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Armed Habitual Criminal Charge In Illinois

March 28, 2020 By Arthur McGibbons

Being an armed habitual criminal in Illinois is actually a crime. The essence of this charge is unlawful possession of a firearm by someone who has a pretty serious and extensive criminal history.

720 ILCS 5/24-1.7. Armed habitual criminal.

“A person commits the offense of being an armed habitual criminal if he or she receives, sells, possesses, or transfers any firearm after having been convicted a total of 2 or more times of any combination of the following offenses:
(1) a forcible felony as defined in Section 2-8 of this Code;
(2) unlawful use of a weapon by a felon; aggravated unlawful use of a weapon; aggravated discharge of a firearm; vehicular hijacking; aggravated vehicular hijacking; aggravated battery of a child as described in Section 12-4.3 or subdivision (b)(1) of Section 12-3.05; intimidation; aggravated intimidation; gunrunning; home invasion; or aggravated battery with a firearm as described in Section 12-4.2 or subdivision (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), or (e)(4) of Section 12-3.05; or
(3) any violation of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Cannabis Control Act that is punishable as a Class 3 felony or higher.”

720 ILCS 5/24-1.7(a).

Armed Habitual Criminal Is A Class X Felony.

“Being an armed habitual criminal is a Class X felony.” – 720 ILCS 5/24-1.7(b).

Learn more about

  • Class X Felonies In Illinois
  • Forcible Felonies In Illinois

Forcible Felony

In Illinois a…

“‘Forcible felony’ means treason, first degree murder, second degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, robbery, burglary, residential burglary, aggravated arson, arson, aggravated kidnaping, kidnaping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.”  

720 ILCS 5/2-8.

Hierarchy Of Gun Possession Crimes In Illinois

You can see, an armed habitual criminal charge requires that a person have 2 serious felonies in their criminal history. In fact, armed habitual criminal is the most serious of the gun possession crimes in Illinois.

The chart below depicts where

Name Section Class
UUW 720 ILCS 5/24-1(b) Class A Misdemeanor
AUUW 720 ILCS 5/24.1.6(d)(1) Class 4 Felony
UUW Felon 720 ILCS 5/24.1.1(e) Class 3 Felony
Possession Firearm Gangmember 720 ILCS 5/24-1.8(b) Class 2 Felony
Being Armed Habitual Criminal 720 ILCS 5/24-1.7(a) Class X Felony

See Also

  • People v. Brown, 2017 IL App (1st) 150146 (May). Episode 377 (Duration 8:07) (attempt armed robbery is a forcible felony that can serve as a predicate offense for armed habitual criminal)
  • People v. Sanderson, 2016 IL App (1st) 141381 (April). Episode 180 (Duration 6:40) (Some Attempts of Forcible Felonies Are Not Forcible Felonies)
  • People v. White, 2015 IL App (1st) 131111 (December). Episode 126 (Duration 3:01) (Aggravated Battery is Not Necessarily a Forcible Felony)
  • People v. Fernandez, 2014 IL App (1st) 120508 (July) (3 Class X Felonies is a life sentence.)

Filed Under: Armed Habitual Criminal

Where’s Samuel Partida, Jr.?

Samuel Partida, Jr.Samuel Partida, Jr. is now prosecuting criminal law cases in an Illinois county near you. He is, therefore, unavailable to answer questions on this site. Always remember, there is no substitute for steady, persistent attention to the cases.

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