How much time in prison would you receive from stealing a remote? A few days? Months? No jail time at all?

What about 22 years?

This is the case for Eric Bramwell, 35, of Illinois. Back in August of 2015, the man stole a universal remote from an apartment building. He left a glove at the scene and DNA evidence traced the theft back to him.

Like a shoplifter suffering from kleptomania, Bramwell has a history of [...]

If you are convicted of theft of over $300 in our state, you will be convicted of a Class 4 felony.

That’s right – $300 is all it takes. And a Class 4 felony isn’t anything to sneeze at, either. Penalties can include one to three years in prison.

And if you are incarcerated (Class 4 felons in Illinois spend, on average, 7 months in prison), you will arrive to an overcrowded prison, where around 40% of your [...]

Theft crime is a group of crimes encompassing everything from shoplifting to burglary to embezzlement. All of the criminal acts under this term are centered on taking something that doesn’t belong to you.

Under Illinois criminal statutes, theft occurs when an individual

takes unauthorized control over property of another obtains control over property of another by threat or deception obtains stolen property – either knowing the property is stolen, or under circumstances that should lead to a reasonable belief