ILCS » Chapter 720 · Act 5
Illinois Compiled Statutes

720 ILCS 5/31-1 (2026)

Resisting or obstructing a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee

✓ current as of May 2026
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(720 ILCS 5/31-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 31-1)
    Sec. 31-1. Resisting or obstructing a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee.
    (a) A person who knowingly:
        (1) resists arrest, or
        (2) obstructs the performance by one known to the
    
person to be a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee of any authorized act within his or her official capacity commits a Class A misdemeanor.
    (a-5) In addition to any other sentence that may be imposed, a court shall order any person convicted of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee to be sentenced to a minimum of 48 consecutive hours of imprisonment or ordered to perform community service for not less than 100 hours as may be determined by the court. The person shall not be eligible for probation in order to reduce the sentence of imprisonment or community service.
    (a-7) A person convicted for a violation of this Section whose violation was the proximate cause of an injury to a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee is guilty of a Class 4 felony.
    (b) For purposes of this Section, "correctional institution employee" means any person employed to supervise and control inmates incarcerated in a penitentiary, State farm, reformatory, prison, jail, house of correction, police detention area, half-way house, or other institution or place for the incarceration or custody of persons under sentence for offenses or awaiting trial or sentence for offenses, under arrest for an offense, a violation of probation, a violation of parole, a violation of aftercare release, a violation of mandatory supervised release, or awaiting a hearing or preliminary hearing on setting the conditions of pretrial release, or who are sexually dangerous persons or who are sexually violent persons; and "firefighter" means any individual, either as an employee or volunteer, of a regularly constituted fire department of a municipality or fire protection district who performs fire fighting duties, including, but not limited to, the fire chief, assistant fire chief, captain, engineer, driver, ladder person, hose person, pipe person, and any other member of a regularly constituted fire department. "Firefighter" also means a person employed by the Office of the State Fire Marshal to conduct arson investigations.
    (c) It is an affirmative defense to a violation of this Section if a person resists or obstructs the performance of one known by the person to be a firefighter by returning to or remaining in a dwelling, residence, building, or other structure to rescue or to attempt to rescue any person.
    (d) A person shall not be subject to arrest for resisting arrest under this Section unless there is an underlying offense for which the person was initially subject to arrest.
(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 1-1-23; 102-28, eff. 6-25-21.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 364 cases (167 in the last 5 years), 1993–2026 · leading case: People v. Baskerville, 2012 IL 111056 (Ill. 2012).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People v. Baskerville, 2012 IL 111056 (Ill. 2012). · cites it 8× “OPINION ¶1 In this appeal, we are asked to consider whether the offense of obstructing a peace officer under section 31-1(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Code) (720 ILCS 5/31-1 (West 2006)) necessitates proof of a physical act, and whether the evidence was sufficient to support…”
People v. Baskerville, 963 N.E.2d 898 (Ill. 2012). · cites it 9× “¶ 1 In this appeal, we are asked to consider whether the offense of obstructing a peace officer under section 31-1(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Code) (720 ILCS 5/31-1 (West 2006)) necessitates proof of a physical act, and whether the evidence was sufficient to support…”
People v. Casler, 2020 IL 125117 (Ill. 2020). · cites it 4× “In Baskerville, the defendant’s wife, Christine, drove past La Salle County Sheriff’s Deputy John Dyke, who recognized her from previous contacts.”
Nathaniel Pryor v. Michael Corrigan, 124 F.4th 475 (7th Cir. 2024). · cites it 6× “As the dashcam videos showed, after the traffic stop Pryor exited the van, shut the passenger door, and moved down the driveway toward the street.”
City of Champaign v. Torres, 824 N.E.2d 624 (Ill. 2005). · cites it 4× “Our court has applied section 7-7 to cases brought under section 31-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/31-1 (West 2002)), the state counterpart to the municipal ordinance at issue in this case.”
People v. McCoy, 881 N.E.2d 621 (Ill. App. Ct. 2008). · cites it 4× “FACTS Defendant was charged with simple battery (720 ILCS 5/12-3(a)(2) (West 2006)) and resisting a peace officer (720 ILCS 5/31-1 (West 2006)). The charging instrument alleged that defendant spit in the face (battery) of Officer Eli Limacher and that she physically "resisted…”
People v. Wilson, 935 N.E.2d 587 (Ill. App. Ct. 2010). · cites it 5× “FACTS Defendant proceeded to a jury trial on two charges: resisting a peace officer resulting in an injury to the officer (720 ILCS 5/31-1(a-7) (West 2006)); and aggravated assault (720 ILCS 5/12-2(a)(6) (West 2006)).”
Daniel Martinez v. City of Chicago, 900 F.3d 838 (7th Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “Martinez's actions provided the officers with probable cause to arrest him.”
People v. Sebby, 2017 IL 119445 (Ill. 2017). · cites it 2× “¶ 1 Defendant, Montana Sebby, was convicted by a jury of resisting a peace officer, a Class 4 felony ( 720 ILCS 5/31-1(a-7) (West 2010)), and sentenced by the trial court to two years' imprisonment.”
People v. Mehta, 2020 IL App (3d) 180020 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). · cites it 3× “720 ILCS 5/31-1 (West 2016). For example, actions that do not amount to material obstruction in a misdemeanor stop may nevertheless be considered a material impediment in a more fraught situation, such as the hot pursuit of a violent suspect.”
People v. Ostrowski, 914 N.E.2d 558 (Ill. App. Ct. 2009). · cites it 4× “Ostrowski, was convicted after a bench trial of one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (720 ILCS 5/12-16(b) (West 2006)) and one count of resisting a peace officer (720 ILCS 5/31-1(a) (West 2006)) and sentenced to 36 months' probation.”
People v. Borders, 2020 IL App (2d) 180324 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). · cites it 3× “OPINION ¶ 1 The defendant, Ali Borders, was convicted of two counts of resisting a peace officer’s performance of authorized acts (720 ILCS 5/31-1(a) (West 2018)). He now appeals, arguing that (1) he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, because the acts he resisted…”
Show all 364 citing cases →
— 720 ILCS 5/31-1(a) — 228 cases
People v. Baskerville, 2012 IL 111056 (Ill. 2012). “OPINION ¶1 In this appeal, we are asked to consider whether the offense of obstructing a peace officer under section 31-1(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Code) (720 ILCS 5/31-1 (West 2006)) necessitates proof of a physical act, and whether the evidence was sufficient to support…”
People v. Casler, 2020 IL 125117 (Ill. 2020). “In Baskerville, the defendant’s wife, Christine, drove past La Salle County Sheriff’s Deputy John Dyke, who recognized her from previous contacts.”
People v. Baskerville, 963 N.E.2d 898 (Ill. 2012). “¶ 1 In this appeal, we are asked to consider whether the offense of obstructing a peace officer under section 31-1(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Code) (720 ILCS 5/31-1 (West 2006)) necessitates proof of a physical act, and whether the evidence was sufficient to support…”
Daniel Martinez v. City of Chicago, 900 F.3d 838 (7th Cir. 2018). “Martinez's actions provided the officers with probable cause to arrest him.”
People v. McCoy, 881 N.E.2d 621 (Ill. App. Ct. 2008). “FACTS Defendant was charged with simple battery (720 ILCS 5/12-3(a)(2) (West 2006)) and resisting a peace officer (720 ILCS 5/31-1 (West 2006)). The charging instrument alleged that defendant spit in the face (battery) of Officer Eli Limacher and that she physically "resisted…”
— 720 ILCS 5/31-1(a)(1) — 8 cases
People v. Coates, 2025 IL App (4th) 231312 (Ill. App. Ct. 2025).
People v. Hill, 2024 IL App (2d) 240436-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2024).
People v. Delgado, 2025 IL App (1st) 241518 (Ill. App. Ct. 2025).
People v. Sawyer, 2024 IL App (2d) 240035-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2024).
People v. Jones, 2024 IL App (2d) 230537-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2024).
— 720 ILCS 5/31-1(a)(2) — 13 cases
People v. Hammerand, 2024 IL App (2d) 240500 (Ill. App. Ct. 2024).
People v. Mondragon, 2025 IL App (2d) 250125-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2025).
People v. Tomlinson, 2025 IL App (4th) 240510-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2025).
People v. Cole, 2025 IL App (2d) 240310-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2025).
People v. Munoz, 2026 IL App (2d) 250025 (Ill. App. Ct. 2026).
— 720 ILCS 5/31-1(a)(2000) — 2 cases
Martin Abrams v. Kent Walker, 307 F.3d 650 (7th Cir. 2002).
Abrams, Martin v. Walker, Kent (7th Cir. 2002).
— 720 ILCS 5/31-1(a)(7) — 1 case
People v. Jenkins, 2016 IL App (1st) 133656 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016).
— 720 ILCS 5/31-1(c) — 1 case
People v. Carswell, 2026 IL App (1st) 231884 (Ill. App. Ct. 2026).
— 720 ILCS 5/31-1(d) — 6 cases
Nathaniel Pryor v. Michael Corrigan, 124 F.4th 475 (7th Cir. 2024). “As the dashcam videos showed, after the traffic stop Pryor exited the van, shut the passenger door, and moved down the driveway toward the street.”
People v. Carswell, 2026 IL App (1st) 231884 (Ill. App. Ct. 2026).
Nathaniel Pryor v. Michael Corrigan (7th Cir. 2024).
Nathaniel Pryor v. Michael Corrigan (7th Cir. 2024).
Nathaniel Pryor v. Michael Corrigan (7th Cir. 2024).
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