JOIN US
PRESS

LAWMAKERS & GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION ADVOCATES CALL FOR PASSING SAFE AT HOME PACKAGE IN FALL VETO SESSION

For Immediate Release
October 10, 2024

CHICAGO — Illinois lawmakers joined today with the Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) of Illinois and numerous gun violence prevention advocates to urge the General Assembly to pass the new Safe At Home legislative package during this fall’s veto session.

The Safe At Home legislative campaign was launched earlier today at UCAN Chicago on the city’s West Side with lawmakers, G-PAC, and the One Aim Illinois Coalition made up of over 225 groups united to end gun violence deaths. The campaign will better prevent children, at-risk individuals, and criminals from accessing deadly weapons and inflicting tragedy at home and in Illinois communities.

The package includes the Safe Firearm Storage Act (HB 5891/SB3971), sponsored by Sen. Laura Ellman and Rep. Maura Hirschauer, that would strengthen existing Illinois law around safe firearm storage. Safe At Home also includes the Lost and Stolen Firearms Reporting Bill (HB 5888/SB 3973), sponsored by Sen. Ram Villivalam and Rep. Kevin Olickal, to increase reporting requirements when firearms are lost and stolen from lawful gun owners.

“Approximately 380,000 firearms are stolen in the United States each year, many of which are trafficked or used in violent crimes,” Sen. Villivalam said. “Working with stakeholders to raise public awareness and streamline reporting of lost and stolen firearms is a commonsense gun violence prevention measure that will save lives.”

“Stolen firearms are a major driver of violent crime, with lost guns being three times more likely to be used in crimes, and stolen guns nine times more likely,” said Rep. Olickal. “The Safe at Home legislation will improve reporting requirements, ensuring we can quickly track these weapons and prevent them from endangering our communities.”

“Illinois is committed to leading the charge in gun violence prevention, and the next crucial step is ensuring safe firearm storage,” Sen. Ellman said. “Proper gun storage is a lifesaving measure. Legislation that mandates safe storage can help avert such tragedies and also address the everyday horrors of unintentional shootings by children and teen gun suicide.”

“We must act to prevent access to deadly weapons by minors and people who should not have access to guns,” said Rep. Hirschauer. “We will build on our record of nation-leading gun violence prevention legislation and ensuring safe storage of firearms is a commonsense measure long overdue.”

Under the Safe At Home package, the Safe Firearm Storage Act would increase the age requiring safe weapons storage in homes from 13 years old to 18 and enhance what it means to safely store a weapon in homes in Illinois. The Lost and Stolen Firearms Reporting Bill would shorten the time period to report a gun lost or stolen to authorities to 48 hours from 72 hours under existing law, in addition to other requirements. Learn more details on the Safe At Home package in G-PAC’s fact sheet.

“The Safe At Home legislation will address the sobering realities that today, there are more guns in our country than people, and every one in three children lives in a home with a gun,” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of G-PAC. “There is mounting evidence that the risk of unintentional shootings, mass shootings and suicide can be significantly reduced if we make simple changes in our laws to keep us all Safe At Home.”

Founded in 2013 by gun violence survivors, G-PAC is committed to ending the gun violence epidemic by supporting the passage of a responsible, common sense gun safety agenda focused on illegal guns and gun trafficking. Learn more about G-PAC: https://gpacillinois.com/.

-30-

Facebook-f Instagram Twitter
1235 N Clybourn Ave Ste A246
Chicago, IL 60610 – 2435
Contact us: [email protected]
847-920-4722
© 2023. All rights reserved. Privacy & Terms

Rick Ryan

Facebook-f Twitter Globe
As the Lake County State’s Attorney, I am honored and humbled every day to lead the fight against crime, and to strive to ensure equal and just treatment under the law. I have been an attorney for twenty-two years – and each of those years has made me a stronger and smarter advocate for people, for ideas, and for the principles that unite us all.

I am so proud to lead an office of 140 dedicated colleagues who serve the public by prosecuting crime, advocating for victims, and planning crime prevention programs. I am also proud to work with hundreds of Lake County police officers on a daily basis to connect with every community and to develop comprehensive, holistic plans to respond to the mental health and economic crisis that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.

On one particular day, July 4, 2022, I was saddened, inspired, and motivated by the bravery of so many people. We will always stand with the victims and honor the police and other first responders who ran toward the danger. Just as so many heroes that day thought only of themselves, I also witnessed the prosecutors in my office answer the call to serve survivors and their community – even on one of its darkest days.

Every moment that I have been your legal representative, I have worked tirelessly to oversee prosecutions and to implement policies that make my family and my neighbors safer in the short term and in the long term. That is the job of the State’s Attorney: to prosecute, to innovate, and to strategically plan.

I was raised in a small town. My parents are teachers, and from them, I learned that everyone must be treated equally and that America’s sacred mission is to provide a political, economic, and legal system that allows anyone to prosper regardless of the circumstances of their birth. After graduating from Knox College and the University of Chicago Law School, I spent two years at a first-rate civil law firm in Chicago where I learned that hard work and attention to detail on every case mean the difference between success and failure.

With my wonderful wife Stephanie, I am raising my two sons, Sam and Teddy, in Lake County. Nothing is more important to me than my family’s safety and I bring that passion and determination to protect all families with me to work every day.

I joined the Lake County Public Defender’s Office in 2003 and started my own law firm in 2009. From 2003 until 2020, I watched the Lake County legal system fail to prioritize violent crime, prevent wrongful prosecutions, or address racial disparities.

So, in 2019, I decided to run for State’s Attorney so that I could serve our community by improving a local legal system that cared more about covering up its mistakes and biases than uncovering new and innovative ways to help people.

I won the 2020 election, and became the first Democrat to hold this position in 40 years. Bringing in a new party wasn’t as important as ending 40 years of one mindset that had forgotten the people and that had failed to act urgently to develop new strategic plans to prevent crime while also ensuring that each prosecution is smart, moral, and just.

We have followed through on our promises. We have built the first-ever violent crimes unit, increased prosecutors in our domestic violence division, and vastly upgraded our cyber lab. Now, we have top-notch software and personnel to finally keep up with those who would exploit others.

We have been awarded a large federal grant to bring the first ever Human Trafficking Task Force to Lake County. We have deepened our investment in people by bringing in more victim specialists and raising the salaries of many of our prosecutors.

But the work goes on. We must expand our prevention efforts that are starting with the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative launched in 2022. And we know that the opioid crisis touches thousands of lives throughout this country.

I am proud to serve on the Executive Board of the Lake County Opioid Initiative which has been working tirelessly since its founding in 2012 to reverse a devastating trend of increased overdoses. In 2022, our office was part of a national settlement against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

As an attorney of 22 years, I have committed my life to helping people, and I have conducted over 70 jury trials in Lake County, and handled appeals that have culminated in over 20 oral arguments before the appellate court and Supreme Court of Illinois.

I see my time in this office as the next phase of helping a community that I love and where I have chosen to raise my family. In my first term, we have made Lake County safer and fairer through just prosecutions, constitutional policing, and innovative crime prevention policies.