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G-PAC Reiterates Call for Assault Weapon Ban Following 29 Mass Shootings in Illinois this Summer

*Sances available for interviews*

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 6, 2022

G-PAC Reiterates Call for Assault Weapon Ban Following 29 Mass Shootings in Illinois this Summer

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 29 mass shootings in Illinois between Memorial Day and Labor Day of this year, which took 21 lives and injured 139 people. In response, G-PAC released the following statement:

“Illinoisans witnessed 29 mass shootings this summer, and yet state lawmakers have yet to pass stronger gun laws, which 71% of Americans support,” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC. “While it appears that there isn’t the political will to call a special session before the election, state leaders must pass a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines at their earliest opportunity. Communities in Chicago, Crest Hill, Decatur, Highland Park, Rockford, Wheeling and Yorkville — all home to recent mass shootings — deserve better from their elected leaders.”

Sances sent the following call to action to advocates today to contact their lawmakers to demand immediate action.

 

By The Numbers: A Deadly Summer in Illinois

Friends,

Each summer, we’ve all come to expect that rising temperatures bring rising levels of gun violence.

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, there were 29 mass shootings in Illinois. The most deadly captured national headlines — where eight were killed and dozens more were injured during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. Chicago experienced nearly two dozen mass shootings, and suburban and downstate communities of Crest Hill, Decatur, Rockford, Wheeling and Yorkville all witnessed their own.

While mass shootings get the most attention, they are only a fraction of the problem. In Chicago, the 9 people killed in mass shootings were among 223 who died at the hand of a firearm this summer. The 92 people wounded in mass casualty events were among the 1,107 who were shot and killed citywide during the same period.

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR

in just 10 seconds

Join me in contacting your state lawmaker to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Springfield must take action at their earliest opportunity to strengthen our gun laws — which 71% of Americans support.

G-PAC has been advocating to pass a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, and we need your help to ensure state lawmakers hear our voices.

Use our advocacy tool to send a pre-written email to your state legislator in just a few clicks. We must let Springfield know that we cannot afford to kick the can down the road once again.

Thank you for your continued support,

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Kathleen Sances
President and CEO, GVPAC, G-PAC

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About Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC)
The Gun Violence Prevention Political Action Committee (G-PAC) is the state’s leading gun violence advocacy organization. It was founded in 2013 to counter the political influence of the gun industry and their lobby in Springfield.

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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.