NOTE: This article includes refreshed content to account for updates to Illinois law since passage of Public Act 101-223. After an effective date of January 1, 2020, this Act adjusted and reclassified the Illinois legal approach to aggravated battery offenses (720 ILCS 5/12-3.05).
The Class X felony is, short of first-degree murder, the most serious felony offense on the books in Illinois. Upon a finding of guilt, the court cannot sentence the defendant to probation. The offense has a mandatory minimum sentence of 6-30 years in the Department of Corrections. And the judge must sentence the defendant to prison. See 730 ILCS 5/5-8-1(a)(3).
The only way a defendant can receive probation is if the prosecution agrees to amend the charge (e.g., by reducing the class of felony to a lower grade that allows probation). Because of the mandatory minimum sentence, the prosecution has all the power in the negotiations concerning Class X felonies in Illinois.
Even a first-time offender without a criminal background is subject to a mandatory prison sentence for a Class X felony. It is not a matter of the judge’s discretion in sentencing.
The following charges are Class X felonies in Illinois:
- Aggravated kidnapping, 720 ILCS 5/10-2.
- Aggravated battery with a firearm, 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(e)(1).
- Aggravated battery of a child, 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(b)(1).
- Home invasion, 720 ILCS 5/19-6.
- Aggravated criminal sexual assault, 720 ILCS 5/11-1.30.
- Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child (over 17 years of age and victim under 13 years old), 720 ILCS 5/11-1.40.
- Armed robbery, 720 ILCS 5/18-2.
- Aggravated vehicular hijacking, 720 ILCS 5/18-4.
- Aggravated arson, 720 ILCS 5/20-1.1.
- Possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (such as 15-100 grams or offenses committed within 1,000 feet of a public park, church, school, or public housing), 720 ILCS 570/401.
As stated previously, probation is not possible under Illinois law for a Class X felony offense. See 730 ILCS 5/5-5-3(c)(2)(C).
When a defendant is charged with a Class X felony offense, negotiations with the prosecution can be difficult. The reason is, typically, the prosecution has no reason to negotiate. The State’s position can be, “Live or die by the Class X (6-30 years prison), the risk is yours, not ours.”
If the defendant goes to trial and loses, it is 6-30 years in prison. On the other hand, when the prosecution offers to reduce the charge to a Class 1 felony (4-15 years in prison), then rejecting the offer means giving up the reduced sentence and possibility of probation. Therefore, the defendant would be taking a great risk to refuse a reduced charge from the State.
Generally speaking, the only way to get good results in Class X felony cases is to push the matter to trial and mount an effective defense. The defense lawyer must be experienced enough that the State takes them seriously and reconsiders the benefits of trying the case. But the prosecutors that are assigned to Class X felonies typically have the most experience in that particular State’s Attorney’s office. Therefore, the defense lawyer should have just as much experience in order for the case to be evenly matched.