The Illinois chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today applauded the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate for passing House Bill 3563, legislation which would increase police accountability and transparency. The legislation now heads to Governor Pritzker.
“We cannot accept gun violence by police as normal or necessary, and this package of bills is an important step toward acknowledging, addressing, and acting on the police violence that is disproportionately killing Black people in Illinois,” said Janice Walker, a volunteer with Illinois Moms Demand Action. “We thank our state representatives for standing with the community, and we are grateful to the many longtime advocates who have been tirelessly demanding change for decades.”
The passage of this bill comes after several high profile shootings by police across the country and in Illinois, including a shooting by police that left one Waukegan teenageer dead, and wounded a woman. The legislation would provide for increased oversight of state and local police by Attorney General Kwame Raoul, demilitarization of state and local police, new use-of-force and de-escalation training, the establishment of a clear law enforcement duty to intervene, and restriction on law enforcement use of chokeholds.
Research suggests that implementing specific use-of-force policies can save lives. One 2016 study of 91 large police departments found adoption of use-of-force reform policies—including restrictions on shootings at moving vehicles—was associated with fewer people killed by police. Other policies included in the study included exhaustion of other means prior to shooting, bans on chokeholds and strangleholds, use-of-force continuum, duty to intervene and warning before shooting.
Meaningful use of force policies encourage de-escalation, utilize early intervention systems, and ensure that officers who break the law are held accountable. Use of force policies like these help advance safety.
Black people in the United States are nearly three times more likely to be shot and killed by law enforcement than their white counterparts, and data from Mapping Police Violence shows that most people killed by police are killed with guns. According to Mapping Police Violence, 156 people were shot and killed by police in Illinois between 2013 and 2019, and more than half of people killed were Black.
Moms Demand Action Applauds Illinois Legislature for Sending Police Accountability Legislation to the Governor’s Desk
January 14, 2021
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