ILCS » Chapter 720 · Act 5
Illinois Compiled Statutes

720 ILCS 5/1-2 (2026)

General purposes

✓ current as of May 2026
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(720 ILCS 5/1-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 1-2)
    Sec. 1-2. General purposes. The provisions of this Code shall be construed in accordance with the general purposes hereof, to:
    (a) Forbid and prevent the commission of offenses;
    (b) Define adequately the act and mental state which constitute each offense, and limit the condemnation of conduct as criminal when it is without fault;
    (c) Prescribe penalties which are proportionate to the seriousness of offenses and which permit recognition of differences in rehabilitation possibilities among individual offenders;
    (d) Prevent arbitrary or oppressive treatment of persons accused or convicted of offenses.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 1983.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2016–2023 · leading case: People v. Busse, 2016 IL App (1st) 142941 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016).
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People v. Busse, 2016 IL App (1st) 142941 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016). “” 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2012); see also People v.”
People v. Busse, 2016 IL App (1st) 142941 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). “” 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2012); see also People v.”
O'Malley v. Adams, 2023 IL App (5th) 210381 (Ill. App. Ct. 2023). · cites it 2× “720 ILCS 5/1-2 (West 2020). Section 1-2 lists those general purposes as follows: “(a) Forbid and prevent the commission of offenses; (b) Define adequately the act and mental state which constitute each offense, and limit the condemnation of conduct as criminal when it is without…”
People v. Allen, 2017 IL App (1st) 151540 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). “2d 947 (in fashioning appropriate sentence, most important factor is seriousness of crime); see also 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2012) (partial purpose of sentencing statutes to prescribe penalties proportionate to seriousness of offenses).”
People v. Allen, 2017 IL App (1st) 151540 (Ill. App. Ct. 2018). “Willis, 2013 IL App (1st) 110233 , ¶ 123 (in fashioning appropriate sentence, most important factor is seriousness of crime); see also 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2012) (partial purpose of sentencing statutes to prescribe penalties proportionate to seriousness of offenses).”
People v. Lundy, 2018 IL App (1st) 162304 (Ill. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 2× “" 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2014); see also People v.”
— 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) — 5 cases
People v. Busse, 2016 IL App (1st) 142941 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016). “” 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2012); see also People v.”
People v. Busse, 2016 IL App (1st) 142941 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). “” 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2012); see also People v.”
People v. Allen, 2017 IL App (1st) 151540 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). “2d 947 (in fashioning appropriate sentence, most important factor is seriousness of crime); see also 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2012) (partial purpose of sentencing statutes to prescribe penalties proportionate to seriousness of offenses).”
People v. Allen, 2017 IL App (1st) 151540 (Ill. App. Ct. 2018). “Willis, 2013 IL App (1st) 110233 , ¶ 123 (in fashioning appropriate sentence, most important factor is seriousness of crime); see also 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2012) (partial purpose of sentencing statutes to prescribe penalties proportionate to seriousness of offenses).”
People v. Lundy, 2018 IL App (1st) 162304 (Ill. App. Ct. 2018). “" 720 ILCS 5/1-2(c) (West 2014); see also People v.”
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