People v. Rodriguez

PRESIDING JUSTICE McLAREN,

dissenting:

While I recognize the importance of protecting our children from drug dealers, this court is not at liberty to ignore well-established tenets of statutory construction. The majority correctly notes that, when construing statutes, we must "ascertain legislative intent and give it effect.” (People v. Scharlau (1990), 141 Ill. 2d 180, 192.) However, I disagree with the majority’s method of ascertaining the legislative intent of section 5 — 4(7)(a) of the Juvenile Court Act (705 ILCS 405/5 — 4(7)(a) (West 1994)). Our supreme court tells us that the first step…