(A) Obscenity.
(1) Elements of the offense. A person commits an obscenity offense when, with the knowledge of the nature or content thereof or recklessly failing to exercise reasonable inspection which would have disclosed the nature or content thereof, he or she:
(a) Sells, delivers, or provides or offers or agrees to sell, deliver, or provide any obscene writing, picture, record, or other representation or embodiment of the obscene;
(b) Presents or directs an obscene play, dance, or other performance or participates directly in that portion thereof which makes it obscene;
(c) Publishes, exhibits, or otherwise makes available anything obscene;
(d) Performs an obscene act or otherwise presents an obscene exhibition of his or her body for gain;
(e) Creates, buys, procures, or possesses obscene matter or material with intent to disseminate it in violation of this section or of the penal laws or regulations of any other jurisdiction; or
(f) Advertises or otherwise promotes the sale of material represented or held out by him or her to be obscene, whether or not it is obscene.
(2) Obscene defined. Any material or performance is obscene if:
(a) The average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, would find that, taken as a whole, it appeals to the prurient interest;
(b) The average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, would find that it depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, ultimate sexual acts or sadomasochistic sexual acts (whether normal or perverted, actual or simulated) or masturbation, excretory functions, or lewd exhibition of the genitals; and
(c) Taken as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
(3) Interpretation of evidence. Obscenity shall be judged with reference to ordinary adults except that it shall be judged with reference to children or other specially susceptible audiences if it appears from the character of the material or the circumstances of its dissemination to be specially designed for or directed to such an audience.
(a) Where circumstances of production, presentation, sale, dissemination, distribution, or publicity indicate that material is being commercially exploited for the sake of its prurient appeal, such evidence is probative with respect to the nature of the matter and can justify the conclusion that the matter is lacking in serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
(b) In any prosecution for an offense under this section, evidence shall be admissible to show:
1. The character of the audience for which the material was designed or to which it was directed;
2. What the predominant appeal of the material would be for ordinary adults or a special audience and what effect, if any, it would probably have on the behavior of such people;
3. The artistic, literary, scientific, educational, or other merits of the material or the absence thereof;
4. The degree, if any, of public acceptance of the material in this state;
5. Appeal to prurient interest or absence thereof in advertising or other promotion of the material; and
6. Purpose of the author, creator, publisher, or disseminator.
(4) Prima facie evidence. The creation, purchase, procurement, or possession of a mold, engraved plat, or other embodiment or obscenity, specially adapted for reproducing multiple copies or the possession of more than three copies of obscene material shall be prima facie evidence of an intent to disseminate.
(Prior Code, § 27-12-1)
(B) Tie-in sales of obscene publications to distributors. Any person, firm, or corporation, or any agent, officer, or employee thereof engaged in the business of distributing books, magazines, periodicals, comic books, or other publications to retail dealers who shall refuse to furnish to any retail dealer such quantity of books, magazines, periodicals, comic books, or other publications as such retail dealer normally sells because the retail dealer refuses to sell or offer for sale, any books, magazines, periodicals, comic books, or other publications which are obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent is guilty of an offense. Each publication sold or delivered in violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense.
(Prior Code, § 27-12-3)
Penalty, see § 132.99
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see 65 ILCS 5/11-51 and 720 ILCS 5/11-22