Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
Chicago Employment Reporting Allegations Under Illinois Sex Offender Registration Law
A person required to register as a sex offender in Chicago has to treat employment reporting as seriously as address reporting. Illinois law does not limit registration duties to where a person sleeps at night. It also requires employment information, work-location information, and updates when employment changes. This matters in Chicago because work can be irregular, temporary, spread across several neighborhoods, or assigned by a company that does not operate like a traditional employer. A person may work one week in River North, another week in Bridgeport, and then receive a new assignment near O’Hare. Law enforcement may still view each job site, business name, and work address as information that had to be reported within the required time.
Failure to report employment as a sex offender is not usually charged as a misdemeanor in Illinois. A person who violates the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act is generally accused of a Class 3 felony for a first violation. If the person has already been convicted of a registration violation before, the new accusation can be charged as a Class 2 felony. Illinois law also requires at least 7 days in local county jail for a conviction under the Act, along with a mandatory minimum $500 fine. A Class 3 felony carries a possible prison sentence of 2 to 5 years, and a Class 2 felony carries a possible prison sentence of 3 to 7 years. Extended-term sentencing may increase the potential prison range in qualifying cases. Even when probation is legally possible, nobody should assume probation will be automatic.
