Illinois Statute on Criminal Damage To Property
In Illinois the compiled statues on criminal damage to property (ILCS criminal damage to property) is found under:
720 ILCS 5/21-1 et seq. Criminal damage to property.
“(a) A person commits criminal damage to property when he or she:
| (1) Knowingly damages property of another; |
| (2) Recklessly by means of fire or explosive damage property of another; |
| (3) Knowingly starts a fire on the land of another: |
| (4) Knowingly injures a domestic animal of another without his or her consent; |
| (5) Knowingly deposits on the land or in the building of another any stink bomb or any offensive smelling compound and thereby intends to interfere with the use by another of the land or building; |
| (6) Knowingly damages any property, other than as described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Section 20-1, with intent to defraud an insurer; |
| (7) Knowingly shoots a firearm at any portion of a railroad train; |
| (8) Knowingly, without proper authorization, cuts, injures, damages, defaces, destroys, or tampers with any fire hydrant or any public or private fire fighting equipment, or any apparatus appertaining to fire fighting equipment; or |
| (9) Intentionally, without proper authorization, opens any fire hydrant.” |
The Classification Of Criminal Damage To Property Depends On The Damage
The serious of the offense largely depends on the value of the damage caused.
720 ILCS 21-1(d)(1) et seq. describes the following class of offenses:
| Class | Damage | Section |
|---|---|---|
| A Misdemeanor | Under $500 | 21-1(d)(1)(B) |
| 4 Felony | $500-$10,000 | 21-1(d)(1)(F) |
| 3 Felony | $10,000-$100,000 | 21-1(d)(1)(H) |
| 2 Felony | Over $100,000 | 21-1(d)(1)(J) |
Criminal damage to a specially protected kind of property results in a higher class offense. Damage to a school, church, farm equipment or a memorial is a higher class felony.
See the chart below:
| Class | Damage | Section |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Felony | Under $500 (school, church, farm equipment, or memorial) | 21-1(d)(1)(C) |
| 3 Felony | $500-$10,000 (school, church, farm equipment, or memorial) | 21-1(d)(1)(G) |
| 2 Felony | $10,000-$100,000 (school, church, farm equipment, or memorial) | 21-1(d)(1)(I) |
| 1Felony | Over $100,000 (school, church, farm equipment, or memorial) | 21-1(d)(1)(J) |
And finally, there are some special classifications of certain kinds of criminal damage to property
See the chart below:
| Class | Damage | Section |
|---|---|---|
| B Misdemeanor | Fire hydrant tampering | 21-1(d)(1)(A) |
| 4 Felony | Damage to pet unde $10,000 | 21-1(d)(1)(D) |
| 4 Felony | Shooting at a train | 21-1(d)(1)(E) |
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