Keeping Our Families and Children Safe and Free From Gun Violence

It takes just 60 seconds to file a witness slip supporting a bill that would reduce gun suicides, domestic violence homicides and mass shootings.

Family members are often the first people to notice a person is entering a mental health crisis or exhibiting violent behavior. House bill 2354 creates a Lethal Violence Order of Protection (LVOP) which empowers immediate family members who are concerned about a loved one hurting themselves or others to petition the courts to remove firearms for a limited amount of time. The LVOP disarms a potentially dangerous individual.

80% of people considering suicide give some sign of their intention

38 out of 62 mass shooters in the last twenty years were reported as displaying signs of dangerous behavior prior to the shootings

G-PAC Gun Safety leader Rep. Kathleen Willis is chief sponsor of HB 2354. Co-sponsors include G-PAC Gun Safety Representatives Michelle Mussman, Laura Fine, Scott Drury, Sonya Harper, Will Guzzardi, Teresa Mah, Jaime Andrade, Sara Feigenholtz, Deb Conroy, Ann Williams, Kelly Cassidy, Anna Moeller, Christian Mitchell, and Chris Welch. If one of these folks is your State Rep, please reach out with an email or a phone call thanking them for their courage and leadership keeping our children, families and communities free from gun violence.

Click on image to thank Rep.Willis!

HOW TO FILE A WITNESS SLIP FOR HB 2354

HB 2354, the Lethal VIolence Order of Protection is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, March 7 at 3:30 pm. Please take 60 seconds to fill out a witness slip supporting this lifesaving legislation today. 

1.) Click on the image to file a witness slip as a PROPONENT of the bill.

2.) Fill out the Identification section with your information. For the Firm/business or agency and Title fields, write “self” unless you are authorized by a company or business to use their name on the witness slip.

3.) The Representation section: If you are not authorized to appear on behalf of any group, fill in NA or “self”.

4.) Select PROPONENT in the Position section.

5.) Complete the Testimony section. Check the “Record of Appearance Only” box. This will allow your position on the piece of legislation to be known without having to physically appear.

6.) Type what is displayed in the CAPTCHA box.

7.) Click in the box next to “I Agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement”.

8.) Click Create (SLIP).


Do you think our children and families should be free and safe from gun violence? We do!

G-PAC is starting the Freedom Action Network so we can stop dangerous bills from becoming law in Illinois. As a member, you will be emailed when electronic witness slips or phone calls are needed to support or oppose gun bills in committee hearings. We can beat the gun lobby and their bought and paid for legislators in Springfield with a few clicks and dials.

We promise we won’t spam you with unnecessary emails. You will only get emails when we need witness slips and phone calls. Sign up to become a member of the Freedom Action Network here:

Thank you for the 60 seconds today!

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.