People v. Vara

(Court opinion corrected 2/23/17.) Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of grooming, based on text message he sent to 11-year-old girl, saying that he wanted to commit sexual acts with her. Circuit clerk lacked authority to impose fines, and thus fines must be vacated. in light of Illinois Supreme Court's 2015 decision in People v. Castleberry, the purported fines must be vacated and the appellate court may not provide any further relief, either by imposing the fines or by ordering the trial court to do so. If the State wishes to hold the trial court to its statutory obligation, it must pursue relief in a new proceeding.(BURKE and BIRKETT, concurring.)