Illinois § 16-25.1

§ 16-25.1.

Organized retail crime. (a) An individual is guilty of organized retail crime when that individual, in concert with another individual or any group of individuals, knowingly commits the act of retail theft from one or more retail mercantile establishments, and in the course of or in furtherance of such crime or flight therefrom: (1) knowingly commits assault as defined under Section 12-1 or battery as defined under Section 12-3(a)(2) on the premises of the retail mercantile establishment; (2) knowingly commits a battery under Section 12-3(a)(1) on the premises of the retail mercantile establishment; or (3) intentionally destroys or damages the property of the retail mercantile establishment. (b) An individual is guilty of being a manager of the organized retail crime when that individual knowingly recruits, organizes, supervises, finances, or otherwise manages or directs any other individual or individuals to: (1) commit the act of retail theft from one or more retail mercantile establishments, if the aggregate value of the merchandise exceeds $300, and the manager or the individual has the intent to resell the merchandise or otherwise have the merchandise reenter the stream of commerce; (2) commit theft of merchandise, the aggregate retail value of which exceeds $300, while the merchandise is in transit from the manufacturer to the retail mercantile establishment, and the manager or the individual has the intent to resell the merchandise; (3) obtain control over property for sale or resale, the aggregate retail value of which exceeds $300, knowing the property to have been stolen or under such circumstances as would reasonably induce the individual to believe that the property was stolen; or (4) receive, possess, or purchase any merchandise or stored value cards, the aggregate retail value of which exceeds $300, obtained from a fraudulent return with the knowledge that the property was obtained in violation of this Section or Section 16-25. (c) If acts or omissions constituting any part of the commission of the charged offense under the Section occurred in more than one county, each county has concurrent venue. If the charged offenses under this Section occurred in more than one county, the counties may join the offenses in a single criminal pleading and have concurrent venue as to all charged offenses. When counties have concurrent venue, the first county in which a criminal complaint, information, or indictment is issued in the case becomes the county with exclusive venue. A violation of organized retail crime may be investigated, indicted, and prosecuted pursuant to the Statewide Grand Jury Act. (d) Sentence. A violation of paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (a) is a Class 3 felony. A violation of paragraph (2) of subsection (a) is a Class 2 felony. A violation of subsection (b) is a Class 2 felony. (Source: P.A. 102-757, eff. 5-13-22.)