AURORA -- It almost sounds like a bad joke. What's the difference between three women walking into a department store at Fox Valley Center in March 1998 and stealing $951 worth of merchandise, and two women walking into another department store in October 1998 and stealing $960 worth of merchandise?

Aside from $9, State of Illinois criminal code says nothing; all of the women should have been charged with felonies.

But the DuPage County state's attorney's office only authorized felony charges for some of the offenders.

According to Illinois compiled statutes for criminal offenses, the ...

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