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In Article 39 of the Illinois Criminal Code, lawmakers describe an offense called criminal usury. A person may be prosecuted for criminal usury if he or she offers a loan to someone with an interest rater higher than 20% per year. This crime is a Class 4 felony. However, there is an exception to this infraction. Any loans authorized to be made under the Illinois Consumer Installment Loan Act are exempt from rules listed in Article 39.
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The text below comes from Article 39 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 1961. This law may have changed -- please read the important legal disclaimer at the bottom of this page.
Illinois Criminal Code of 1961 - Article 39
Sec. 39-1. Criminal Usury.
(720 ILCS 5/39-1)
(a) Any person commits criminal usury when, in exchange for either a loan of money or other property or forbearance from the collection of such a loan, he knowingly contracts for or receives from an individual, directly or indirectly, interest, discount or other consideration at a rate greater than 20% per annum either before or after the maturity of the loan.
(b) When a person has in his personal or constructive possession records, memoranda, or other documentary record of usurious loans it shall be prima facie evidence that he has violated Subsection 39-1(a) hereof. (Source: P.A. 76-1879.)
Sec. 39-2. Sentence.
(720 ILCS 5/39-2)
Criminal usury is a Class 4 felony. (Source: P. A. 77-2638.)
Sec. 39-3. Non-application to licensed persons.
(720 ILCS 5/39-3)
This Article does not apply to any loan authorized to be made by any person licensed under the Consumer Installment Loan Act, approved August 30, 1963, as heretofore or hereafter amended, or to any loan permitted by Sections 4, 4.2 and 4a of "An Act in relation to the rate of interest and other charges in connection with sales on credit and the lending of money", approved May 24, 1879, as heretofore or hereafter amended, or by any other law of this State. (Source: P.A. 84-1004.)
Return to Illinois Criminal Code of 1961 Table of Contents
DISCLAIMER: These excerpts from the law are provided for reference purposes only. Visitors to our Chicago criminal defense lawyer website should be aware that Illinois criminal laws have been amended many times and that Illinois crime laws posted on this site may not be current. In addition, Illinois criminal case law defines precedents for legal determinations that are not defined in the original laws.
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