(720 ILCS 5/12‑4) (from Ch. 38, par. 12‑4)
(Text of Section from P.A. 94‑243)
Sec. 12‑4. Aggravated Battery.
(a) A person who, in committing a battery, intentionally or knowingly causes great bodily harm, or permanent disability or disfigurement commits aggravated battery.
(b) In committing a battery, a person commits aggravated battery if he or she:
(1) Uses a deadly weapon other than by the discharge of a firearm;
(2) Is hooded, robed or masked, in such manner as to conceal his identity;
(3) Knows the individual harmed to be a teacher or other person employed in any school and such teacher or other employee is upon the grounds of a school or grounds adjacent thereto, or is in any part of a building used for school purposes;
(4) Knows the individual harmed to be a supervisor, director, instructor or other person employed in any park district and such supervisor, director, instructor or other employee is upon the grounds of the park or grounds adjacent thereto, or is in any part of a building used for park purposes;
(5) Knows the individual harmed to be a caseworker, investigator, or other person employed by the State Department of Public Aid, a County Department of Public Aid, or the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the Illinois Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human Services Act) and such caseworker, investigator, or other person is upon the grounds of a public aid office or grounds adjacent thereto, or is in any part of a building used for public aid purposes, or upon the grounds of a home of a public aid applicant, recipient, or any other person being interviewed or investigated in the employee's discharge of his duties, or on grounds adjacent thereto, or is in any part of a building in which the applicant, recipient, or other such person resides or is located;
(6) Knows the individual harmed to be a peace officer, a community policing volunteer, a correctional institution employee, an employee of the Department of Human Services supervising or controlling sexually dangerous persons or sexually violent persons, or a fireman while such officer, volunteer, employee or fireman is engaged in the execution of any official duties including arrest or attempted arrest, or to prevent the officer, volunteer, employee or fireman from performing official duties, or in retaliation for the officer, volunteer, employee or fireman performing official duties, and the battery is committed other than by the discharge of a firearm;
(7) Knows the individual harmed to be an emergency
medical technician ‑ ambulance, emergency medical technician ‑ intermediate, emergency medical technician ‑ paramedic, ambulance driver, other medical assistance, first aid personnel, or hospital personnel engaged in the performance of any of his or her official duties, or to prevent the emergency medical technician ‑ ambulance, emergency medical technician ‑ intermediate, emergency medical technician ‑ paramedic, ambulance driver, other medical assistance, first aid personnel, or hospital personnel from performing official duties, or in retaliation for performing official duties;
(8) Is, or the person battered is, on or about a
public way, public property or public place of accommodation or amusement;
(9) Knows the individual harmed to be the driver,
operator, employee or passenger of any transportation facility or system engaged in the business of transportation of the public for hire and the individual assaulted is then performing in such capacity or then using such public transportation as a passenger or using any area of any description designated by the transportation facility or system as a vehicle boarding, departure, or transfer location;
(10) Knowingly and without legal justification and
by any means causes bodily harm to an individual of 60 years of age or older;
(11) Knows the individual harmed is pregnant;
(12) Knows the individual harmed to be a judge whom
the person intended to harm as a result of the judge's performance of his or her official duties as a judge;
(13) Knows the individual harmed to be an employee
of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services engaged in the performance of his authorized duties as such employee;
(14) Knows the individual harmed to be a person who
is physically handicapped;
(15) Knowingly and without legal justification and
by any means causes bodily harm to a merchant who detains the person for an alleged commission of retail theft under Section 16A‑5 of this Code. In this item (15), "merchant" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 16A‑2.4 of this Code;
(16) Is, or the person battered is, in any building
or other structure used to provide shelter or other services to victims or to the dependent children of victims of domestic violence pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 or the Domestic Violence Shelters Act, or the person battered is within 500 feet of such a building or other structure while going to or from such a building or other structure. "Domestic violence" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. "Building or other structure used to provide shelter" has the meaning ascribed to "shelter" in Section 1 of the Domestic Violence Shelters Act; or
(17) Knows the individual harmed to be an employee
of a police or sheriff's department engaged in the performance of his or her official duties as such employee.
(18) Knows the individual harmed to be an emergency
management worker engaged in the performance of any of his or her official duties, or to prevent the emergency management worker from performing official duties, or in retaliation for the emergency management worker performing official duties.
For the purpose of paragraph (14) of subsection (b) of this Section, a physically handicapped person is a person who suffers from a permanent and disabling physical characteristic, resulting from disease, injury, functional disorder or congenital condition.
(c) A person who administers to an individual or causes him to take, without his consent or by threat or deception, and for other than medical purposes, any intoxicating, poisonous, stupefying, narcotic, anesthetic, or controlled substance commits aggravated battery.
(d) A person who knowingly gives to another person any food that contains any substance or object that is intended to cause physical injury if eaten, commits aggravated battery.
(d‑3) A person commits aggravated battery when he or she knowingly and without lawful justification shines or flashes a laser gunsight or other laser device that is attached or affixed to a firearm, or used in concert with a firearm, so that the laser beam strikes upon or against the person of another.
(d‑5) An inmate of a penal institution or a sexually dangerous person or a sexually violent person in the custody of the Department of Human Services who causes or attempts to cause a correctional employee of the penal institution or an employee of the Department of Human Services to come into contact with blood, seminal fluid, urine, or feces, by throwing, tossing, or expelling that fluid or material commits aggravated battery. For purposes of this subsection (d‑5), "correctional employee" means a person who is employed by a penal institution.
(e) Sentence.
Aggravated battery is a Class 3 felony, except a violation of subsection (a) is a Class 2 felony when the person knows the individual harmed to be a peace officer engaged in the execution of any of his or her official duties, or the battery is to prevent the officer from performing his or her official duties, or in retaliation for the officer performing his or her official duties.
(Source: P.A. 93‑83, eff. 7‑2‑03; 94‑243, eff. 1‑1‑06.)
