Violent and habitual juvenile offender provisions (705 ILCS 405/Article 5, Part 8)

A. Transfer of jurisdiction (705 ILCS 405/5-805):
There are two different ways in which a case may be transferred from juvenile to adult court. They are:

1. Presumptive transfer (705 ILCS 405/5-805(2)): As with mandatory transfers, presumptive transfers begin with the State’s Attorney requesting that a transfer hearing take place. Prior to the court giving its decision, the judge will determine if the juvenile, who must be between the ages of 15 and above, would be better served by the care, treatment, and training programs of juvenile court system through the evaluation of the following factors:

The seriousness of the offense

The age of the minor

The history of the minor, including services received

The minor’s understanding, or lack thereof, that he or she committed a criminal offense

Whether the offense was committed in a premeditated, aggressive manner or not

Whether a deadly weapon was used or not

The minor’s likelihood of being rehabilitated

The adequacy of punishment and services

A presumptive transfer is made when a judge has determined that there is probable cause to believe that the allegations in a delinquency petition and the motion for transfer are true, thus there is a rebuttable presumption that the minor is not a fit and proper subject to be dealt with in juvenile court.