104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1231 Introduced , by Rep. David Friess SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits a hate crime if the person commits specified crimes by reason of the actual or perceived employment as a peace officer of another individual, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors. LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1231 Introduced , by Rep. David Friess SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits a hate crime if the person commits specified crimes by reason of the actual or perceived employment as a peace officer of another individual, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors. LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1231 Introduced , by Rep. David Friess SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits a hate crime if the person commits specified crimes by reason of the actual or perceived employment as a peace officer of another individual, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors. LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b A BILL FOR HB1231LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b 1 AN ACT concerning criminal law. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by 5 changing Section 12-7.1 as follows: 6 (720 ILCS 5/12-7.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1) 7 Sec. 12-7.1. Hate crime. 8 (a) A person commits hate crime when, by reason of the 9 actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, 10 gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, 11 citizenship, immigration status, or national origin of another 12 individual or group of individuals, or by reason of the actual 13 or perceived employment as a peace officer of another 14 individual, regardless of the existence of any other 15 motivating factor or factors, he or she commits assault, 16 battery, aggravated assault, intimidation, stalking, 17 cyberstalking, misdemeanor theft, criminal trespass to 18 residence, misdemeanor criminal damage to property, criminal 19 trespass to vehicle, criminal trespass to real property, mob 20 action, disorderly conduct, transmission of obscene messages, 21 harassment by telephone, or harassment through electronic 22 communications as these crimes are defined in Sections 12-1, 23 12-2, 12-3(a), 12-7.3, 12-7.5, 16-1, 19-4, 21-1, 21-2, 21-3, 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1231 Introduced , by Rep. David Friess SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits a hate crime if the person commits specified crimes by reason of the actual or perceived employment as a peace officer of another individual, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors. LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b A BILL FOR 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 from Ch. 38, par. 12-7.1 LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231- 2 -LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 2 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 2 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b 1 25-1, 26-1, 26.5-1, 26.5-2, paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), and 2 (a)(3) of Section 12-6, and paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(5) of 3 Section 26.5-3 of this Code, respectively. 4 (b) Except as provided in subsection (b-5), hate crime is 5 a Class 4 felony for a first offense and a Class 2 felony for a 6 second or subsequent offense. 7 (b-5) Hate crime is a Class 3 felony for a first offense 8 and a Class 2 felony for a second or subsequent offense if 9 committed: 10 (1) in, or upon the exterior or grounds of, a church, 11 synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place 12 identified or associated with a particular religion or 13 used for religious worship or other religious purpose; 14 (2) in a cemetery, mortuary, or other facility used 15 for the purpose of burial or memorializing the dead; 16 (3) in a school or other educational facility, 17 including an administrative facility or public or private 18 dormitory facility of or associated with the school or 19 other educational facility; 20 (4) in a public park or an ethnic or religious 21 community center; 22 (5) on the real property comprising any location 23 specified in clauses (1) through (4) of this subsection 24 (b-5); or 25 (6) on a public way within 1,000 feet of the real 26 property comprising any location specified in clauses (1) HB1231 - 2 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231- 3 -LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 3 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 3 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b 1 through (4) of this subsection (b-5). 2 (b-10) Upon imposition of any sentence, the trial court 3 shall also either order restitution paid to the victim or 4 impose a fine in an amount to be determined by the court based 5 on the severity of the crime and the injury or damages suffered 6 by the victim. In addition, any order of probation or 7 conditional discharge entered following a conviction or an 8 adjudication of delinquency shall include a condition that the 9 offender perform public or community service of no less than 10 200 hours if that service is established in the county where 11 the offender was convicted of hate crime. In addition, any 12 order of probation or conditional discharge entered following 13 a conviction or an adjudication of delinquency shall include a 14 condition that the offender enroll in an educational program 15 discouraging hate crimes involving the protected class 16 identified in subsection (a) that gave rise to the offense the 17 offender committed. The educational program must be attended 18 by the offender in-person and may be administered, as 19 determined by the court, by a university, college, community 20 college, non-profit organization, the Illinois Holocaust and 21 Genocide Commission, or any other organization that provides 22 educational programs discouraging hate crimes, except that 23 programs administered online or that can otherwise be attended 24 remotely are prohibited. The court may also impose any other 25 condition of probation or conditional discharge under this 26 Section. If the court sentences the offender to imprisonment HB1231 - 3 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231- 4 -LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 4 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 4 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b 1 or periodic imprisonment for a violation of this Section, as a 2 condition of the offender's mandatory supervised release, the 3 court shall require that the offender perform public or 4 community service of no less than 200 hours and enroll in an 5 educational program discouraging hate crimes involving the 6 protected class identified in subsection (a) that gave rise to 7 the offense the offender committed. 8 (c) Independent of any criminal prosecution or the result 9 of a criminal prosecution, any person suffering injury to his 10 or her person, damage to his or her property, intimidation as 11 defined in paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(3) of Section 12 12-6 of this Code, stalking as defined in Section 12-7.3 of 13 this Code, cyberstalking as defined in Section 12-7.5 of this 14 Code, disorderly conduct as defined in paragraph (a)(1), 15 (a)(4), (a)(5), or (a)(6) of Section 26-1 of this Code, 16 transmission of obscene messages as defined in Section 26.5-1 17 of this Code, harassment by telephone as defined in Section 18 26.5-2 of this Code, or harassment through electronic 19 communications as defined in paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(5) of 20 Section 26.5-3 of this Code as a result of a hate crime may 21 bring a civil action for damages, injunction or other 22 appropriate relief. The court may award actual damages, 23 including damages for emotional distress, as well as punitive 24 damages. The court may impose a civil penalty up to $25,000 for 25 each violation of this subsection (c). A judgment in favor of a 26 person who brings a civil action under this subsection (c) HB1231 - 4 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231- 5 -LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 5 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 5 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b HB1231 - 5 - LRB104 03622 RLC 13646 b