720 ILCS 5/21-3 – Criminal Trespass To Real Property

720 ILCS 5/21-3 – Criminal Trespass To Real Property

This law says it is illegal to go onto someone else’s property when you know you are not allowed to.

This law explains when going onto or staying on another person’s land or building without permission is a crime. It also says how people must be warned not to enter, what the signs or markings mean, and what exceptions exist.

(a) A person commits criminal trespass when they:

1. Knowingly go into or stay inside a building without permission.
2. Go on someone’s land after being told before entering that they cannot go there.
3. Stay on someone’s land after being told to leave.
   3. 5 Use fake ID or lie about who they are to get permission to enter or stay.
   3. 7 Take down or remove a notice sign on a home before the date listed.
4. Drive any vehicle (like an ATV or motorcycle) into a crop field, pasture, or orchard after being told not to, or stay there after being told to go.

This rule doesn’t apply if a building is open to the public during normal hours, or if someone reasonably thinks the building is still open.

(b) A person has been given notice if they are told personally (by talking or in writing), if there is a legal court order, or if a clear “no trespassing” sign is posted at the entrance.

(b-5) Instead of signs, owners can paint purple marks on trees or posts to show that entry is not allowed. The marks must:

1. Be a vertical purple line at least 8 inches long, between 3 and 5 feet off the ground, and no more than 100 feet apart, or
2. Be on top of posts (at least 2 inches tall and between 3 and 5½ feet high) spaced no more than 36 feet apart. Neighbors sharing a fence must agree before marking both sides.

The marks can’t be put up in ways that break other laws or rules.

(b-10) Anyone using purple paint to mark land must also have another type of notice like a sign. The Illinois Agriculture and Natural Resources Departments must tell the public what these purple marks mean and how to make them correctly.

(b-15) The paint marking rules do not apply inside very large cities with over 2 million people.

(c) This law does not apply to people living on the land with the owner’s permission or guests visiting them.

(d) People who clean up, fix, or improve (“beautify”) unused and abandoned buildings in cities are not guilty of trespassing if:

1. Taxes haven’t been paid for at least two years, and
2. The property has been empty for at least one year.

(e) These people also can’t be sued for money by the property owner for doing the above work.

(e-5) Banks or their agents who care for or repair abandoned homes they hold a mortgage on:

1. Cannot be charged with trespassing when they enter or fix the property.
2. Cannot be sued by the homeowner for entering or maintaining the empty house.
3. “Abandoned residential property” means a home the bank has good reason to think is empty and fits the legal definition of abandoned.

(f) It is not trespassing to go onto land or into a building during an emergency to help someone or protect property in danger.

(g) Police and government workers doing their jobs are not guilty of trespassing for using a fake ID.

(h) Sentence: Breaking this law under parts (a)(1)–(a)(3.5) is a Class B misdemeanor. Doing so under (a)(4) is a Class A misdemeanor.

(i) People who trespass on land with a vehicle can be sued for money by the landowner. Fines depend on the damage:

1. At least $250 in certain protected areas like nature preserves.
2. Double the actual damage if warned before.
3. At least $50 in other cases.

If the driver is under 16, their parent or guardian and vehicle owner are also responsible.

“Land” includes land used for farming, wood chopping, nature preserves, and more. It does not include driveways or private roads where the owner gives the public permission to drive.

“Owner” means the person who rightful controls the land, like the owner or renter

“Vehicle” has the same meaning as in the Illinois Vehicle Code

(j) This law does not apply to:

1. People who are auothorized to serve court papers (process servers).
2. People who are given special permission to serve court papers.

View the full statute here.

Contact us online or call (314) 900-HELP to talk with a Southern Illinois criminal defense lawyer.