People v. Bloomingburg

State: Illinois

Court: 1st District Appellate

Docket No: 1-02-2359 Rel

Case Date: 02/03/2004

SECOND DIVISION
February 3, 2004

No. 1-02-2359

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

ALLEN BLOOMINGBURG,

Defendant-Appellant.

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Appeal from the
Circuit Court of
Cook County.

Honorable
Michael P. Toomin,
Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE BURKE delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, defendant Allen Bloomingburg wasfound guilty of first degree murder, and sentenced to 60 years'imprisonment. On appeal, defendant contends that his trial counselwas ineffective because he conceded defendant's guilt and pursuedan unavailable theory of self-defense, thus leaving the trial courtwith no alternative but to find him guilty of first degree murder. Defendant also contends that the mandatory "15/20/25 to life"sentencing scheme added to the sentencing statute (730 ILCS 5/5-8-1(a)(1)(d) (West 2000)) by Public Act 91-404 (eff. January 1,2000), based on the use of a firearm during the course of anoffense (hereinafter referred to as the firearm enhancementprovision), violates the proportionate penalties clause of theIllinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I,