The authors of a new report tracking thousands of guns recovered by Chicago Police also have recommendations for Illinois policymakers hoping to stem the violence in the city.
The second “Gun Trace Report” — officially released Sunday and examining guns used in crimes and recovered by CPD between 2013 and 2016 — recommends four state-level solutions.
The first is the passage of the Gun Dealer Licensing Act, a bill mirroring a gun dealer ordinance passed by the Chicago City Council in 2014.
The bill includes background checks and training of employees at gun shops, inventory recordkeeping and audit requirements to aid law enforcement, and video-camera recording of gun sales and inventory areas to deter straw purchases and thefts, according to the report.
Filed by Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, the bill passed the Senate in April and has 30 sponsors in the House.
The new report also calls for comprehensive background checks on private gun sales, more effective enforcement of the state’s lost and stolen reporting law, and a firearm registration system “to track firearm transfers from one lawful owner to the next.”
“Illinois should do everything in its power to develop a regulatory framework that helps law enforcement identify the very people who illegally traffic guns and put them in the hands of violent criminals,” the report states.
Out of about 27,500 weapons recovered between 2013 and 2016, the “Gun Trace Report” focuses on 15,000 guns — all of which were initially bought legally at more than 5,000 federally licensed gun dealers in Illinois and other states.
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Contributing: Sam Charles