The woman who kicked Kailee Schultz, a pregnant nurse, was convicted of aggravated battery of a nurse and aggravated battery of a pregnant person, both Class 3 felonies.

She received 18 months of felony probation and was required to undergo anger management and follow any recommendations, records show.

Illinois law recognizes nurses as a protected class. Assault on a nurse is a Class 3 felony, punishable by two to five years in prison, or up to 10 years if a judge finds extenuating circumstances. However, probation is an option.

In theory, that should deter violence.

In practice, prosecutions and prison sentences remain relatively uncommon.

The conviction problem

In Will County, 47 cases of aggravated battery against a nurse have been filed since the Covid pandemic began. Nineteen still are pending. Of the remaining 28, only six defendants have gone to prison, with an average sentence of 4½ years.

In McHenry County, where Schultz was assaulted, the numbers are even starker. McHenry County Circuit Court Clerk Kathy Keefe reported that since 2023, there have been only six cases filed for aggravated battery of a nurse.

The problem not only is with the law, but with the jury, as well, according to a La Salle County prosecutor.

Jason Goode, first assistant state’s attorney in La Salle County, believes broader distrust of authority figures following the George Floyd protests has made some jurors less sympathetic toward workers viewed as authority figures, including nurses.

It’s getting harder to persuade a jury to convict someone of hurting a nurse, Goode said.

The reason is simple, he said: “People think it’s part of the job to have someone spit on you.”

The perception that violence is an occupational hazard nurses should simply accept is exactly what Schultz and her colleagues have been fighting against.

Because even when convictions occur, sentences often are lenient.

The sentences of the six Will County defendants who went to prison averaged 4½ years. Nurses and hospital leaders argue the penalties often fail to reflect the physical and psychological toll of the attacks.

Lawmakers are trying, but progress is slow

Republican state Reps. John Cabello of Machesney Park and Tony McCombie of Savanna introduced House Bill 1030 in late 2024 to elevate assault on a nurse from a Class 3 to a Class 2 felony, making it punishable by three to seven years in prison instead of two to five.

The bill would increase penalties across the board, making it harder for judges to impose probation-only sentences.

The bill still is pending in the Illinois General Assembly and remains in committee. Progress has been slow.

As for Schultz, she eventually left the ER and moved to a hospital in Wisconsin, where she now works in labor and delivery. When she picks up occasional ER shifts for extra income, she leaves thinking the same thing: “Yep, this is why I do not work in ER anymore.”