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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Pushes for Marijuana Decriminalization
The harsh penalties for possession of marijuana in Illinois have recently come under fire for a number of reasons. Many believe that charging individuals for misdemeanor marijuana possession, which is the leading arrest category in Chicago, is a waste of police time and tax dollars. Across the country, attitudes towards marijuana are shifting in favor of decriminalization or, in the cases of Colorado and Washington, legalization. Amidst these changing attitudes and the controversy over disproportionate drug crime sentencing, Chicago mayor [...]
Juveniles Charged with Sex Crimes Still Must Register as Sex Offenders
Because children lack the same life experience as adults and because their brains have not yet fully developed, they are typically treated differently than adults in the criminal justice system. While juveniles can be tried as adults depending on the nature of their criminal charge, courts generally take a defendant’s age into account when determining penalties. However, the state of Illinois takes a hard line when it comes to juveniles who have allegedly committed sex offenses, and any minor charged [...]
Illinois Anti-Stalking Law Casts a Wide Net
Stalking is a crime that many people think they understand based on TV and movie representations. To many people, a stalker is a mentally unhinged person who obsessively follows another person and causes their victim to fear for their safety. In Illinois, though, the definition of criminal stalking is much broader than that and encompasses a number of subjective behaviors and activities, making the crime much more common than you might think.
In some cases, the people charged with [...]
How is Burglary Defined in Illinois?
We all have a sense of what the crime of burglary entails—based on representations in TV, movies, and the news, most of us think of burglary as occurring when a masked criminal breaks into a stranger’s home in the middle of the night. However, the actual definition of burglary in the state of Illinois encompasses a lot more than just this scenario, and some people might actually be surprised to learn that their actions have warranted a burglary charge. Here [...]
