ILLINOIS OFFICIAL REPORTS
Appellate Court
People v. Schultz, 2011 IL App (3d) 100340
Appellate Court THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v.
Caption TORY J. SCHULTZ, Defendant-Appellee.
District & No. Third District
Docket No. 3-10-0340
Filed October 5, 2011
Held The trial court erred in dismissing an indictment for felony disorderly
(Note: This syllabus conduct based on a threat against one victim at a school on the ground
constitutes no part of that the disorderly conduct statute does not penalize threats directed
the opinion of the court against a single person, since the word “persons,” as used in section 26-
but has been prepared 1(a)(13) of the Code of Criminal Procedure is properly read as including
by the Reporter of both the singular and the plural and the indictment did state an offense.
Decisions for the
convenience of the
reader.)
Decision Under Appeal from the Circuit Court of Mercer County, No. 10-CF-15; the Hon.
Review James G. Conway, Jr., Judge, presiding.
Judgment Reversed and remanded.
Counsel on Gregory McHugh, State’s Attorney, of Aledo (Terry A. Mertel and
Appeal Robert M. Hansen, both of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s
Office, of counsel) for the People.
Glenn Sroka, of State Appellate Defender’s Office, of Ottawa, for
appellee.
Panel PRESIDING JUSTICE CARTER delivered the judgment of the court,
with opinion.
Justice Lytton concurred in the judgment and opinion.
Justice Holdridge dissented, with opinion.
OPINION
¶1 The defendant, Tory J. Shultz, was charged by indictment with disorderly conduct (720
ILCS 5/26-1(a)(13) (West 2010)). The defendant filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the
indictment failed to state an offense. After a hearing, the circuit court granted the defendant’s
motion, and the State appealed. We reverse and remand.
¶2 FACTS
¶3 The indictment in this case alleged that on or about February 24, 2010, the defendant
committed disorderly conduct when he “threatened bodily harm directed at B.S. at the High
Roads School, a school in the city of Aledo, Mercer County, Illinois, by threatening to shoot
B.S.” At the preliminary hearing, the State presented the following testimony:
“[The defendant] instructed Richard Gregg to take photographs of him with his text
phone and text them to B.S. and told him that they were loading up and they were
coming. B.S. responded back that if they came to his house that he had a gun, took a
picture of a shotgun, texted a picture of the gun back to Richard Gregg’s phone. At that
time Richard Gregg was instructed by [the defendant], respond back to him, tell him we
are not talking about his [house], we are coming to school and tell him we are coming
to the school and [sic] shoot him the next day.”
The photographs of the defendant taken by Richard Gregg displayed the defendant holding
two guns.
¶4 A call was made to the Aledo police department regarding the threat, and the Mercer
County sheriff’s department locked down two schools while they investigated the threat.
¶5 The defendant filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the indictment failed to state an
offense because the statute penalizes threats “directed at persons,” not threats directed at a
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single person. On April 19, 2010, the circuit court agreed and granted the defendant’s motion
to dismiss, finding that the statute was “an anti-Columbine type statute” and that it “was not
designed to prosecute an individual for a felony.” The State appealed.
¶6 ANALYSIS
¶7 On appeal, the State argues that the circuit court erred when it granted the defendant’s
motion to dismiss. Specifically, the State contends that the statute’s use of “persons” includes
the singular as well as the plural. The State’s argument poses a question of statutory
construction, which we review under the de novo standard. People v. Alcozer, 241 Ill. 2d 248,
254 (2011).
¶8 At the time the defendant allegedly committed this offense, section 26-1(a)(13) of the
Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/26-1(a)(13) (West 2010)) defined disorderly conduct,
in relevant part, as conduct by which an individual knowingly “[t]ransmits or causes to be
transmitted a threat of destruction of a school building or school property, or a threat of
violence, death, or bodily harm directed against persons at a school, school function, or
school event, whether or not school is in session.”
¶9 Section 1.03 of the Statute on Statutes (5 ILCS 70/1.03 (West 2010)) provides that
“[w]ords importing the singular number may extend and be applied to several persons or
things, and words importing the plural number may include the singular.” Section 1 of the
Statute on Statutes (5 ILCS 70/1 (West 2010)) provides that, “[i]n the construction of
statutes, this Act shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the
manifest intent of the General Assembly or repugnant to the context of the statute.” We hold
that section 26-1(a)(13)’s language is unambiguous and that the term “persons” is properly
read as including both the singular and the plural. We find nothing in the plain language of
the statute to indicate a context hostile to this construction of “persons” or to indicate that
such construction is inconsistent with legislative intent. See 5 ILCS 70/1 (West 2010); see
also Alcozer, 241 Ill. 2d at 254 (noting that the best indicator of legislative intent is the plain
language of the statute itself). Accordingly, we hold that the circuit court erred when it
dismissed the indictment for failure to state an offense.
¶ 10 CONCLUSION
¶ 11 The judgment of the circuit court of Mercer County is reversed and the case is remanded
for further proceedings.
¶ 12 Reversed and remanded.
¶ 13 JUSTICE HOLDRIDGE, dissenting:
¶ 14 I respectfully dissent. When construing a statute, a court must ascertain and give effect
to the intent of the legislature. People v. Carter, 213 Ill. 2d 295, 301 (2004). “The most
reliable indicator of legislative intent is the language of the statute, which, if plain and
unambiguous, must be read without exception, limitation, or other condition.” (Internal
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quotation marks omitted.) Id. Where the statutory language is plain and unambiguous, “we
must apply the statute without resort to further aids of statutory construction.” People v.
Collins, 214 Ill. 2d 206, 214 (2005). We may consider extrinsic aids for construction only
when the statutory language is ambiguous. Id. In that event, we may resort to aids for
construction to resolve the ambiguity. Id. Moreover, “[c]riminal or penal statutes must be
strictly construed in the defendant’s favor, and nothing should be taken by intendment or
implication beyond the obvious or literal meaning of the statute.” (Internal quotation marks
omitted.) Carter, 213 Ill. 2d at 301.
¶ 15 The criminal statute at issue in this case defined disorderly conduct, in relevant part, as
conduct by which an individual knowingly “[t]ransmits or causes to be transmitted a ***
threat of violence, death, or bodily harm directed against persons at a school.” (Emphasis
added.) 720 ILCS 5/26-1(a)(13) (West 2010). This plain and unambiguous language
criminalizes threats of violence or bodily harm directed at more than one person at a school.
In my view, this unambiguous provision should be applied as written. Collins, 214 Ill. 2d 206
at 214.
¶ 16 The majority, however, concludes that the statute “unambiguously” criminalizes threats
of violence directed at a single person, even though that reading is at variance with the
statute’s plain language. The majority reaches this conclusion by reading the statute together
with section 1.03 of the Statute on Statutes, which provides that “[w]ords importing the
singular number may extend and be applied to several persons or things, and words
importing the plural number may include the singular.” 5 ILCS 70/1.03 (West 2010). I find
this analysis problematic. First, it is not entirely clear whether the Statute on Statutes should
be treated as being part of the underlying criminal statute itself (i.e., as incorporated into the
statutory language of that statute), or merely as an extrinsic “aid of construction” which may
be applied only if the underlying criminal statute is ambiguous. I believe that the latter view
is more sound. But even if section 1.03 of the Statute on Statutes were deemed part of the
relevant statutory language in this case, it would not support the majority’s conclusion.
Section 1.03 merely provides that words importing the plural number “may include the
singular.” (Emphasis added.) 5 ILCS 70/1.03 (West 2010). It does not provide that words
importing the plural shall include the singular. Thus, section 1.03 does not require us to read
“persons” as including “person.” At most, it creates an ambiguity in the underlying criminal
statute. Because the rule of lenity requires us to resolve any ambiguities in a criminal statute
in favor of the accused (People v. Jones, 223 Ill. 2d 569, 581 (2006)), I would affirm the
circuit court’s dismissal of the indictment.
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