What are the different types of assault charges in Illinois?

Sometimes disagreements happen in life. An unfortunate fact is that sometimes these disagreements can become violent encounters between individuals.  Often, we call this assault and think of this as violence between two people, but the State of Illinois has a specific definition for the word “assault”.

From Sec. 12-1:
(720 ILCS 5/12-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-1)
Sec. 12-1. Assault.
(a) A person commits an assault when, without lawful authority, he or she knowingly engages in conduct which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery.

Note the use of battery, which is another word with a specific legal definition:

Battery is an unlawful application of force directly or indirectly upon another person or their personal belongings, causing bodily injury or offensive contact. The attempt of battery is assault.

The State of Illinois has a series of laws that deal with different types of assault.  I wrote this guide to help you understand how this breaks down.

An important distinction to understand with Illinois law is how different types of assault are classified.  You may have heard of 1^st-degree, 2^nd-degree, and 3^rd-degree assault before. In Illinois those terms do not mean anything because they are from Colorado and New York laws.

Instead, Illinois defines assault as simple assault or aggravated assault.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is defined in (720 ILCS 5/12-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-2)    Sec. 12-2. Aggravated assault. It has numerous factors that go into classifying it this way.  The severity of an aggravated assault charge can range from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on which factors are present.  Here’s the full legal definition:

(720 ILCS 5/12-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-2) Sec. 12-2. Aggravated assault. (a) Offense based on location of conduct. A person commits aggravated assault when he or she commits an assault against an individual who is on or about a public way, public property, a public place of accommodation or amusement, or a sports venue, or in a church, synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place used for religious worship. (b) Offense based on status of victim. A person commits aggravated assault when, in committing an assault, he or she knows the individual assaulted to be any of the following: (1) A person with a physical disability or a person

60 years of age or older and the assault is without legal justification.

(2) A teacher or school employee upon school grounds

or grounds adjacent to a school or in any part of a building used for school purposes.

(3) A park district employee upon park grounds or

grounds adjacent to a park or in any part of a building used for park purposes.

(4) A community policing volunteer, private security

officer, or utility worker:

(i) performing his or her official duties; (ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or

her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his

or her official duties.

(4.1) A peace officer, fireman, emergency management

worker, or emergency medical services personnel:

(i) performing his or her official duties; (ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or

her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his

or her official duties.

(5) A correctional officer or probation officer: (i) performing his or her official duties; (ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or

her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing

his or her official duties.

(6) A correctional institution employee, a county

juvenile detention center employee who provides direct and continuous supervision of residents of a juvenile detention center, including a county juvenile detention center employee who supervises recreational activity for residents of a juvenile detention center, or a Department of Human Services employee, Department of Human Services officer, or employee of a subcontractor of the Department of Human Services supervising or controlling sexually dangerous persons or sexually violent persons:

(i) performing his or her official duties; (ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or

her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his

or her official duties.

(7) An employee of the State of Illinois, a municipal

corporation therein, or a political subdivision thereof, performing his or her official duties.

(8) A transit employee performing his or her official

duties, or a transit passenger.

(9) A sports official or coach actively participating

in any level of athletic competition within a sports venue, on an indoor playing field or outdoor playing field, or within the immediate vicinity of such a facility or field.

(10) A person authorized to serve process under

Section 2-202 of the Code of Civil Procedure or a special process server appointed by the circuit court, while that individual is in the performance of his or her duties as a process server.

(c) Offense based on use of firearm, device, or motor vehicle. A person commits aggravated assault when, in committing an assault, he or she does any of the following: (1) Uses a deadly weapon, an air rifle as defined in

Section 24.8-0.1 of this Act, or any device manufactured and designed to be substantially similar in appearance to a firearm, other than by discharging a firearm.

(2) Discharges a firearm, other than from a motor

vehicle.

(3) Discharges a firearm from a motor vehicle. (4) Wears a hood, robe, or mask to conceal his or her

identity.

(5) Knowingly and without lawful justification shines

or flashes a laser gun sight or other laser device attached to a firearm, or used in concert with a firearm, so that the laser beam strikes near or in the immediate vicinity of any person.

(6) Uses a firearm, other than by discharging the

firearm, against a peace officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, private security officer, emergency management worker, emergency medical services personnel, employee of a police department, employee of a sheriff’s department, or traffic control municipal employee:

(i) performing his or her official duties; (ii) assaulted to prevent performance of his or

her official duties; or

(iii) assaulted in retaliation for performing his

or her official duties.

(7) Without justification operates a motor vehicle in

a manner which places a person, other than a person listed in subdivision (b)(4), in reasonable apprehension of being struck by the moving motor vehicle.

(8) Without justification operates a motor vehicle in

a manner which places a person listed in subdivision (b)(4), in reasonable apprehension of being struck by the moving motor vehicle.

(9) Knowingly video or audio records the offense

with the intent to disseminate the recording.

(d) Sentence. Aggravated assault as defined in subdivision (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(7), (b)(8), (b)(9), (c)(1), (c)(4), or (c)(9) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that aggravated assault as defined in subdivision (b)(4) and (b)(7) is a Class 4 felony if a Category I, Category II, or Category III weapon is used in the commission of the assault. Aggravated assault as defined in subdivision (b)(4.1), (b)(5), (b)(6), (b)(10), (c)(2), (c)(5), (c)(6), or (c)(7) is a Class 4 felony. Aggravated assault as defined in subdivision (c)(3) or (c)(8) is a Class 3 felony. (e) For the purposes of this Section, “Category I weapon”, “Category II weapon”, and “Category III weapon” have the meanings ascribed to those terms in Section 33A-1 of this Code. (Source: P.A. 101-223, eff. 1-1-20; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)

Note that within the definition is a sub-section about assault with a motor vehicle.  Sometimes you may see the term “vehicular assault” used, but understand it is only a factor that goes into deciding if an assault is aggravated assault or simple assault.

It is important to work with a competent defense lawyer if you are charged with aggravated assault because they can help guide you toward the best legal defense depending on the nuances present and the potentially complicated nature of this charge.

Simple Assault

Simple assault is not specifically defined in Illinois law.  It is a term derived colloquially from case law in People v. Peck, 260 Ill. App. 3d 812 (1994). In this case, the Illinois Appellate Court clarified that assault involves conduct that places someone in fear of imminent battery, while battery involves actual physical contact. Due to this emphasis on the legal word, battery, we can refer to (720 ILCS 5/12-3) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-3) where battery is defined in Illinois law.

(720 ILCS 5/12-3) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-3)
Sec. 12-3. Battery.
(a) A person commits battery if he or she knowingly without legal justification by any means (1) causes bodily harm to an individual or (2) makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with an individual.
(b) Sentence.
Battery is a Class A misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11.)

While this may seem like a simple definition, it is still best to work with an experienced criminal defense attorney.  It is the best way to ensure you receive the best defense against the State of Illinois.  You don’t know what you don’t know and it’s your record and your life on the line should you be charged with assault, whether it’s simple or aggravated.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 20th, 2024 at 3:43 pm and is filed under Illinois Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.