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 [...]