705 ILCS 405/5-820
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 705 - COURTS|705 ILCS 405/ - Juvenile Court Act of 1987.|Article V - Delinquent Minors

Sec. 5-820. Violent Juvenile Offender.(a) Definition.  A minor having  been previously adjudicated a delinquent minor for an offense which, had he or  she been prosecuted as an adult, would have been a Class 2 or greater felony  involving the use or  threat of physical force or violence against an individual or a Class 2 or  greater felony for  which an element of the offense is possession or use of a firearm, and who is  thereafter adjudicated a delinquent minor for a second time for any of those  offenses shall be adjudicated a Violent Juvenile Offender if:(1) The second adjudication is for an offense     occurring after adjudication on the first; and(2) The second offense occurred on or after January     1, 1995.(b) Notice to minor.  The State shall serve upon the minor written notice of  intention to prosecute under the provisions of this Section within 5 judicial  days of the filing of a delinquency petition, adjudication upon which would  mandate the minor's disposition as a Violent Juvenile Offender.(c) Petition; service.  A notice to seek adjudication as a Violent Juvenile  Offender shall be filed only by the State's Attorney.The petition upon which the Violent Juvenile Offender notice is based shall  contain the information and averments required for all other delinquency  petitions filed under this Act and its service shall be according to the  provisions of this Act.No prior adjudication shall be alleged in the petition.(d) Trial.  Trial on the petition shall be by jury unless the minor demands,  in open court and with advice of counsel, a trial by the court without a jury.Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the provisions of this Act  concerning delinquency proceedings generally shall be applicable to Violent  Juvenile Offender proceedings.(e) Proof of prior adjudications.  No evidence or other disclosure of prior  adjudications shall be presented to the court or jury during an adjudicatory  hearing provided for under this Section unless otherwise permitted by the  issues properly raised in that hearing.  In the event the minor who is the  subject of these proceedings elects to testify on his or her own behalf, it  shall be competent to introduce evidence, for purposes of impeachment, that he  or she has previously been adjudicated a delinquent minor upon facts which, had  the minor been tried as an adult, would have resulted in the minor's conviction  of a felony or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement.  Introduction of such evidence shall be according to the rules and  procedures applicable to the impeachment of an adult defendant by prior  conviction.After an admission of the facts in the petition or adjudication of  delinquency, the State's Attorney may file with the court a verified written  statement signed by the State's Attorney concerning any prior adjudication of  an offense set forth in subsection (a) of this Section that would have  been a felony or of any offense that involved  dishonesty or false statement had the minor been tried as an adult.The court shall then cause the minor to be brought before it; shall inform  the minor of the allegations of the statement so filed, of his or her right to  a hearing before the court on the issue of the prior adjudication and of his or  her right to counsel at the hearing; and unless the minor admits the  adjudication, the court shall hear and determine the issue, and shall make a  written finding of the issue.A duly authenticated copy of the record of any alleged prior  adjudication shall be prima facie evidence of the prior adjudication or of any  offense that involved dishonesty or false statement.Any claim that a previous adjudication offered by the State's Attorney is not  a former adjudication of an offense which, had the minor been prosecuted as an  adult, would have resulted in his or her conviction of a Class 2 or greater  felony involving the  use or threat of force or violence, or a firearm, a felony or of any offense  that involved dishonesty or false statement is waived unless duly raised  at the hearing on the adjudication, or unless the State's Attorney's proof  shows that the prior adjudication was not based upon proof of what would have  been a felony.(f) Disposition.  If the court finds that the prerequisites established in  subsection (a) of this Section have been proven, it shall adjudicate the minor  a Violent Juvenile Offender and commit the minor to the Department of  Juvenile Justice for a period of time as provided in subsection (3) of Section 5-750, subject to the target release date provisions in subsection (c) of Section 3-2.5-85 of the Unified Code of Corrections.(g) Nothing in this Section shall preclude the State's Attorney from seeking  to prosecute a minor as a habitual juvenile offender or as an adult as an  alternative to prosecution as a Violent Juvenile Offender.(h) A continuance under supervision authorized by Section 5-615  of this Act  shall not be permitted under this Section.  (Source: P.A. 102-350, eff. 8-13-21.)