The Illinois chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action released the following statement after a tragic shooting this morning in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois in which eight people were shot — including four people who were shot fatally. This is at least the second shooting in four days in Chicago — on Saturday morning, 29-year-old mother of three Kimfier Miles, was shot and killed. Nine others were also shot and wounded in the same shooting. Details are still developing.
“Our hearts are breaking for the families of those impacted by these senseless acts of gun violence,” said Valerie Burgest, a volunteer with the Illinois chapter of Moms Demand Action. “These tragedies will not end until we act on real policies that address the gun violence crisis that not only Illinoians face on a daily basis, but citizens in every state. We need real action — not just words. Illinois lawmakers must step up, and pass legislation that will better protect our communities from gun violence.”
Tomorrow, Illinois lawmakers will return for a special session to address HB562, legislation that would close gaps in Illinois gun violence prevention laws. If passed, the bill would:
- Strengthen Illinois background check system for unlicensed gun sales.
- Provide $9 million in funding for community-based mental health and gun violence prevention programs
- Remove firearms from individuals with revoked Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards that have not yet relinquished them
- Require Illinois State Police to monitor state and federal databases for prohibited firearm purchasers and update the records of FOID card holders
Requiring background checks on all gun sales is proven to reduce gun violence. State laws requiring background checks for all handgun sales—by point-of-sale check and/or permit—are associated with lower firearm homicide rates, lower firearm suicide rates, and lower firearm trafficking.
Every year 1,400 people are shot and killed in Illinois. Black people in Illinois are 32 times more likely than white people to die by gun homicide. Gun violence costs Illinois $10.6 billion each year, of which $668.9 million is paid by taxpayers.
Read about gun violence in Illinois here. More information about Illinois’ gun laws is available here.