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G-PAC CALLS FOR PASSAGE OF SAFE AT HOME LEGISLATION FOLLOWING TRAGIC SOUTH SHORE SHOOTING

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2025

G-PAC CALLS FOR PASSAGE OF SAFE AT HOME LEGISLATION FOLLOWING TRAGIC SOUTH SHORE SHOOTING

CHICAGO — The Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) of Illinois, the state’s leading gun violence prevention organization, today called on Illinois leaders to pass Safe At Home legislation to strengthen safe gun storage laws following this week’s tragic accidental shooting in the South Shore neighborhood that claimed the life of an 8-year-old boy and injured his 5-year-old brother. 

Since the Thursday shooting, police have reportedly confirmed the horrific shooting stemmed from the two boys accessing a loaded weapon left unattended in their home.

The proposed Safe At Home legislation in the General Assembly this spring would enhance what it means to safely store weapons and also strengthen reporting requirements for lost and stolen guns. Working together, these safety measures will protect more families from deadly tragedies in their homes and communities.

“The alarming reality is that one in three children lives in a home with a gun, and with this level of gun ownership in our society, too many tragedies unfold when guns get into the hands of children and other vulnerable people,” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of G-PAC. “This shooting joins a long list of incidents where unsecured firearms have caused unintentional shootings, suicide, mass shootings, and crime in our communities. We can and must do more to strengthen Illinois law to keep our communities safe and save lives.”

Safe At Home was introduced earlier this session as Senate Bill 8 and House Bill 3688 and is sponsored by Sens. Laura Ellman and Ram Villivalam and Reps. Maura Hirschauer and Kevin Olickal.

“Illinois is committed to leading the charge in gun violence prevention to prevent senseless tragedies like this one,” Sen. Ellman said. “Safe At Home is a lifesaving measure to help avert the heartbreak of unintentional shootings by children and teen gun suicide.”

“There is no time to waste when it comes to gun safety, and I’m committed to help lead the General Assembly to pass Safe At Home and other common sense gun violence prevention measures that will save lives,” Sen. Villivalam said. 

“Our heart breaks for this family, but we won’t just offer our thoughts and prayers – we will build on our record of nation-leading gun violence prevention legislation to ensure guns are secure and more lives are saved,” Rep. Hirschauer said. 

“Safe and secure storage practices help prevent guns from being stolen or accessed by children and at-risk people,” said Rep. Olickal. “Passing Safe At Home will protect more Illinois families from being ripped apart by gun violence.”

Provisions of Safe At Home include:

  • Outlines improved safe storage requirements in homes where a minor, at-risk person, or someone prohibited from using firearms could gain access to them.
  • Changes definition of “minor” to a person under 18 years of age (military and national guard excluded).
  • Adds civil penalties associated with the failure to safely secure firearms; at first violation, courts may impose community service or restitution.
  • Strengthens requirement for reporting a lost or stolen firearm from 72 to 48 hours after the owner first discovers the loss or theft.
  • Requires education for gun owners of the obligation to report a lost or stolen firearm at the time of firearm purchase and FOID/CCL application and renewal process.
  • Requires ISP to create a portal for law enforcement to report individuals who have failed to report the loss or theft of a firearm.
  • Imposes penalty of revocation of FOID card on second violation for failure to report lost and stolen firearms. 

Read more about Safe At Home in G-PAC’s fact sheet. 

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Rick Ryan

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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.