Illinois Chapter 720 ILSC 5/16: Theft and Related Offenses
Chapter 720 ILSC 5/16 of the Illinois Revised Statutes: Criminal Offenses regulates property and ownership, outlawing various kinds of theft. This includes fraud, taking someone’s utilities, improper use of intellectual property, and more. These crimes range from misdemeanors to felonies, depending on what was stolen.
What Chapter 5/16 Covers
- Theft of property
- Not paying someone for work done
- Possessing tools used for theft
- Selling copies of someone else’s music or videos
You can use the following links to read statute by statute detailed explanations, written in plain English
Chapter 5/16 Statutes Explained
- 720 ILCS 5/16-1 – Theft
- 720 ILCS 5/16-2 – Theft of Lost or Mislaid Property
- 720 ILCS 5/16-3 – Theft of Labor or Services or Use of Property
- 720 ILCS 5/16-5 – Theft From Coin-Operated Machine
- 720 ILCS 5/16-6 – Theft-Related Devices
- 720 ILCS 5/16-7 – Unlawful Use of Recorded Sounds or Images
- 720 ILCS 5/16-14 – Theft of Utility Services
- 720 ILCS 5/16-17 – Theft of Advertising Services
- 720 ILCS 5/16-18 – Tampering with Communication Services; Theft of Communication Services
- 720 ILCS 5/16-25 – Retail Theft
- 720 ILCS 5/16-28 – Delivery Container Theft
- 720 ILCS 5/16-30 – Identity Theft; Aggravated Identity Theft
- 720 ILCS 5/16-31 – Transmission of Personal Identifying Information
- 720 ILCS 5/16-32 – Facilitating Identity Theft
- 720 ILCS 5/16-40(a) – Internet Offenses: Online Sale of Stolen Property
- 720 ILCS 5/16-40(b) – Internet Offenses: Online Theft by Deception
- 720 ILCS 5/16-40(c) – Internet Offenses: Electronic Fencing
Accused of Theft in Illinois?
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Chapter 720 ILCS 5/16-0.1 Definitions
This section explains key words used in Illinois theft laws in simple terms.
“Access” means using a computer by giving it instructions, saving or getting data from it, or using its services.
“Coin-operated machine” means machines like vending machines, parking meters, pay phones, laundry machines, or game machines that take coins.
“Communication device” means any tool or gadget that can send, get, unlock, or receive phone calls, internet, audio, video, or radio signals, including parts like chips or software.
“Communication service” means paid services that let people send or receive calls, data, images, sounds, or other info using phones, internet, cable TV, or wireless networks.
“Communication service provider” means any company or person that gives communication services, owns the networks, or runs the equipment for calls, internet, or TV.
“Computer” means a machine that handles data by taking it in, working with it, saving it, getting it back, or showing it, including attached storage or phone devices.
“Continuing course of conduct” means doing a series of acts with the same bad intent for a crime, whether done all at once or over time.
“Delivery container” means wire or plastic baskets for bread, cases for milk, or wheeled carts used to move bakery or dairy items.
“Document-making implement” means any tool, file, software, or device used to create real, fake, or phony ID documents.
“Financial transaction device” means cards like debit, credit, or point-of-sale cards, or codes and numbers used to get money, goods, services, or check account funds.
“Full retail value” means the price a store says for an item, and it adds up the value from thefts by the same person over a year from one or more stores.
“Internet” means a computer system that lets many people connect to servers, like the web, chat rooms, or online message boards.
“Library card” means a card from a library that lets someone borrow books or items with the library’s rules.
“Library facility” means public libraries, museums, or those run by schools, history groups, or charities.
“Library material” means any book, picture, recording, tape, or document owned or held by a library, no matter its form.
“Manufacture or assembly of an unlawful access device” means making or changing a tool to break protections on phone services, data, audio, or video without permission.
“Manufacture or assembly of an unlawful communication device” means making or changing a device to get or mess with communication services without the provider’s okay.
“Master sound recording” means the first copy where sounds were recorded, from which all other copies come.
“Merchandise” means any physical item for sale, like gas for cars.
“Merchant” means store owners, workers, or anyone who takes payment cards to sell goods or services.
“Motor fuel” means any liquid like gas or diesel that powers vehicles.
“Online” means using an electronic or wireless gadget to get on the internet.
“Payment card” means credit, debit, or charge cards used to buy stuff from stores.
“Person with a disability” means someone whose body or mind problem from illness, hurt, or birth makes it hard to handle their money or things alone.
“Personal identification document” means IDs like driver’s licenses, passports, social security cards, or credit cards made for or fake about someone else.
“Personal identifying information” means details like name, address, birth date, phone number, social security number, account numbers, passwords, or anything to ID or access a person’s money or info.
“Premises of a retail mercantile establishment” means the store, shared mall areas, and parking lots for customers.
“Public water, gas, or power supply, or other public services” means utilities like water, gas, power, or phone services run by government or regulated companies.
“Publish” means telling info to one or more people by talking, writing, phone, TV, or mail.
“Radio frequency identification device” means a tool that reads info from a chip on an ID using radio waves.
“RFID tag or transponder” means a chip holding personal info that a radio signal can read.
“Reencoder” means a gadget that copies info from one payment card’s strip to another’s.
“Retail mercantile establishment” means any place displaying or selling goods to people.
“Scanning device” means a reader that copies info from a payment card’s magnetic strip.
“Shopping cart” means carts from stores for customers to carry items inside and sometimes outside.
“Sound or audio visual recording” means records, tapes, discs, or films that play sounds or moving pictures.
“Stored value card” means gift cards or devices loaded with money for buying things, but not ones for ATMs or many stores.
“Theft detection device remover” means a tool made to take anti-theft tags off items.
“Under-ring” means making a cash register show less than the full price of goods.
“Unidentified sound or audio visual recording” means music or video copies without the maker’s name, address, and performers printed clearly on them.
“Unlawful access device” means tools made to break security on communication or media services without permission.
“Unlawful communication device” means phones or gadgets changed to get service without paying or permission, like fake or cloned phones.
“Vehicle” means self-moving cars, bikes, or farm machines that run on fuel.
“Wireless device” means any gadget that sends or receives phone, electronic, or radio signals, including parts like chips.
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