100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB4337

Introduced , by Rep. Kathleen Willis

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
720 ILCS 5/24-1 from Ch. 38, par. 24-1

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 concerning unlawful use of weapons. Prohibits the knowing sale, manufacture, purchase, possession, or carrying of a trigger modification device. Defines "trigger modification device". Provides that a person convicted of a violation commits a Class 2 felony and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 3 years and not more than 7 years, unless the weapon is possessed in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, or on the person, while the weapon is loaded, in which case it shall be a Class X felony.
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CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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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 changing
5Section 24-1 as follows:
6 (720 ILCS 5/24-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24-1)
7 Sec. 24-1. Unlawful use of weapons.
8 (a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons
9when he knowingly:
10 (1) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or
11 carries any bludgeon, black-jack, slung-shot, sand-club,
12 sand-bag, metal knuckles or other knuckle weapon
13 regardless of its composition, throwing star, or any knife,
14 commonly referred to as a switchblade knife, which has a
15 blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to
16 a button, spring or other device in the handle of the
17 knife, or a ballistic knife, which is a device that propels
18 a knifelike blade as a projectile by means of a coil
19 spring, elastic material or compressed gas; or
20 (2) Carries or possesses with intent to use the same
21 unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy,
22 dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, broken bottle or other
23 piece of glass, stun gun or taser or any other dangerous or

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1 deadly weapon or instrument of like character; or
2 (3) Carries on or about his person or in any vehicle, a
3 tear gas gun projector or bomb or any object containing
4 noxious liquid gas or substance, other than an object
5 containing a non-lethal noxious liquid gas or substance
6 designed solely for personal defense carried by a person 18
7 years of age or older; or
8 (4) Carries or possesses in any vehicle or concealed on
9 or about his person except when on his land or in his own
10 abode, legal dwelling, or fixed place of business, or on
11 the land or in the legal dwelling of another person as an
12 invitee with that person's permission, any pistol,
13 revolver, stun gun or taser or other firearm, except that
14 this subsection (a) (4) does not apply to or affect
15 transportation of weapons that meet one of the following
16 conditions:
17 (i) are broken down in a non-functioning state; or
18 (ii) are not immediately accessible; or
19 (iii) are unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm
20 carrying box, shipping box, or other container by a
21 person who has been issued a currently valid Firearm
22 Owner's Identification Card; or
23 (iv) are carried or possessed in accordance with
24 the Firearm Concealed Carry Act by a person who has
25 been issued a currently valid license under the Firearm
26 Concealed Carry Act; or

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1 (5) Sets a spring gun; or
2 (6) Possesses any device or attachment of any kind
3 designed, used or intended for use in silencing the report
4 of any firearm; or
5 (7) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or
6 carries:
7 (i) a machine gun, which shall be defined for the
8 purposes of this subsection as any weapon, which
9 shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily
10 restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot
11 without manually reloading by a single function of the
12 trigger, including the frame or receiver of any such
13 weapon, or sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses,
14 or carries any combination of parts designed or
15 intended for use in converting any weapon into a
16 machine gun, or any combination or parts from which a
17 machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the
18 possession or under the control of a person;
19 (i-5) a trigger modification device. For purposes
20 of this clause (i-5), "trigger modification device"
21 means any part, or combination of parts, designed or
22 intended to accelerate the rate of fire of a firearm,
23 but does not convert the firearm into a machine gun,
24 including, but not limited to:
25 (A) any part, or combination of parts,
26 designed or intended for use in modifying a firearm

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1 to use the recoil of the firearm to produce a rapid
2 succession of trigger functions; or
3 (B) any part, or combination of parts,
4 designed or intended for use in modifying a firearm
5 to produce multiple trigger functions through the
6 use of an external mechanism;
7 (ii) any rifle having one or more barrels less than
8 16 inches in length or a shotgun having one or more
9 barrels less than 18 inches in length or any weapon
10 made from a rifle or shotgun, whether by alteration,
11 modification, or otherwise, if such a weapon as
12 modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches;
13 or
14 (iii) any bomb, bomb-shell, grenade, bottle or
15 other container containing an explosive substance of
16 over one-quarter ounce for like purposes, such as, but
17 not limited to, black powder bombs and Molotov
18 cocktails or artillery projectiles; or
19 (8) Carries or possesses any firearm, stun gun or taser
20 or other deadly weapon in any place which is licensed to
21 sell intoxicating beverages, or at any public gathering
22 held pursuant to a license issued by any governmental body
23 or any public gathering at which an admission is charged,
24 excluding a place where a showing, demonstration or lecture
25 involving the exhibition of unloaded firearms is
26 conducted.

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1 This subsection (a)(8) does not apply to any auction or
2 raffle of a firearm held pursuant to a license or permit
3 issued by a governmental body, nor does it apply to persons
4 engaged in firearm safety training courses; or
5 (9) Carries or possesses in a vehicle or on or about
6 his person any pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or
7 firearm or ballistic knife, when he is hooded, robed or
8 masked in such manner as to conceal his identity; or
9 (10) Carries or possesses on or about his person, upon
10 any public street, alley, or other public lands within the
11 corporate limits of a city, village or incorporated town,
12 except when an invitee thereon or therein, for the purpose
13 of the display of such weapon or the lawful commerce in
14 weapons, or except when on his land or in his own abode,
15 legal dwelling, or fixed place of business, or on the land
16 or in the legal dwelling of another person as an invitee
17 with that person's permission, any pistol, revolver, stun
18 gun or taser or other firearm, except that this subsection
19 (a) (10) does not apply to or affect transportation of
20 weapons that meet one of the following conditions:
21 (i) are broken down in a non-functioning state; or
22 (ii) are not immediately accessible; or
23 (iii) are unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm
24 carrying box, shipping box, or other container by a
25 person who has been issued a currently valid Firearm
26 Owner's Identification Card; or

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1 (iv) are carried or possessed in accordance with
2 the Firearm Concealed Carry Act by a person who has
3 been issued a currently valid license under the Firearm
4 Concealed Carry Act.
5 A "stun gun or taser", as used in this paragraph (a)
6 means (i) any device which is powered by electrical
7 charging units, such as, batteries, and which fires one or
8 several barbs attached to a length of wire and which, upon
9 hitting a human, can send out a current capable of
10 disrupting the person's nervous system in such a manner as
11 to render him incapable of normal functioning or (ii) any
12 device which is powered by electrical charging units, such
13 as batteries, and which, upon contact with a human or
14 clothing worn by a human, can send out current capable of
15 disrupting the person's nervous system in such a manner as
16 to render him incapable of normal functioning; or
17 (11) Sells, manufactures or purchases any explosive
18 bullet. For purposes of this paragraph (a) "explosive
19 bullet" means the projectile portion of an ammunition
20 cartridge which contains or carries an explosive charge
21 which will explode upon contact with the flesh of a human
22 or an animal. "Cartridge" means a tubular metal case having
23 a projectile affixed at the front thereof and a cap or
24 primer at the rear end thereof, with the propellant
25 contained in such tube between the projectile and the cap;
26 or

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1 (12) (Blank); or
2 (13) Carries or possesses on or about his or her person
3 while in a building occupied by a unit of government, a
4 billy club, other weapon of like character, or other
5 instrument of like character intended for use as a weapon.
6 For the purposes of this Section, "billy club" means a
7 short stick or club commonly carried by police officers
8 which is either telescopic or constructed of a solid piece
9 of wood or other man-made material.
10 (b) Sentence. A person convicted of a violation of
11subsection 24-1(a)(1) through (5), subsection 24-1(a)(10),
12subsection 24-1(a)(11), or subsection 24-1(a)(13) commits a
13Class A misdemeanor. A person convicted of a violation of
14subsection 24-1(a)(8) or 24-1(a)(9) commits a Class 4 felony; a
15person convicted of a violation of subsection 24-1(a)(6) or
1624-1(a)(7)(ii) or (iii) commits a Class 3 felony. A person
17convicted of a violation of subsection 24-1(a)(7)(i) or
1824-1(a)(7)(i-5) commits a Class 2 felony and shall be sentenced
19to a term of imprisonment of not less than 3 years and not more
20than 7 years, unless the weapon is possessed in the passenger
21compartment of a motor vehicle as defined in Section 1-146 of
22the Illinois Vehicle Code, or on the person, while the weapon
23is loaded, in which case it shall be a Class X felony. A person
24convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subsection
2524-1(a)(4), 24-1(a)(8), 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) commits a
26Class 3 felony. The possession of each weapon in violation of

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1this Section constitutes a single and separate violation.
2 (c) Violations in specific places.
3 (1) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(6) or
4 24-1(a)(7) in any school, regardless of the time of day or
5 the time of year, in residential property owned, operated
6 or managed by a public housing agency or leased by a public
7 housing agency as part of a scattered site or mixed-income
8 development, in a public park, in a courthouse, on the real
9 property comprising any school, regardless of the time of
10 day or the time of year, on residential property owned,
11 operated or managed by a public housing agency or leased by
12 a public housing agency as part of a scattered site or
13 mixed-income development, on the real property comprising
14 any public park, on the real property comprising any
15 courthouse, in any conveyance owned, leased or contracted
16 by a school to transport students to or from school or a
17 school related activity, in any conveyance owned, leased,
18 or contracted by a public transportation agency, or on any
19 public way within 1,000 feet of the real property
20 comprising any school, public park, courthouse, public
21 transportation facility, or residential property owned,
22 operated, or managed by a public housing agency or leased
23 by a public housing agency as part of a scattered site or
24 mixed-income development commits a Class 2 felony and shall
25 be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 3
26 years and not more than 7 years.

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1 (1.5) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(4),
2 24-1(a)(9), or 24-1(a)(10) in any school, regardless of the
3 time of day or the time of year, in residential property
4 owned, operated, or managed by a public housing agency or
5 leased by a public housing agency as part of a scattered
6 site or mixed-income development, in a public park, in a
7 courthouse, on the real property comprising any school,
8 regardless of the time of day or the time of year, on
9 residential property owned, operated, or managed by a
10 public housing agency or leased by a public housing agency
11 as part of a scattered site or mixed-income development, on
12 the real property comprising any public park, on the real
13 property comprising any courthouse, in any conveyance
14 owned, leased, or contracted by a school to transport
15 students to or from school or a school related activity, in
16 any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a public
17 transportation agency, or on any public way within 1,000
18 feet of the real property comprising any school, public
19 park, courthouse, public transportation facility, or
20 residential property owned, operated, or managed by a
21 public housing agency or leased by a public housing agency
22 as part of a scattered site or mixed-income development
23 commits a Class 3 felony.
24 (2) A person who violates subsection 24-1(a)(1),
25 24-1(a)(2), or 24-1(a)(3) in any school, regardless of the
26 time of day or the time of year, in residential property

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1 owned, operated or managed by a public housing agency or
2 leased by a public housing agency as part of a scattered
3 site or mixed-income development, in a public park, in a
4 courthouse, on the real property comprising any school,
5 regardless of the time of day or the time of year, on
6 residential property owned, operated or managed by a public
7 housing agency or leased by a public housing agency as part
8 of a scattered site or mixed-income development, on the
9 real property comprising any public park, on the real
10 property comprising any courthouse, in any conveyance
11 owned, leased or contracted by a school to transport
12 students to or from school or a school related activity, in
13 any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a public
14 transportation agency, or on any public way within 1,000
15 feet of the real property comprising any school, public
16 park, courthouse, public transportation facility, or
17 residential property owned, operated, or managed by a
18 public housing agency or leased by a public housing agency
19 as part of a scattered site or mixed-income development
20 commits a Class 4 felony. "Courthouse" means any building
21 that is used by the Circuit, Appellate, or Supreme Court of
22 this State for the conduct of official business.
23 (3) Paragraphs (1), (1.5), and (2) of this subsection
24 (c) shall not apply to law enforcement officers or security
25 officers of such school, college, or university or to
26 students carrying or possessing firearms for use in

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1 training courses, parades, hunting, target shooting on
2 school ranges, or otherwise with the consent of school
3 authorities and which firearms are transported unloaded
4 enclosed in a suitable case, box, or transportation
5 package.
6 (4) For the purposes of this subsection (c), "school"
7 means any public or private elementary or secondary school,
8 community college, college, or university.
9 (5) For the purposes of this subsection (c), "public
10 transportation agency" means a public or private agency
11 that provides for the transportation or conveyance of
12 persons by means available to the general public, except
13 for transportation by automobiles not used for conveyance
14 of the general public as passengers; and "public
15 transportation facility" means a terminal or other place
16 where one may obtain public transportation.
17 (d) The presence in an automobile other than a public
18omnibus of any weapon, instrument or substance referred to in
19subsection (a)(7) is prima facie evidence that it is in the
20possession of, and is being carried by, all persons occupying
21such automobile at the time such weapon, instrument or
22substance is found, except under the following circumstances:
23(i) if such weapon, instrument or instrumentality is found upon
24the person of one of the occupants therein; or (ii) if such
25weapon, instrument or substance is found in an automobile
26operated for hire by a duly licensed driver in the due, lawful

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1and proper pursuit of his trade, then such presumption shall
2not apply to the driver.
3 (e) Exemptions.
4 (1) Crossbows, Common or Compound bows and Underwater
5 Spearguns are exempted from the definition of ballistic
6 knife as defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this
7 Section.
8 (2) The provision of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of
9 this Section prohibiting the sale, manufacture, purchase,
10 possession, or carrying of any knife, commonly referred to
11 as a switchblade knife, which has a blade that opens
12 automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring
13 or other device in the handle of the knife, does not apply
14 to a person who possesses a currently valid Firearm Owner's
15 Identification Card previously issued in his or her name by
16 the Department of State Police or to a person or an entity
17 engaged in the business of selling or manufacturing
18 switchblade knives.
19(Source: P.A. 99-29, eff. 7-10-15; 100-82, eff. 8-11-17.)