Breaking News on Lawsuit to Discourage Illegal Gun Sales

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday October 28, 20

Lyons Approves Ordinance to safeguard public in gun sales

G-PAC Urges Lincolnwood and Riverdale to Follow

Lyons, Illinois – Village Mayor Christopher Getty announced that the village has approved an ordinance that spells out procedures to help crackdown on the sale of guns to “straw purchasers” after a unanimous vote by the City Council yesterday afternoon.

The ordinance responds to a lawsuit filed last July alleging three suburban Chicago communities including Lyons are responsible for guns sold legally at a village-based gun shop that later made their way into the hands of criminals.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the Coalition for Safe Chicago Communities with the financial support and backing of G-PAC (Gun Violence Prevention PAC).

Kathleen Sances, Executive Director of G-PAC, was elated to hear of Lyons decision to settle with the plaintiffs and pass the ordinance to crack down on straw purchasing. “We would like to thank Mayor Getty, the Village of Lyons, and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart for their eagerness to work with us to help end gun violence,” said Sances.

“G-PAC provided backing for the plaintiffs because we know taking steps to discourage the illegal trafficking of guns in Lyons, Riverdale and Lincolnwood will save lives throughout Chicago. We hope Riverdale and Lincolnwood will follow the example set by Lyons and move to adopt this ordinance before the next court briefing on Friday.”

According to a 2014 Chicago report, three gun shops in Cook County and an additional shop in Gary, Indiana, provide nearly 20 percent of the guns recovered in Chicago crime scenes. Those illegal firearms flow into a pocket of communities destroying lives and tearing apart communities. The plaintiffs are victims and survivors that reside in these neighborhoods including Father Michael Phleger, Annette Holt, Pam Bosley, Rev. Robin and Louvenia Hood.

Mayor Getty announces new ordinance. Click here to listen to Coalition attorney Mike Persoon’s remarks.

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Rick Ryan

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.