Illinois House Approves Bill To Crack Down On Flash-Mob Attacks

By Chuck Sudo in News on May 10, 2013 10:00PM

The Illinois House passed some legislation today that only needs Gov. Pat Quinn's signature to become law. No, it wasn't pension reform or the same-sex marriage bill. The House passed a measure that would crack down on people who use social media to plan or incite a mob attack.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Christian Mitchell (D-Chicago), was drafted in response to the series of mob attacks that have centered on Streeterville and the Mag Mile the past two years, including the most recent incident in March where 28 people were arrested for causing disturbances. Mitchell said the bill is necessary because gang violence is different than it was 20 years ago. Per the Sun-Times:

"What is important here is that we don't have the 'OG's' like we used to," Mitchell said, referring to 'original gangster' street criminals often cited in 1990's rap music. "Gangs are different. They are more splintered. They are block-by-block, neighborhood-by-neighborhood, rather than region-by-region. And they are organizing using Twitter and social media."

The bill calls for extended prison sentences to be handed down to anyone convicted of a mob action who used social media or text messaging to incite an attack. The bill would add three-to-six years to the prison term. It also calls for Internet service providers (ISPs) to provide identifying information, including the location from which a tweet or other message was sent, to law enforcement once they show probable cause to believe a mob action has been or is being facilitated via the Internet. ISPs could be fined for failure to comply.

The bill passed 102-6, but not without some spirited debate. Rep. Monique Davis (D - Chicago) criticized the bill for targeting a small group of people while possibly adding to the problems of overcrowded court dockets and jails. The Illinois Senate passed the bill last month.