Commonwealth Edison's 27 percent rate hike proposal submitted to the Illinois Commerce Commission in August is undergoing opposition from Attorney General Neil Hartigan's office. Jeanne Marie Shultz, press secretary for Hartigan's office, said Hartigan...
I try to read the Northern Star every day, and I always begin with the editorial page. I especially look forward to Gretchyn Lenger's columns because she is the only female columnist. I was very disappointed however, in her Nov. 10 column. Her nonchalant,...
Strolling through a typical modern drugstore which sells everything from hairspray to toy sailboats, or a shopping mall where every shop seems bursting with merchandise, it's possible to think, "No one will notice if I take a small item and don't pay for it," or, "It's OK to get something even though I know my check will bounce." Unfortunately, the grave error in thinking this might not become obvious until you are sitting in a police station charged with retail theft or deceptive practice.
Because of high theft rates, many businesses in DeKalb and elsewhere automatically prefer criminal charges in theft cases, irrespective of the amount of loss involved, be it $.15 or $1,500.
A person commits retail theft when he or she knowingly takes possession of merchandise held or offered for sale in a retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant permanently of its possession, use or benefit without paying the full retail value. A person also commits retail theft if he or she alters, transfers or removes labels or price tags from merchandise and attempts to purchase it for less than its full market value, or if he or she transfers merchandise from one container to another with similar intent.
etail theft of property which does not exceed $150 in value is a Class A misdemeanor. A person convicted of this charge can be jailed up to one year and/or fined up to $1,000. If the item(s) exceeds $150 in value, the offense is a Class 3 felony, punishable by possible imprisonment of 2-5 years. If a person is charged with a subsequent offense of any type of theft, the second offense is a felony, even if the amount taken is less than $150.
Merchants have a variety of methods to detect retail theft, including floor walkers, electronic sensor tags and hidden mirrors. The retail theft statute specifically authorizes "any merchant who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed retail theft (to) detain such person, on or off the premises of a retail mercantile establishment, in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time," to request identification, make inquiry whether the person has unpurchased merchandise and/or to call the police.
Procedurally, a person accused of retail theft suffers the public embarrassment of detention, followed by formal arrest and booking, which can include mug shots and fingerprinting, and the posting of bond. Even in the best of circumstances, a person guilty of retail theft faces a fine and a possible criminal record.
The crime of deceptive practices includes several types of actions in which a person intends to defraud another party for his or her gain. One such deceptive practice occurs when a person writes a bad check with "the intent ... to pay for property, labor or services of another." A bad check is the common term used for the practice of issuing or delivering a "check or other order upon a real or fictitious (bank) depository for the payment of money" knowing the bank won't honor the check. Writing a bad check to obtain goods or services is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense, unless the value of property obtained in a single transaction, or in separate transactions within a 90 day period, exceeds $150, in which case the offense is a Class 4 felony. The penalty is 1-3 years of imprisonment. A subsequent conviction for this type of deceptive practice, regardless of the value of property, is also a Class 4 felony.
Under a new law a retailer also can collect civil penalties of up to $500 against someone who has failed to pay amounts due on a bounced check within 30 days of a written demand from the retailer for payment.
etail theft and writing bad checks are clearly not worth the risk. If you are arrested, promptly contact an attorney for assistance.
If increased funding for higher education is something students are willing to fight for—and recent events indicate this is the case—then the fight should continue into next year. With the Day of Action over, the best situation NIU can expect is to...
This letter is in response to Mr. Dan Moran's "potty mouth" column on Oct. 23 about the Day of Action. Let's start by clearing up a few things. I only rarely read the Star; I usually have better things to do than write a letter to the Star; I always have...
can cure writer's block Writing a column—like almost everything else in the world—has its good and bad points. One of the good points is that you get the chance to write just about anything you want. That's especially nice when something happens to...
In Mike Lacy's column about the University Committee on the ROTC and Tom Rainey, a student who opposes the ROTC, Mr. Lacy describes Mr. Rainey's beliefs: "...that ROTC should (not) even exist" and "...that we don't need armies." I share these beliefs....
The NIU Graduate Council approved a plan Monday for English proficiency testing for foreign graduate students. The final form the proposal has taken should be acceptable to people on both sides of the issue. A great deal has been said about "kids who...
I would like to give a special thanks to Mr. Steven Fleck, the undergraduate management adviser, for his help Oct. 14. After incurring some problems relating to the business courses I need to graduate, I was tossed from department to department, resulting...
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Costa Rican President Oscar Arias evokes the ultimate nightmare the Reagan regime dreads—the break-out of peace in Central America. The argument against the peace plan is that it can not succeed. Yet, if it's...
I'm writing regarding the Facebook article published yesterday. It took everything I had to keep from laughing uncontrollably at the sheer stupidity of the "outrage" over the new Facebook "News Feed" feature. All I can say is, "What did these people expect?" You take your personal information and voluntarily put it up on the Web, where anyone can see it, and then complain that people can see your personal information?
Facebook is not putting up who your favorite band is on your profile or what celebrities you like or your Social Security number, locker combination, phone number or whatever else these people put up on their profiles. These people put up this personal information themselves. So Facebook is making it "easier" to see what someone is doing. Big deal.
The solution is simple: If you don't want people to look at your "personal" information (and I use the word personal loosely, as information posted on the internet is anything but personal), don't post it on the Internet. You want to make sure people can't "watch every single step you take"? Then don't tell the entire world who you're dating or what you're doing Friday night via your Facebook profile. Better yet, delete your Facebook/Myspace profiles altogether and go back to stalking "that cute guy/girl in your psych class" the old fashioned way — with good old hard work and binoculars.
Chlamydia is: (a) a flower; (b) a spermicidal agent used in condoms; (c) the most common sexually transmitted disease; (d) a recent heavy loser in the stock market. Those who correctly answered (c) know more about chlamydia than the majority of the population....
