People v. Jackson

The problem in this appeal, which also has been raised in a number of other cases in the appellate court, is whether, in the State’s terms, the defendant was properly convicted of felony theft rather than misdemeanor theft, or, in the defendant’s terms, whether she should have been sentenced for a Class A misdemeanor rather than a Class 3 felony.

Loretta Jackson was indicted for theft under section 16 — 1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 38, par. 16 — 1) for shoplifting clothing valued at $251.98. On August 25, 1981, the date of the alleged offense, section 16 — 1(e)…