The jury returned verdicts finding defendant guilty of burglary and not guilty of retail theft. At sentencing, it was determined that burglary is generally a Class 2 felony with a sentencing range of 3 to 7 years (720 ILCS 5/19-1(b) (West 2014); 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-35(a) (West 2014)), but defendant was subject to a Class X sentencing range of 6 to 30 years due to his criminal history (730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-95(b) (West 2014); id.§ 5-4.5-25(a)). Defendant’s lengthy criminal history included three separate convictions for robbery in 1987, burglary in 1992, separate theft and burglary convictions in 1994, resisting a peace officer in 1998, residential burglary in 1999, possession of cannabis in 2006, a conviction in 2007 for altering a lottery ticket for which he was sentenced to five years in prison in Iowa, convictions for assault and resisting a peace officer in 2009, and another resisting a peace officer conviction in 2012. The prosecutor noted that by his calculations defendant had been sentenced to 36 years in prison in all since 1987, yet he was only 44 years old at the time of sentencing in the present case. The prosecutor argued that defendant had never led a law-abiding life and that he continually commits offenses when he is released from the Department of Corrections. The State therefore recommended a 15-year, extended-term sentence. The trial court considered defendant’s lengthy criminal history and the conduct involved in the instant offense, including its nonviolent nature, and sentenced defendant to eight years in prison.