3) Transmitting to any person, with the intent to
12     harass and regardless of whether the communication is read
13     in its entirety or at all, any file, document, or other
14     communication which prevents that person from using his or
15     her telephone service or electronic communications device;
16         (3.1) Transmitting an electronic communication or
17     knowingly inducing a person to transmit an electronic
18     communication for the purpose of harassing another person
19     who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the
20     person under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if
21     the defendant is at least 16 years of age at the time of
22     the commission of the offense;
23         (4) Threatening injury to the person or to the property
24     of the person to whom an electronic communication is
25     directed or to any of his or her family or household

 

 

09500SB2426sam003 - 5 - LRB095 19685 RLC 49425 a

1     members; or
2         (5) Knowingly permitting any electronic communications
3     device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in this
4     subsection (a).
5     (b) As used in this Act:
6         (1) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of
7     signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data or
8     intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part
9     by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric or
10     photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes
11     transmissions by a computer through the Internet to another
12     computer.
13         (2) "Family or household member" includes spouses,
14     former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other
15     persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage,
16     persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling,
17     persons who have or allegedly share a blood relationship
18     through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or
19     engagement relationship, and persons with disabilities and
20     their personal assistants. For purposes of this Act,
21     neither a casual acquaintanceship nor ordinary
22     fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social
23     contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating
24     relationship.
25      (c) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile
26 service providers, and providers of information services,

 

 

09500SB2426sam003 - 6 - LRB095 19685 RLC 49425 a

1 including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and
2 hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section,
3 except for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the
4 transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications
5 or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other
6 related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
7 information services used by others in violation of this
8 Section.
9 (Source: P.A. 90-578, eff. 6-1-98; 91-878, eff. 1-1-01.)".