Is Making Prank Phone Calls Illegal in Illinois?

A 19-year-old woman from Rockford, Illinois was recently arrested for calling 911 and hanging up nearly 700 times over the span of 7 days and I can't help but wonder; why would she do this?

Is Making Prank Calls Illegal in Illinois?

Let's be honest for a moment; we've all made a prank phone call or two in our time, myself included. Pranking seems like a brilliant idea when you're really bored and want to mess with a friend, but some people prank others for much more serious reasons.

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According to the Rockford Register Star, the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office recently arrested a 19-year-old woman in Rockford for calling 911 694 times and hanging up in the span of one week. HOLY HECK!

RRStar's article also states; "The sheriff's office did not provide any kind of motive" for why this woman made nearly 700 calls to 911 and then hung up, but clearly she was disturbed about something, and I truly hope it wasn't an actual emergency.

Upon reading that story I couldn't help but wonder...

Can You Get Arrested for Making Prank Calls in Illinois?

I think we can all agree that we won't be making 700 911 calls anytime soon, but what about prank calls to other people? Can excessive pranking lead to time behind bars in Illinois?

According to the Law Office of David S. Olshansky & Associates in Chicago;

Continuing harassment over the phone can also be charged by the state prosecution as a misdemeanor which results in jail time for the accused.
Telephone harassment is a broad term which covers a range of behaviors including stalking, obscene phone calls, prank calls and threatening people over the phone.

FYI, if someone in Illinois is found guilty of making false calls to 911 it is considered a Class 4 Felony which will land you 1-3 years in prison and a fine of $25,000...so don't ever do it.