Governor Pritzker Signs 2 New Gun Control Bills
Last week, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed two new bills into law, one that strengthens gun storage requirements in the state and another aimed at improving the tracking of guns recovered from crime scenes by law enforcement in an effort to crack down on gun trafficking. The Safe Gun Storage Act outlines new storage requirements, imposes civil penalties for improper storage, and reduces the requirement that owners who have their gun stolen report said theft to law enforcement from 72 to 48 hours. “This is a commonsense measure that has been shown to significantly reduce gun deaths, suicides, and accidental shootings,” Gov. Pritzker said shortly after signing the bill. House Bill 1373, championed by State Senator Bill Cunningham, broadens the requirements for instances where law enforcement must trace the source of a gun recovered from a crime scene, is used unlawfully, or is otherwise believed to be associated with a crime and requires every law enforcement agency/department in Illinois to participate in the federal eTrace program, giving law enforcement more data/access to a gun’s origin information. “This will give the police the tools they need to track down illegal guns and the criminals that traffic them into our communities. Tracing guns used in crimes and sharing data across jurisdictions will help solve crimes and keep dangerous individuals off our streets” Cunningham said in support of the bill.
Illinois Sees Drop in Violent Crime
Just as these bills were being signed into law, observers were quick to note that they come at a time where there has been a year-over-year drop in many areas of crime, with many politicians suggesting the reason is “hard to pinpoint” according to Governor Pritzker, but otherwise crediting the numerous measures taken to address crime. Still, Chicago’s homicide rate is down 3% from last year, shootings are down 40%, and carjackings are down 50%. While some have hypothesized that the drop is attributed to a return to normal life after the effects of the pandemic (such as returning to work, school, etc.) or investment in police technology that makes investigations easier, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul credits violence interruption programs that have been implemented in recent years, succinctly outlining his belief that, “A hundred million dollars for violence interruption — that works.” Whatever the reason for the drop, which is not isolated to Chicago but is part of a larger nationwide trend, is encouraging, particularly from historically high levels during the Covid pandemic.
