Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Closing Arguments
Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of being armed habitual criminal, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and unlawful use of a weapon. State’s comment in closing arguments that testimony of its key witness was credible, because the witness had given a prior consistent statement to the police immediately after the incident, did not warrant a new trial under plain error doctrine. In finding witness credible, court did not reference his prior statement, but properly credited him in light of only his conduct at trial.(JORGENSEN and SCHOSTOCK, concurring.)