720 ILCS 5/19-5 – Criminal Fortification of a Residence or Building
This law makes it illegal to strengthen a building to keep police out when it’s being used for drug crimes.
This Illinois law says it’s a crime to make a home or building hard for police to enter if the place is being used for illegal drug activities. People who do this can be charged with a felony.
(a) A person breaks this law when they make a house or building extra hard to get into on purpose to stop police or others from entering, knowing that the place is used for making, keeping, selling, or moving illegal drugs like cannabis, controlled substances, or methamphetamine.
(b) “Fortified condition” means using things like steel doors, wood boards, crossbars, alarms, guard dogs, cameras, motion sensors, traps, or similar tools to slow down or stop entry. If the only security is video cameras, they count as fortification only if used to warn someone inside about the police to destroy evidence, harm officers, or stop official duties. A “booby trap” is any device, such as an explosive, that can hurt a person or destroy evidence when someone enters or moves through the building.
(c) Sentence: Breaking this law is a Class 3 felony.
(d) This law does not apply to certain buildings used to make methamphetamine as explained in the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act.
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