SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statement applauding the Illinois legislature for passing House Bill 1710, the Homicide Data Transparency Act, which would require all law enforcement agencies in Illinois to publish routine data in regards to nonfatal shootings and homicides and their subsequent investigations. This bill honors gun violence survivors and families impacted by gun violence by addressing cold case clearance rates, and was introduced alongside the Homicide Victims’ Families Rights Act, which would allow the surviving family members of unsolved homicides to petition law enforcement for a review of these cases. HB 1710 now heads to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk to be signed into law.
“Like so many families, mine continues to wait year after year with no answers or transparency about my father’s murder,” said Alicia Schemel, senior fellow of the Everytown Survivor Network. Alicia’s father, Captain Donald Schemel, was shot and killed in 1999 and his murder remains unsolved. “Solving gun homicides and assaults is critical to addressing our gun violence epidemic. It builds community trust in law enforcement and helps break cycles of violence. This legislation is a vital step toward healing the trauma survivors like me live with every day. We’re deeply grateful to the Illinois legislature, especially Representative Buckner and Senator Peters, for championing this policy and hearing survivors’ voices. We urge Illinois lawmakers to take the next step and pass the Homicide Victims’ Families Rights Act. This is grassroots advocacy in action.”
Solving gun crimes is an important component in preventing gun violence and building community trust with law enforcement. Nationally, nearly half of murders and non-negligent homicides go unsolved. In 2021 in Chicago, which had its deadliest year in more than a quarter century, only about half of homicides were cleared, but less than half of those cleared homicides ended with an arrest.
Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers, including many gun violence survivors, were critical in the passage of this bill – advocating for this policy for many years and testifying countless times.
In an average year, 1,719 people die by guns and 4,994 are wounded by guns in Illinois. Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Illinois, and an average of 212 children and teens die by guns every year. More information about gun violence in Illinois is available here.