Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Possession of Weapons
Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of unauthorized possession of knife with blade of at least three inches in length, for having a knife in his pocket, found by metal detector in lobby of Daley Center. Defendant claimed that State's witnesses erred in including a "non-cutting" part of a knife in measuring its blade. "Blade" does not cover only the sharpened edge of the blade, but the entire cutting portion of a knife, from hilt to tip of blade. Court improperly struck the term "knowingly" from IPI 16.17 and 16.18, eliminating a culpable mental state for the offense. Statute contains no clear indication of legislative purpose to impose absolute liability for offense, and knowledge is element of offense. (CONNORS and SIMON, concurring.)