Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of armed habitual criminal (AHC), aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (AUUW), and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. AHC statute is not facially unconstitutional as violative of due process. Court adequately admonished Defendant that by signing jury waiver form and tendering it to court, he would be waiving jury trial and that the court, and not a jury, would hear the evidence. That court did not ask whether his waiver was product of any promise or threat is an insufficient basis to undermine his otherwise valid waiver. Defendant's convictions for AHC and AUUW are both based on Defendant's possession of the same loaded handgun. Thus the less serious conviction of AUUW must be vacated, as they violate one-act, one-crime rule as they arose out of same physical act. (HYMAN and NEVILLE, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Weapons