Stalking

720 ILCS 5/12-7.3. Stalking. (2010)

(a)  A person commits stalking when he or she knowingly engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person, and he or she knows or should know that this course of conduct would cause a reasonable person to:

                                   (1)      fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third person; or

                                   (2)      suffer other emotional distress.

   (a-3) A person commits stalking when he or she, knowingly and without lawful justification, on

at least 2 separate occasions follows another person or places the person under surveillance or any combination thereof and:

(1)     at any time transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault,  confinement or restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or a family member of that person; or

(2)     places that person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement or restraint; or

(3)     places that person in reasonable apprehension that a family member will receive immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint.

     (a-5)   A person commits stalking when he or she has previously been convicted of stalking another person and knowingly and without lawful justification on one occasion:

(1)   follows that same person or places that same person under surveillance; and

(2)  transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement or restraint; and

(3)  the threat is directed towards that person or a family member of that person.

(b)  Sentence. Stalking is a Class 4 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for stalking is a Class 3 felony.

(c)   Definitions. For purposes of this Section:

                                   (1)      "Course of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including but not limited to acts in which a defendant directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person, engages in other non-consensual contact, or interferes with or damages a person's property or pet. A course of conduct may include contact via electronic communications.

                                   (2)      "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions by a computer through the Internet to another computer.

                                   (3)      "Emotional distress" means significant mental suffering, anxiety or alarm.

                                   (4)      "Family member" means a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, or child, whether by whole blood, half-blood, or adoption and includes a step-grandparent, step-parent, step-brother, step-sister or step-child. "Family member" also means any other person who regularly resides in the household, or who, within the prior 6 months, regularly resided in the household.

                                   (5)      "Follows another person" means (i) to move in relative proximity to a person as that person moves from place to place or (ii) to remain in relative proximity to a person who is stationary or whose movements are confined to a small area. "Follows another person" does not include a following within the residence of the defendant.

                                   (6)      "Non-consensual contact" means any contact with the victim that is initiated or continued without the victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight of the victim; approaching or confronting the victim in a public place or on private property; appearing at the workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto or remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim; or placing an object on, or delivering an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim.

                                   (7)      "Places a person under surveillance" means: (1) remaining present outside the person's school, place of employment, vehicle, other place occupied by the person, or residence other than the residence of the defendant; or (2) placing an electronic tracking device on the person or the person's property.

                                   (8)      "Reasonable person" means a person in the victim's situation.

                                   (9)      "Transmits a threat" means a verbal or written threat or a threat implied by a pattern of conduct or a combination of verbal or written statements or conduct.

(d)  Exemptions.

                                   (1)      This Section does not apply to any individual or organization (i) monitoring or attentive to compliance with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour requirements, or other statutory requirements, or (ii) picketing occurring at the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor dispute, including any controversy concerning wages, salaries, hours, working conditions or benefits, including health and welfare, sick leave, insurance, and pension or retirement provisions, the making or maintaining of collective bargaining agreements, and the terms to be included in those agreements.

                                   (2)      This Section does not apply to an exercise of the right to free speech or assembly that is otherwise lawful.

                                   (3)      Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or information services used by others in violation of this Section.

(d-5)     The incarceration of a person in a penal institution who commits the course of conduct or transmits a threat is not a bar to prosecution under this Section.

720 ILCS 5/12-7.4. Aggravated stalking. (2010)

(a)   A person commits aggravated stalking when he or she, in conjunction with committing the offense of stalking, also does any of the following:

                                (1)      causes bodily harm to the victim;

                                (2)      confines or restrains the victim; or

                                (3)      violates a temporary restraining order, an order of protection, a stalking no contact order, a civil no contact order, or an injunction prohibiting the behavior described in subsection (b)(1) of Section 214 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 [750 ILCS 60/214].

(b)   Sentence. Aggravated stalking is a Class 3 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for aggravated stalking is a Class 2 felony.

(c)   Exemptions.

                                (1)      This Section does not apply to any individual or organization (i) monitoring or attentive to compliance with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour requirements, or other statutory requirements, or (ii) picketing occurring at the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor dispute including any controversy concerning wages, salaries, hours, working conditions or benefits, including health and welfare, sick leave, insurance, and pension or retirement provisions, the managing or maintenance of collective bargaining agreements, and the terms to be included in those agreements.

                                (2)      This Section does not apply to an exercise of the right of free speech or assembly that is otherwise lawful.

                                (3)      Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or information services used by others in violation of this Section.

720 ILCS 5/12-7.5. Cyberstalking. (2010)

(a)  A person commits cyberstalking when he or she engages in a course of conduct using electronic communication directed at a specific person, and he or she knows or should know that would cause a reasonable person to:

                                (1)      fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third person; or

                                (2)      suffer other emotional distress.

     (a-3)   A person commits cyberstalking when he or she, knowingly and without

lawful justification, on at least 2 separate occasions, harasses another person through the use of electronic communication and:

(1)  at any time transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or a family member of that person, or

(2)  places that person or a family member of that person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint; or

(3)  at any time knowingly solicits the commission of an act by any person which would be a violation of this Code directed towards that person or a family member of that person.

     (a-5)   A person commits cyberstalking when he or she, knowingly and without lawful justification, creates and maintains an Internet website or webpage which is accessible to one or more third parties for a period of at least 24 hours, and which contains statements harassing another person and:

(1)  which communicates a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint, where the threat is directed towards that person or a family member of that person, or

(2)  which places that person or a family member of that person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint, or

(3)  which knowingly solicits the commission of an act by any person which would be a violation of this Code directed towards that person or a family member of that person.

(b)  Sentence. Cyberstalking is a Class 4 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for cyberstalking is a Class 3 felony.

(c)  For purposes of this Section:

                                (1)      "Course of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including but not limited to acts in which a defendant directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person, engages in other non-consensual contact, or interferes with or damages a person's property or pet. The incarceration in a penal institution of a person who commits the course of conduct is not a bar to prosecution under this Section.

                                (2)      "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions by a computer through the Internet to another computer.

                                (3)      "Emotional distress" means significant mental suffering, anxiety or alarm.

                                (4)      "Harass" means to engage in a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that alarms, torments, or terrorizes that person.

                                (5)      "Non-consensual contact" means any contact with the victim that is initiated or continued without the victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight of the victim; approaching or confronting the victim in a public place or on private property; appearing at the workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto or remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim; or placing an object on, or delivering an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim.

                                (6)      "Reasonable person" means a person in the victim's circumstances, with the victim's knowledge of the defendant and the defendant's prior acts.

                                (7)      "Third party" means any person other than the person violating these provisions and the person or persons towards whom the violator's actions are directed.

(d)  Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or information services used by others in violation of this Section.

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Harassment

720 ILCS 135/1. [Prior to 1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev. Stat., Ch. 134, para. 16.4]. Sending obscene messages. (1998)

Any person in this State who sends messages or uses language or terms which are obscene, lewd or immoral with the intent to offend by means of or while using a telephone or telegraph facilities, equipment or wires of any person, firm or corporation engaged in the transmission of news or messages between states or within the State of Illinois is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. The use of language or terms which are obscene, lewd or immoral is prima facie evidence of the intent to offend.

720 ILCS 135/1-1. [Prior to 1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev. Stat., Ch. 134, para. 16.4-1]. Harassment by telephone. (2001)

Harassment by telephone is use of telephone communication for any of the following purposes:

(1)  Making any comment, request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent with an intent to offend; or

(2)  Making a telephone call, whether or not conversation ensues, with intent to abuse, threaten or harass any person at the called number; or

(3)  Making or causing the telephone of another repeatedly to ring, with intent to harass any person at the called number; or

(4)  Making repeated telephone calls, during which conversation ensues, solely to harass any person at the called number; or

(4.1)   Making a telephone call or knowingly inducing a person to make a

telephone call for the purpose of harassing another person who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the person under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if the defendant is at least 16 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense; or

(5)  Knowingly permitting any telephone under one's control to be used for any of the purposes mentioned herein.

Every telephone directory published for distribution to members of the general public shall contain a notice setting forth a summary of the provisions of this Section. Such notice shall be printed in type which is no smaller than any other type on the same page and shall be preceded by the word "WARNING". All telephone companies in this State shall cooperate with law enforcement agencies in using their facilities and personnel to detect and prevent violations of this Act.

720 ILCS 135/1-2. Harassment through electronic communications. (2009)

(a)   Harassment through electronic communications is the use of electronic communication for any of the following purposes:

(1)  Making any comment, request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene with an intent to offend;

(2)  Interrupting, with the intent to harass, the telephone service or the electronic communication service of any person;

(3)  Transmitting to any person, with the intent to harass and regardless of whether the communication is read in its entirety or at all, any file, document, or other communication which prevents that person from using his or her telephone service or electronic communications device;

(3.1)   Transmitting an electronic communication or knowingly inducing a

person to transmit an electronic communication for the purpose of harassing another person who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the person under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if the defendant is at least 16 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense;

(4)  Threatening injury to the person or to the property of the person to whom an electronic communication is directed or to any of his or her family or household members; or

(5)  Knowingly permitting any electronic communications device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in this subsection (a).

(a-5)   Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and

     providers of information services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or information services used by others in violation of this Section.

(b)   As used in this Act:

(1)  "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric or photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions by a computer through the Internet to another computer.

(2)  "Family or household member" includes spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage, persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling, persons who have or allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship, and persons with disabilities and their personal assistants. For purposes of this Act, neither a casual acquaintanceship nor ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating relationship.

(c)   Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or information services used by others in violation of this Section.

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Related Offenses

720 ILCS 5/26-4. Unauthorized video recording and live video transmission. (2010)

(a)  It is unlawful for any person to knowingly make a video record or transmit live video of another person without that person's consent in a restroom, tanning bed, tanning salon, locker room, changing room, or hotel bedroom.

(a-5) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly make a video record or transmit live video of another person in that other person's residence without that person's consent.
(a-6) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly make a video record or transmit live video of another person in that other person's residence without that person's consent when the recording or transmission is made outside that person's residence by use of an audio or video device that records or transmits from a remote location.
(a-10)      It is unlawful for any person to knowingly make a video record or transmit live video of another person under or through the clothing worn by that other person for the purpose of viewing the body of or  the undergarments worn by that other person without that person's consent.
(a-15)      It is unlawful for any person to place or cause to be placed a device that makes a video record or transmits a live video in a restroom, tanning bed, tanning salon, locker room, changing room, or hotel  bedroom with the intent to make a video record or transmit live video of another person without that person's consent.
(a-20)      It is unlawful for any person to place or cause to be placed a device that makes a video record or transmits a live video with the intent to make a video record or transmit live video of another person in that other person's residence without that person's consent.
(a-25)      It is unlawful for any person to, by any means, knowingly disseminate, or permit to be disseminated, a video record or live video that he or she knows to have been made or transmitted in violation of (a), (a-5), (a-6), (a-10), (a-15), or (a-20).

(b)  Exemptions. The following activities shall be exempt from the provisions of this Section:

(1)  The making of a video record or transmission of live video by law enforcement officers pursuant to a criminal investigation, which is otherwise lawful;

(2)  The making of a video record or transmission of live video by correctional officials for security reasons or for investigation of alleged misconduct involving a person committed to the Department of Corrections.

(3)  The making of a video record or transmission of live video in a locker room by a reporter or news medium, as those terms are defined in Section 8-902 of the Code of Civil Procedure [735 ILCS 5/8-902], where the reporter or news medium has been granted access to the locker room by an appropriate authority for the purpose of conducting interviews.

(c)  The provisions of this Section do not apply to any sound recording or transmission of an oral conversation made as the result of the making of a video record or transmission of live video, and to which Article 14 of this Code [720 ILCS 5/14-1 et seq.] applies.

(d)  Sentence.

(1)  A violation of subsection (a-10), (a-15), or (a-20) is a Class A misdemeanor.

(2)  A violation of subsection (a), (a-5), or (a-6) is a Class 4 felony.

(3)  A violation of subsection (a-25) is a Class 3 felony.

(4)  A violation of subsection (a), (a-5), (a-6), (a-10), (a-15) or (a-20) is a Class 3 felony if the victim is a person under 18 years of age or if the violation is committed by an individual who is required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act [730 ILCS 150/1 et seq.].

(5)  A violation of subsection (a-25) is a Class 2 felony if the victim is a person under 18 years of age or if the violation is committed by an individual who is required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act.

(e)  For purposes of this Section:

(1)  "Residence" includes a rental dwelling, but does not include stairwells, corridors, laundry facilities, or additional areas in which the general public has access.

(2)  "Video record" means and includes any videotape, photograph, film, or other electronic or digital recording of a still or moving visual image; and "live video" means and includes any real-time or contemporaneous electronic or digital transmission of a still or moving visual image.

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