People v. Cherry

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of 1 count of armed violence and 1 count of aggravated battery with a firearm. Aggravated battery can serve as predicate felony for armed violence. Aggravated battery with a firearm is not an enhanced or aggravated version of aggravated battery, but is one more aggravated or enhanced version of battery.Defendant failed to establish ineffective assistance of counsel. Appointed counsel's failure to introduce evidence or testimony in support of Defendant's pro se ineffective assistance claims do not rise to level of filing to subject prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing. Defendant is required to satisfy prejudice prong under Strickland, by affidavits, records, or other evidence not contained in the record, as Post-Conviction Hearing Act requires if no such evidence is found in record.(GARMAN, FREEMAN, KILBRIDE, KARMEIER, BURKE, and THEIS, concurring.)