People v. Ojeda

At issue in this appeal is whether a high school that is funded by-taxes collected from local property owners is considered “public property” for purposes of the aggravated battery statute (see 720 ILCS 5/12—4(b)(8) (West 2006)). For the reasons that follow, we determine that a public high school is “public property,” and, thus, we affirm.

At a stipulated bench trial, the parties agreed that, on November 29, 2006, defendant, Emilio F. Ojeda, used his fist to strike a classmate in the face. The classmate’s face was cut and became swollen. Defendant and his classmate were in Belvidere High…