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Quinn Signs Bill To Toughen Penalties For Social Media Mob Attacks

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A bill to toughen penalties on those who use social media to organize violent flash mobs has been signed by Gov Pat Quinn.

Quinn Signs Bill To Toughen Penalties For Social Media Mob Attacks

Social media is a great way to keep track of your friends and share photos, but unfortunately it's being used by criminals too. State Senator Kwame Raoul is one of the authors of SB 1005 and says when they hit downtown Chicago it hurts business, and that hurts everyone

"We have people coming in from all over the world and we don't want to scare them from coming in," said Raoul.

State Representative Christian Mitchell says gang leaders used it to organize their troops

"It is happening in real time. Somebody sends a tweet. 20 minutes later, someone is laying in a pool of blood on the street and there is no time to intervene," said Mitchell.

The bill allows a judge to add one to three years to the sentence of those convicted of using social media or texts to organize crime.

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