Chicago Residential burglary

Illinois also has a law criminalizing residential burglary, which is entering or remaining in someone else’s dwelling without permission in order to commit theft or a felony inside. A person who breaks into a home intending to steal a television commits residential burglary.

Residential burglary and burglary are mutually exclusive offenses, which means that a defendant commits one or the other, based on the nature of the burglarized building. The offense can also be committed by someone pretending to be an employee of the government, a construction company, or a utility company, in order to commit a crime inside a dwelling.

A dwelling is a house, apartment, mobile home, trailer, or other place in which a person lives or soon intends to live. For example, vacant and uninhabitable buildings are not dwellings, but an RV in which a person lives is a dwelling, as is a new home ready for occupancy. (720 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/19-3.)

Intent to commit a crime

In order to convict people of burglary, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they entered the building with the intent to commit a crime inside. In most cases, the defendant’s illicit intention can be inferred from the circumstances, and the prosecutor is not required to establish exactly what was going through the defendant’s head.

For example, if two people break down the door of a home and take a television and laptop, the jury could infer that the people entered the home to commit a crime.

Even if police stopped the people before they escaped with the stolen goods, they could still be convicted of burglary (and attempted theft). The crime of burglary occurs as soon as the defendant enters into the building or vehicle with the illicit intent, even if the intended felony or theft never occurs.