Being accused of a felony can be incredibly scary—especially when you know the penalties for a conviction are so harsh. The types of felony charges available to the state of Illinois range between Class 1 and Class 4, with an additional type: Class X.

Types of Felony Charges in Chicago, Illinois (and Beyond)

Each crime that breaks an Illinois law is assigned a value based on its severity. A Class 4 felony is considered “less serious” than a Class 3, 2, or 1 felony, and significantly less serious than a Class X felony.

Each of the five types of felony charges in Illinois has its own penalties. The most serious—the Class X felony—is punishable by 6 to 30 years in prison.

The penalties for the other types of felonies are:

  • Class 1 felonies are punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.
  • Class 2 felonies are punishable by 3 to 7 years in prison.
  • Class 3 felonies are punishable by 2 to 5 years in prison.
  • Class 4 felonies are punishable by 1 to 3 years in prison.

A variety of crimes can fall under one or more classes. For example, theft could be a Class 1, 2, or 3 felony (or a misdemeanor, in some cases)—it just depends on the value of the property you’re convicted of stealing and the circumstances of the theft.

Other crimes that can be considered felonies include:

Do You Need to Talk to a Lawyer About the Types of Felony Charges Available to the State?

The state of Illinois has five different felony charges available to use in court, and if you’d like to talk to a Chicago criminal defense attorney about any of them, we’re here to help.

Call us at 847-920-4540 for a free felony case review. Tell us what kind of charges you’re facing and we’ll give you case-specific legal advice you can use to start moving forward.

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