Definitions of Clery Act Reportable Crimes

In compliance with the Clery Act, the following standardized crime definitions are used for the reporting of Clery Act crime statistics in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Clery Act reportable crimes are defined and codified under Section 485(f)(6)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)).

Criminal Offenses

Clery Act crime statistics for Criminal Offenses are counted in accordance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting Hierarchy Rule. The definitions below are presented in the order of the Heirarchy Rule, with the most serious offenses at the top of the list. Under the Heirarchy Rule, when more than one Criminal Offense is committed during a single incident, only the most serious offense is counted. However, for Clery reporting purposes, sexual assault and arson are always counted, regardless of the nature of other offenses that were committed during the same incident.

Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter:

The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.

Manslaughter by Negligence:

The killing of another person through gross negligence.

Sexual Assault

An offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest, or statutory rape as used in the FBI’s UCR program and included in Appendix A [to Subpart D of Part 668, Title 34], where Appendix A defines sexual assault as: Any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent.

A. Rape: The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.

B. Fondling: The touching of the private parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.

C. Incest: Sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.

D. Statutory Rape: Sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.

Robbery:

The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

Aggravated Assault:

An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.

Burglary:

The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. For reporting purposes this definition includes: unlawful entry with intent to commit a larceny or felony; breaking and entering with intent to commit a larceny; housebreaking; safecracking; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.

Motor Vehicle Theft:

The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

Arson:

Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.

Hate Crimes

A hate crime is a crime reported to local police agencies or to a campus security authority that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias against the victim. The categories of bias include the victim’s actual or perceived race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, and disability.

Hate Crimes include any of the previously defined Criminal Offenses that are motivated by bias (Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter, Sexual Assault, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, Arson), as well as the following:

Larceny-Theft (Except Motor Vehicle Theft):

The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.

Simple Assault:

An unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.

Intimidation:

To unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.

Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property:

To willfully or maliciously destroy, damage, deface, or otherwise injure real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.

Arrests & Disciplinary Referrals for Violation of Weapons, Drug, or Liquor Laws

Liquor Law Violations:

The violation of state or local laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, or use of alcoholic beverages, not including driving under the influence and drunkenness.

Drug Abuse Violations:

The violation of laws prohibiting the production, distribution, and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation and/or use. The unlawful cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation, or importation of any controlled drug or narcotic substance. Arrests for violations of state and local laws, specifically those relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing, and making of narcotic drugs.

Weapons: Carrying, Possessing, Etc.:

The violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices, or other deadly weapons.

Hazing

Any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate, that—

(I) is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization; and

(II) causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the institution of higher education or the organization (such as the physical preparation necessary for participation in an athletic team), of physical or psychological injury including--

(aa) whipping, beating, striking, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on someone’s body, or similar activity;

(bb) causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, extreme calisthenics, or other similar activity;

(cc) causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to consume food, liquid, alcohol, drugs, or other substances;

(dd) causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to perform sexual acts;

(ee) any activity that places another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words or conduct;

(ff) any activity against another person that includes a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law; and

(gg) any activity that induces, causes, or requires another person to perform a duty or task that involves a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law.

Note: the State of Illinois definition of Hazing is defined under “State of Illinois Definitions” later in this section.

Student Organization

An organization at an institution of higher education (such as a club, society, association, varsity or junior varsity athletic team, club sports team, fraternity, sorority, band, or student government) in which two or more of the members are students enrolled at the institution of higher education, whether or not the organization is established or recognized by the institution.

Violence Against Women Act Offenses

Note: Sexual Assault is defined under Criminal Offenses earlier in this section.

Domestic Violence:

Felony or misdemeanor crimes committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim under the family or domestic violence laws of the State of Illinois and, in the case of victim services, includes the use or attempted use of physical abuse or sexual abuse, or a pattern of any other coercive behavior committed, enabled, or solicited to gain or maintain power and control over a victim, including verbal, psychological, economic, or technological abuse that may or may not constitute criminal behavior, by a person who—

a. is a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, or person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim;

b. is cohabitating, or has cohabitated, with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner;

c. shares a child in common with the victim; or

d. commits acts against a youth or adult victim who is protected from those acts under the family or domestic violence laws of Illinois .

Dating Violence:

Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. For the purposes of this definition-

i. Dating Violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse.

ii. Dating Violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.

Stalking:

Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to-

i. fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or

ii. suffer substantial emotional distress.

For the purposes of this definition-

i. course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts which the stalker 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, or interferes with a person’s property.

ii. Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim.

ii. Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

State of Illinois Definitions

State Definitions of Violence Against Women Act Offenses

The following definitions of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking from UIC’s local jurisdiction (i.e., the state of Illinois) must be provided to the community for educational and awareness purposes; however, these definitions are not used for the purposes of reporting Clery Act crime statistics.

Criminal Sexual Assault [720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)]:

A person commits criminal sexual assault if that person commits an act of sexual penetration and:

(1) uses force or threat of force;

(2) knows that the victim is unable to understand the nature of the act or is unable to give knowing consent; =

(3) is a family member of the victim, and the victim is under 18 years of age; or

(4) is 17 years of age or over and holds a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim, and the victim is at least 13 years of age but under 18 years of age.

“Sexual penetration” means any contact, however slight, between the sex organ or anus of one person and an object or the sex organ, mouth, or anus of another person, or any intrusion, however slight, of any part of the body of one person or of any animal or object into the sex organ or anus of another person, including, but not limited to, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anal penetration. Evidence of emission of semen is not required to prove sexual penetration. [720 ILCS 5/11-0.1]

“Consent” means a freely given agreement to the act of sexual penetration or sexual conduct in question. Lack of verbal or physical resistance or submission by the victim resulting from the use of force or threat of force by the accused shall not constitute consent. The manner of dress of the victim at the time of the offense shall not constitute consent. [720 ILCS 5/11-0.1]

A person who initially consents to sexual penetration or sexual conduct is not deemed to have consented to any sexual penetration or sexual conduct that occurs after he or she withdraws consent during the course of that sexual penetration or sexual conduct. [720 ILCS 5/11-1.70(c)]

Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault [720 ILCS 5/11-1.30]:

(a) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual assault if that person commits criminal sexual assault and any of the following aggravating circumstances exist during the commission of the offense or, for purposes of paragraph (7), occur as part of the same course of conduct as the commission of the offense:

(1) the person displays, threatens to use, or uses a dangerous weapon, other than a firearm, or any other object fashioned or used in a manner that leads the victim, under the circumstances, reasonably to believe that the object is a dangerous weapon;

(2) the person causes bodily harm to the victim, except as provided in paragraph (10);

(3) the person acts in a manner that threatens or endangers the life of the victim or any other person;

(4) the person commits the criminal sexual assault during the course of committing or attempting to commit any other felony;

(5) the victim is 60 years of age or older;

(6) the victim is a person with a physical disability;

(7) the person delivers (by injection, inhalation, ingestion, transfer of possession, or any other means) any controlled substance to the victim without the victim’s consent or by threat or deception for other than medical purposes;

(8) the person is armed with a firearm;

(9) the person personally discharges a firearm during the commission of the offense; or

(10) the person personally discharges a firearm during the commission of the offense, and that discharge proximately causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or death to another person.

(b) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual assault if that person is under 17 years of age and:

(i) commits an act of sexual penetration with a victim who is under 9 years of age; or

(ii) commits an act of sexual penetration with a victim who is at least 9 years of age but under 13 years of age and the person uses force or threat of force to commit the act.

(c) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual assault if that person commits an act of sexual penetration with a victim who is a person with a severe or profound intellectual disability.

Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child [720 ILCS 5/11-1.40]:

A person commits predatory criminal sexual assault of a child if that person is 17 years of age or older, and commits an act of contact, however slight, between the sex organ or anus of one person and the part of the body of another for the purpose of sexual gratification or arousal of the victim or the accused, or an act of sexual penetration, and:

(1) the victim is under 13 years of age; or

(2) the victim is under 13 years of age and that person:

(A) is armed with a firearm;

(B) personally discharges a firearm during the commission of the offense;

(C) causes great bodily harm to the victim that:

(i) results in permanent disability; or

(ii) is life threatening; or

(D) delivers (by injection, inhalation, ingestion, transfer of possession, or any other means) any controlled substance to the victim without the victim’s consent or by threat or deception, for other than medical purposes.

Criminal Sexual Abuse [720 ILCS 5/11-1.50]:

(a) A person commits criminal sexual abuse if that person:

(1) commits an act of sexual conduct by the use of force or threat of force; or

(2) commits an act of sexual conduct and knows that the victim is unable to understand the nature of the act or is unable to give knowing consent.

(b) A person commits criminal sexual abuse if that person is under 17 years of age and commits an act of sexual penetration or sexual conduct with a victim who is at least 9 years of age but under 17 years of age.

(c) A person commits criminal sexual abuse if that person commits an act of sexual penetration or sexual conduct with a victim who is at least 13 years of age but under 17 years of age and the person is less than 5 years older than the victim.

Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse [720 ILCS 5/11-1.60]:

(a) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual abuse if that person commits criminal sexual abuse and any of the following aggravating circumstances exist

(i) during the commission of the offense or

(ii) for purposes of paragraph (7), as part of the same course of conduct as the commission of the offense:

(1) the person displays, threatens to use, or uses a dangerous weapon or any other object fashioned or used in a manner that leads the victim, under the circumstances, reasonably to believe that the object is a dangerous weapon;

(2) the person causes bodily harm to the victim;

(3) the victim is 60 years of age or older;

(4) the victim is a person with a physical disability;

(5) the person acts in a manner that threatens or endangers the life of the victim or any other person;

(6) the person commits the criminal sexual abuse during the course of committing or attempting to commit any other felony; or

(7) the person delivers (by injection, inhalation, ingestion, transfer of possession, or any other means) any controlled substance to the victim for other than medical purposes without the victim’s consent or by threat or deception.

(b) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual abuse if that person commits an act of sexual conduct with a victim who is under 18 years of age and the person is a family member.

(c) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual abuse if:

(1) that person is 17 years of age or over and:

(i) commits an act of sexual conduct with a victim who is under 13 years of age; or

(ii) commits an act of sexual conduct with a victim who is at least 13 years of age but under 17 years of age and the person uses force or threat of force to commit the act; or

(2) that person is under 17 years of age and:

(i) commits an act of sexual conduct with a victim who is under 9 years of age; or

(ii) commits an act of sexual conduct with a victim who is at least 9 years of age but under 17 years of age and the person uses force or threat of force to commit the act.

(d) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual abuse if that person commits an act of sexual penetration or sexual conduct with a victim who is at least 13 years of age but under 17 years of age and the person is at least 5 years older than the victim.

(e) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual abuse if that person commits an act of sexual conduct with a victim who is a person with a severe or profound intellectual disability.

(f) A person commits aggravated criminal sexual abuse if that person commits an act of sexual conduct with a victim who is at least 13 years of age but under 18 years of age and the person is 17 years of age or over and holds a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim.

Sexual Relations Within Families [720 ILCS 5/11-11]:

A person commits sexual relations within families if he or she:

(1) Commits an act of sexual penetration; and

(2) The person knows that he or she is related to the other person as follows:

(i) Brother or sister, either of the whole blood or the half blood; or

(ii) Father or mother, when the child, regardless of legitimacy and regardless of whether the child was of the whole blood or half-blood or was adopted, was 18 years of age or over when the act was committed; or

(iii) Stepfather or stepmother, when the stepchild was 18 years of age or over when the act was committed; or

(iv) Aunt or uncle, when the niece or nephew was 18 years of age or over when the act was committed; or

(v) Great-aunt or great-uncle, when the grand-niece or grand-nephew was 18 years of age or over when the act was committed; or

(vi) Grandparent or step-grandparent, when the grandchild or step-grandchild was 18 years of age or over when the act was committed.

“Sexual penetration” means any contact, however slight, between the sex organ or anus of one person and an object or the sex organ, mouth, or anus of another person, or any intrusion, however slight, of any part of the body of one person or of any animal or object into the sex organ or anus of another person, including, but not limited to, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anal penetration. Evidence of emission of semen is not required to prove sexual penetration. [720 ILCS 5/11-0.1]

Domestic Violence [750 ILCS 60/103]:

“Domestic violence” means physical abuse, harassment, intimidation of a dependent, interference with personal liberty or willful deprivation but does not include reasonable direction of a minor child by a parent or person in loco parentis.

“Physical abuse” includes sexual abuse and means any of the following: (i) knowing or reckless use of physical force, confinement or restraint; (ii) knowing, repeated and unnecessary sleep deprivation; or (iii) knowing or reckless conduct which creates an immediate risk of physical harm. [750 ILCS 60/103(14)]

“Harassment” means knowing conduct which is not necessary to accomplish a purpose that is reasonable under the circumstances; would cause a reasonable person emotional distress; and does cause emotional distress to the petitioner. Unless the presumption is rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence, the following types of conduct shall be presumed to cause emotional distress: (i) creating a disturbance at petitioner’s place of employment or school; (ii) repeatedly telephoning petitioner’s place of employment, home or residence; (iii) repeatedly following petitioner about in a public place or places; (iv) repeatedly keeping petitioner under surveillance by remaining present outside his or her home, school, place of employment, vehicle or other place occupied by petitioner or by peering in petitioner’s windows; (v) improperly concealing a minor child from petitioner, repeatedly threatening to improperly remove a minor child of petitioner’s from the jurisdiction or from the physical care of petitioner, repeatedly threatening to conceal a minor child from petitioner, or making a single such threat following an actual or attempted improper removal or concealment, unless respondent was fleeing an incident or pattern of domestic violence; or (vi) threatening physical force, confinement or restraint on one or more occasions. [750 ILCS 60/103(7)]

“Intimidation of a dependent” means subjecting a person who is dependent because of age, health or disability to participation in or the witnessing of: physical force against another or physical confinement or restraint of another which constitutes physical abuse, regardless of whether the abused person is a family or household member. [750 ILCS 60/103(10)]

“Interference with personal liberty” means committing or threatening physical abuse, harassment, intimidation or willful deprivation so as to compel another to engage in conduct from which she or he has a right to abstain or to refrain from conduct in which she or he has a right to engage. [750 ILCS 60/103(9)]

“Willful deprivation” means willfully denying a person who because of age, health or disability requires medication, medical care, shelter, accessible shelter or services, food, therapeutic device, or other physical assistance, and thereby exposing that person to the risk of physical, mental or emotional harm, except with regard to medical care or treatment when the dependent person has expressed an intent to forgo such medical care or treatment. This paragraph does not create any new affirmative duty to provide support to dependent persons. [750 ILCS 60/103(15)]

Domestic Battery [720 ILCS 5/12-3.2]:

A person commits domestic battery if he or she knowingly without legal justification by any means:

(1) causes bodily harm to any family or household member;

(2) makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with any family or household member.

Family or household members include 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 have a child in common, persons who share or allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship, persons with disabilities and their personal assistants, and caregivers. For purposes of this Article, neither a casual acquaintanceship nor ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating relationship. [720 ILCS 5/12-0.1]

Stalking [720 ILCS 5/12-7.3]:

(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) 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 to or of that person or a family member of that person.

(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 to that person or a family member of that person.

(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.

(d-10) A defendant who directed the actions of a third party to violate this Section, under the principles of accountability set forth in Article 5 of the Illinois Criminal Code, is guilty of violating this Section as if the same had been personally done by the defendant, without regard to the mental state of the third party acting at the direction of the defendant.

Aggravated Stalking [720 ILCS 5/12-7.4]:

(a) A person commits aggravated stalking when he or she commits stalking and:

(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.

(a-1) A person commits aggravated stalking when he or she is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act or has been previously required to register under that Act and commits the offense of stalking when the victim of the stalking is also the victim of the offense for which the sex offender is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act or a family member of the victim.

(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 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.

Cyberstalking [720 ILCS 5/12-7.5]:

(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 [the Criminal] Code directed towards that person or a family member of that person.

(a-4) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she knowingly, surreptitiously, and without lawful justification, installs or otherwise places electronic monitoring software or spyware on an electronic communication device as a means to harass another person 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;

(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 [the Criminal] Code directed towards that person or a family member of that person.

For purposes of this Section, an installation or placement is not surreptitious if:

(1) with respect to electronic software, hardware, or computer applications, clear notice regarding the use of the specific type of tracking software or spyware is provided by the installer in advance to the owners and primary users of the electronic software, hardware, or computer application; or

(2) written or electronic consent of all owners and primary users of the electronic software, hardware, or computer application on which the tracking software or spyware will be installed has been sought and obtained through a mechanism that does not seek to obtain any other approvals or acknowledgement from the owners and primary users.

(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 [the Criminal] Code directed towards that person or a family member of that person.

(c) For purposes of this Section:

(0.5) “Anxiety” means excessive worry and apprehensive expectations, occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities, such as work or school performance and is associated with 3 or more of the following 6 symptoms with at least some symptoms present for more days than not for the past 6 months:

(1) restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge;

(2) easily fatigued;

(3) difficulty concentrating or mind going blank;

(4) irritability;

(5) muscle tension; and

(6) sleep disturbance such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless and unsatisfying sleep.

The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

(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 through an electronic device including, but not limited to, a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager, which communication includes, but is not limited to, e-mail, instant message, text message, or voice mail.

(2.1) “Electronic communication device” means an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a wireless telephone, personal digital assistant, or a portable or mobile computer.

(2.2) “Electronic monitoring software or spyware” means software or an application that surreptitiously tracks computer activity on a device and records and transmits the information to third parties with the intent to cause injury or harm. For the purposes of this paragraph (2.2), “intent to cause injury or harm” does not include activities carried out in furtherance of the prevention of fraud or crime or of protecting the security of networks, online services, applications, software, other computer programs, users, or electronic communication devices or similar devices.

(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.

(e) A defendant who directed the actions of a third party to violate this Section, under the principles of accountability set forth in Article 5 of [the Criminal] Code, is guilty of violating this Section as if the same had been personally done by the defendant, without regard to the mental state of the third party acting at the direction of the defendant.

(f) It is not a violation of this Section to:

(1) provide, protect, maintain, update, or upgrade networks, online services, applications, software, other computer programs, electronic communication devices, or similar devices under the terms of use applicable to those networks, services, applications, software, programs, or devices;

(2) interfere with or prohibit terms or conditions in a contract or license related to networks, online services, applications, software, other computer programs, electronic communication devices, or similar devices; or

(3) create any liability by reason of terms or conditions adopted, or technical measures implemented, to prevent the transmission of unsolicited electronic mail or communications.

Dating Violence:

Dating violence is not defined in the Illinois criminal code.

State of Illinois Definition of Hazing

Hazing [720 ILCS 5/12C-50]:

(a) A person commits hazing when he or she knowingly requires the performance of any act by a student or other person in a school, college, university, or other educational institution of this State, for the purpose of induction or admission into any group, organization, or society associated or connected with that institution, if:

(1) the act is not sanctioned or authorized by that educational institution; and

(2) the act results in bodily harm to any person.

(a-1) It is not a defense to a prosecution under subsection (a) that the person against whom the hazing was directed consented to or acquiesced in the hazing.