People v. B.C.

The question presented by this appeal is whether section 12 — 7.1(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (the hate crime statute) (720 ILCS 5/12 — 7.1(a) (West 1994)) requires that the victim of the offense be the individual, or of the group of individuals, whose actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or national origin provided reason for the offense. We hold that section 12 — 7.1(a) does not impose such a requirement.

BACKGROUND

On January 8, 1995, the State filed petitions in the circuit court of Madison County charging…