Illinois bill on governor's desk would require law enforcement to work with federal gun tracing database
Illinois law enforcement agencies have been encouraged to partner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' software in the past. But now a bill on the governor's desk would make that mandatory.
Illinois bill strengthening rules on gun storage heads to Pritzker's desk
Law enforcement leaders like Kenny Winslow of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police said many of the smallest departments didn't have the resources to participate before.
'It requires a lot of staffing hours to try to back trace this,' he said.
Winslow said his organization is neutral on the final proposal. While the tool can be helpful for police to connect suspects to evidence and crime scenes, he said eTrace is not perfect.
'When people think that this is simple, that you put the information to a system that fits back all the information that you want, that's not how it works.' Winslow said. 'The trace system spits back information and potential, what we call hits, and then you fall off those heads on potential leads, and then those leads potentially lead you to somebody else that may have owned a gun.'
Even with the flaws Winslow feels the eTrace system has, law enforcement said it's worth the effort to try to prevent violent crime in their communities.
'When you talk about gun violence, I think it's important that we do every step we can in order to try to curb that violence,' Winslow added.
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Gun control advocates said tracing guns is an important part to prevent gun trafficking.
'If we have data on these recovered crime guns about who the original purchasers are, we can use that as a deterrent and to hold these folks accountable so that these guns are not moved into a secondary illegal market,' Kathleen Sances, the President of G-PAC, said.
Sances added requiring more participation with eTrace will help it be successful.
'We'll be able to do a better job solving these crimes, tracing these crime guns and keeping our community safe,' she said.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul was a major force behind the bill.
'We cannot truly prevent gun violence in our state unless we make sure all Illinois law enforcement agencies are using the best resources to trace crime guns,' Raoul said in a statement.
The Illinois Attorney General also runs a statewide gun tracing database called Crime Gun Connect. Sances said half of all law enforcement agencies participate in that database.
More information on eTrace can be found on the ATF's website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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CNN
33 minutes ago
- CNN
The Manhattan shooter had a previous arrest and 2 psychiatric holds, sources say. How was he able to own a gun?
New York City's deadliest shooting in 25 years – in a state with some of the toughest gun laws in the nation – is raising questions about how a gunman with a history of mental health issues was able to obtain multiple firearms and drive undetected across several states to carry out the attack. The gunman who walked into a Midtown Manhattan office building on Monday, M4 assault-style rifle in hand, and sprayed it with gunfire, had a license to carry a concealed weapon in his home state of Nevada, officials said. He also had been placed on psychiatric hold in 2022 and 2024, law enforcement sources told CNN. But that may not have necessarily prohibited him from obtaining his license in 2022 or buying firearms – depending on the circumstances of the holds, according to gun law experts. Shane Devon Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas, killed four people at the 345 Park Avenue office building and injured another before he died by suicide, police said. While public health experts continue to stress that the vast majority of people experiencing mental health challenges are not violent, questions remain about the details of Tamura's psychiatric holds and if they would have shown up in a background check. The case underscores the wide gap in sharing mental health data with the federal government – an issue that can be attributed to inadequate funding to manage or require the data, as well as privacy issues, according to Thomas Chittum, former associate deputy director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Tamura had 'a documented mental health history,' according to New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and a previous run-in with law enforcement. Tamura was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing in 2023 in Clark County, Nevada, after he refused to leave a Las Vegas casino after attempting to cash out about $5,000, according to a police incident report. A court database suggests a district attorney declined to pursue the case, meaning the incident wouldn't have prevented him from obtaining a gun. The case also throws private gun sales under the microscope. The AR-15 style weapon used in the shooting was legally purchased last year by the gunman's supervisor at the Vegas casino where he worked, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The supervisor then assembled it and sold it to Tamura for $1,400, the officials said, citing an interview with the supervisor who is cooperating with authorities. It's not yet clear whether the private sale between Tamura and the supervisor involved a background check. But the supervisor, who has not been named by authorities, could face legal jeopardy if the investigation reveals the firearm transfer took place in Nevada and the private sale didn't follow a state law requiring background checks for private sales, according to Warren Eller, gun violence expert and associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. As police work to uncover a motive behind the shooting, investigators are digging into Tamura's history and examining are how he obtained multiple firearms and made his way from Las Vegas to New York City with the assault rifle. A search of the gunman's car turned up a host of items, including additional ammunition, another loaded weapon, headphones potentially used for target practice, two cell phones, the antidepressant Zoloft and cannabis, a law enforcement source told CNN. A note found in the gunman's pocket claimed he had CTE, a disease linked to head trauma, one that's often associated with football players, a source told CNN. New York City's chief medical examiner's office will test Tamura's remains for CTE, an office spokesperson told CNN Tuesday. The only way to diagnose the disease is through an autopsy of the brain. As for the psychiatric holds, it's difficult to say without knowing the details whether they would have shown up in a background check or prevented Tamura from purchasing weapons, experts say. 'If you were on a 48-hour hold, if you were released at the end of that, it would not affect your ability to possess firearms under federal law,' Chittum said. Most states barely touch on the area of mental health when a person applies for a gun license due to concerns over privacy issues and stigmatizing people who have mental health issues, according to Eller. One concern, for example, is soldiers who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, might be reluctant to seek help because they fear their treatment history would deprive them of possessing firearms. 'Between the lack of funding to make sure the background check system is effective for those problems and the legal hang ups with advocacy groups who will challenge this, that's a long road ahead,' Eller said. There's a concerted effort by veterans' groups and advocacy organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union to fight against the sharing of mental health records with the National Crime Information Center and local law enforcement, which most states rely on for background checks, according to Eller. 'Groups have been combating that because simply being mentally ill doesn't mean you're mentally incompetent, nor does it mean you're a danger,' he added. However, in cases where a person was declared incompetent by a court, faced a restraining order, involuntarily committed or deemed a danger to themselves or others due to a mental illness, the federal government restricts firearm ownership and states largely follow federal law with some variations, according to Chittum. 'Even when we have someone who has a mental health issue that prohibits them under the law, the next question is whether the background check identifies that. Historically, mental health records have been some of the hardest for FBI to obtain when doing background checks,' Chittum said, adding there have been efforts to improve the availability of those records in some legislation. As New York homicide detectives work to piece together a timeline of events leading up to the deadly Manhattan attack, the way Tamura obtained the high-powered M4 rifle from an associate and whether Nevada's background check laws were violated will likely come under scrutiny. In Nevada, the private sale of a firearm between two parties requires a federal background check before the transfer is complete. Both individuals must go to a federally licensed firearm dealer, which conducts the background check on their behalf. There are limited exceptions, including firearm transfers between immediate family members, which do not require this process. If the private sale between Tamura and the supervisor did abide by the law and the facts can't prove the supervisor had any knowledge of possible disqualifiers in Tamura's history, including intended use of the firearm, then the seller likely won't be prosecuted, according to Eller and Chittum. Federal law doesn't impose any obligation on private gun sellers to identify the buyer, conduct a background check or keep any record of the sale, Chittum said. The Nevada law enforcing background checks for private sales was implemented in January 2020, closing the so-called 'gun show loophole' that gun safety advocates have long criticized as a means for bypassing records checks that can flag past criminal history. Most states conduct background checks through federally licensed dealers relying on the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), while some states like Nevada have a designated 'point of contact' system that offers access to state criminal history records. Under federal law, an unlicensed person buying a firearm directly from a gun dealer must also undergo a background check, however, those who already have a concealed carry permit – like Tamura had – may be exempt because they would have already undergone a background check to get the permit. Hours after the shooting in Manhattan, Las Vegas Police Crimestoppers received a tip from a licensed firearms dealer saying he remembered Tamura sought to buy an aftermarket trigger assembly for an M4 rifle at a Las Vegas gun show in June, a senior law enforcement official told CNN. Tamura returned the trigger assembly the next day, saying he needed the money back to buy 500 rounds of .223 ammunition – the same kind of ammunition used in the New York shooting, according to the official. The gun dealer told police Tamura came back the next day with additional funds and re-purchased the trigger assembly, the official said. Tamura's case calls attention to the 'gray area' in the federal regulation and enforcement of private sales that exists when people buy firearms for cash in a private sale, according to Eller. Because a concealed carry permit would exempt an individual for five years from a background check when buying a firearm from a licensed dealer, it creates a 'nuanced area' where a person could obtain a license to carry and then subsequently be convicted or have a mental health prohibitor and might still be able to use their card to purchase a firearm and avoid the background check, Chittum said. Some states recognize this issue and routinely run background checks on licensed holders to determine if their license is still valid, Chittum said. Red flag laws, including the one in Nevada, aim to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others. But such laws are only effective if the individual demonstrated warning signs so that others can alert law enforcement and initiate the process of revoking the person's firearm, Chittum said. It's not clear if Tamura demonstrated any warning signs that would trigger the state's red flag law. The style of weapon Tamura used to slaughter four people has commonly been seen in some of the nation's deadliest mass shootings and has prompted renewed calls by progressive lawmakers for increased regulation. 'In the State of New York, you cannot buy one of these,' Gov. Kathy Hochul told CNN on Tuesday, criticizing what she said were 'much looser laws in the State of Nevada than we have here.' Hochul called on federal lawmakers to pass a national assault weapon ban that would limit access to high-powered guns like the AR-15 style rifle used in Monday's massacre and slammed GOP counterparts whom she accused of being 'intimidated by the gun lobby.' 'We need a national awakening here, people need to be talked about this once again and it shouldn't just happen in the wake of a tragedy like this,' said Hochul. CNN's Mark Morales contributed to this report.
New York Post
4 days ago
- New York Post
Illegal immigrant caught working as police officer in Maine while attempting to buy firearm
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Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Gov. Pritzker needs to veto this pension bill. Chicago can't afford it.
Memo to Springfield: Chicago is broke. Gov. JB Pritzker has a bill on his desk that would sweeten pension benefits for Chicago's police and firefighters hired in 2011 or later, to the tune of $60 million more out of the city budget in 2027 alone and more than $11 billion over the next three decades, according to the city's own projections. The measure passed unanimously in both chambers at the end of the spring session, allowing for next to no debate and, astoundingly, was supported by every Chicago House member and senator. At the time of the bill's passage, we wrote that the entire Chicago delegation had effectively had voted to increase property taxes on their constituents. Property taxes, of course, are the main means municipalities have of financing their pension obligations to their workers. Interestingly, the governor acknowledged the conundrum last week. Asked about the bill, he said, 'One thing to consider, of course, is the finances of the city of Chicago. How will they pay for it?' The other important consideration, he said, was ensuring Chicago's first responders are 'well taken care of.' We're glad to see Pritzker explicitly state why he's mulling whether to veto despite the strange prospect of rejecting legislation that passed without a single dissenting vote. By asking rhetorically if Chicago can 'pay for it,' the governor has answered his own question. Of course Chicago can't pay for it. The police and fire pension funds have a mere 25% of the assets needed to meet their current and future obligations as it stands. Since we wrote about this measure in June, the city has estimated what it would do for its woefully underfunded first-responder funds. That percentage would drop to an almost unfathomably low 18%. To those who say it's nonsensical to veto a bill with such overwhelming support, remember that GOP lawmakers mainly went along because of the Chicago delegation's unanimous backing and the fact that only Chicagoans' taxes would be affected. All the Chicago Democrats who voted yes could justify reversing their positions by saying (truthfully) they didn't have the city's projections on just how much these changes would cost taxpayers. Chicago taxpayers already are chewing their nails wondering how the city will plug a 2026 budget deficit exceeding $1 billion. The following year looks even worse. Pritzker already tossed an $80 million hot potato in Chicago's lap with his 2023 initiative to phase out the state's 1% tax on groceries, the proceeds of which had been distributed to municipalities. More than 200 municipalities have approved their own 1% grocery taxes, as the state allows them to do. Mayor Brandon Johnson wants the City Council to do the same for Chicago, which must happen by a state-set deadline of Oct. 1. There are no guarantees, given Johnson's fraught relationship with the council and Chicagoan's understandable resistance to tax hikes of any sort, that aldermen will do as he wishes. Meanwhile, this pension time bomb would cost the city nearly as much as repeal of the grocery tax and in the future will cost far more. Speaking of the mayor, while he has spoken tepidly against this bill, he ought to be forcefully urging Pritzker to veto it and Chicago lawmakers to vote to sustain that veto, despite their earlier support of the measure. The city essentially has been missing in action on this issue, and Johnson apparently is struggling to balance his political brand as an ardent union backer with his duty to Chicago taxpayers. This is no time for such timidity. At this stage, it's worth laying out the origins of this bill. In 2010, in a bid to reform Illinois' public-sector pensions, the state created a second tier of beneficiaries hired in 2011 and thereafter — so-called Tier 2 workers — whose retirement payouts were to be substantially less than the overly generous benefits of existing employees and retirees that had gotten Illinois so deeply in pension debt. Six years ago, Pritzker signed into law sweetened pension benefits for Tier 2 cops and firefighters in Illinois outside of Chicago as part of a consolidation of downstate police and fire pension funds. Ever since, Chicago police and fire unions have argued their Tier 2 workers ought to get the same treatment. In addition, proponents cite concerns that the benefits for Tier 2 workers don't rise to the level of Social Security benefits, which would violate federal law. This page has been consistent on the issue of Tier 2 pension benefits and Social Security. State policymakers should do no more than ensure they are compliant with the law and rebuff union efforts to use the Social Security argument in effect to do away with Tier 2 and pension reform altogether. As much as we appreciate and rely on Chicago's first responders, everyone who went to work for the Police or Fire departments after 2010 knew — or should have known — what their retirement benefits were. In a perfect world, their pensions would be equivalent to those earned by their counterparts outside the city. We don't live in that world. Far from it. Mayor Johnson, you should advocate for your city's beleaguered taxpayers and call on Gov. Pritzker and Chicago's Springfield delegation to do the right thing. And, Governor, adding to Chicago's fiscal crisis hurts the whole state. Whether the mayor asks or not, veto the bill.
