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illinois supreme court
Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Assault Weapons Ban Passed After Highland Park Shooting
"This is a significant victory for the movement for gun safety and getting semiautomatic rifles off our streets," said Parkland survivor and March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg.
Aug 11, 2023
Gun control advocates and Illinois leaders on Friday celebrated the state Supreme Court upholding the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which banned the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines after a 2022 massacre at an Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburbs.
"Weapons and accessories designed for the battlefield shouldn't have a place in our communities," declared Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and public policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. "Communities across Illinois cannot afford another tragedy like Highland Park to occur and today's decision by the Illinois Supreme Court ensures that we can keep these deadly weapons of war off our streets."
March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg—who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida—said that "this is a significant victory for the movement for gun safety and getting semi-automatic rifles off our streets."
As The Associated Pressdetailed: "The law bans dozens of specific brands or types of rifles and handguns, .50-caliber guns, attachments, and rapid-firing devices. No rifle is allowed to accommodate more than 10 rounds, with a 15-round limit for handguns. The most popular gun targeted is the AR-15 rifle."
Overturning a lower court's ruling, the justices found the law does not violate the equal protection or special legislation clauses of the Illinois Constitution. They also found that "plaintiffs expressly waived in the circuit court any independent claim that the restrictions impermissibly infringe" on the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The decision came in a case brought by state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-101), "part of a flurry of challenges to the constitutionality of the ban," as the Chicago Sun-Timesexplained. "Some of those challenges are still being fought in federal court."
The newspaper also noted that billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker "tapped his wealth last year to help boost two Democratic state Supreme Court justices who helped seal the majority Friday, as they did last month in upholding another key progressive measure backed by the billionaire governor: a provision promising to end cash bail next month."
Pritzker said Friday he was "pleased" with the court's 4-3 decision and that the contested measure, which he signed in January, "is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship."
"Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state—whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work—and that's precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes," he added. "This decision is a win for advocates, survivors, and families alike because it preserves this nation-leading legislation to combat gun violence and save countless lives."
The Highland Park shooting—in which seven people were killed and dozens more were injured—provoked calls for stricter state and federal gun laws. The suspect, Robert Crimo III, has been charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
"For years, moms, students, survivors of gun violence, and other community safety advocates fought hard to pass comprehensive gun safety legislation in Illinois," Moms Demand Action executive director Angela Ferrell-Zabala said Friday. "Today's decision by the Illinois Supreme Court is an incredible victory for our dedicated volunteers who were relentless in their advocacy to pass this lifesaving legislation, especially in the aftermath of the tragedy in Highland Park."
Sheri Williams, who co-leads the Illinois chapter of Moms Demand Action, also stressed that the law was the result of "tireless advocacy" by her group and Students Demand Action. Friday's ruling, she said, "put public safety over the gun lobby's agenda, and our families will all be safer because of it."
This post has been updated with additional details about the ruling.
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'Historic': Illinois Supreme Court Puts State Back on Track to End Cash Bail
"The implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act will make Illinois the first state in the country to remove the price tag from the presumption of innocence," said the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice.
Jul 18, 2023
Criminal justice reform advocates on Tuesday celebrated that Illinois is set to become the first U.S. state to eliminate cash bail by the end of this summer after the Illinois Supreme Court found that the law does not violate the state constitution.
The contested Pretrial Fairness Act—seen as a model for other states to follow—was passed as part of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act signed in February 2021 by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who, along with fellow Democrats Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and state Attorney General Kwame Raoul, joined campaigners in cheering the new court decision.
"The Illinois Constitution of 1970 does not mandate that monetary bail is the only means to ensure criminal defendants appear for trials or the only means to protect the public," the majority opinion states. "Our constitution creates a balance between the individual rights of defendants and the individual rights of crime victims. The act's pretrial release provisions set forth procedures commensurate with that balance."
The 5-2 ruling—Republicans Justices David Overstreet and Lisa Holder White dissented—overturns a December decision from a Kankakee County judge who sided with state's attorneys and sheriffs who sued over the law. The Illinois Supreme Court directed courts statewide to prepare to implement the policy by September 18.
Welcoming the decision in a statement Tuesday, the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice blasted money bail as "one of the most glaring injustices in our criminal legal system," and declared that "the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act will make Illinois the first state in the country to remove the price tag from the presumption of innocence."
"Ending money bond addresses both economic justice and racial justice issues in the pretrial system. In communities across Illinois, Black people have been disproportionately impacted by wealth-based jailing," the network said, noting that the state locks up a quarter-million people in county jails each year. "Giving people the opportunity to stay in their communities while awaiting trial will enable them to keep their jobs, housing, and custody of their children, making us all safer."
While "conservatives have used fear-mongering and misinformation to try to derail its success" since the measure passed, now county officials must "put politics aside and work together to properly implement the law," the network stressed. "Continued attempts to sabotage the Pretrial Fairness Act would not only dismiss the will of the people, but also jeopardize community safety."
"This is a historic juncture in the fight against mass incarceration, but it is far from the end of our work," the network added. "It is critical that we don't stop at ending money bond and that realize our goal of dramatically reducing pretrial incarceration in our state. Ending money bond and reducing pretrial incarceration bring us closer to a future where our communities are safe, our people are supported, our system is fair, and wealth does not determine one's freedom."
David Gaspar, CEO of the Bail Project—which provides bail assistance while advocating for pretrial systems that are more equitable, humane, and just—also applauded the state Supreme Court's ruling on Tuesday.
"Today, the Illinois State Supreme Court affirmed what we've always known—that cash bail is un-American, it upends foundational American rights that everyone is equal under the law and innocent until proven otherwise, and has no place in our state statutes or constitutions," he said. "Where it exists, cash bail creates a two-tiered system of justice: one where those who can afford to pay bail get released, and another where those who are too poor to pay bail are forced to remain incarcerated while awaiting trial."
"With cash bail gone in Illinois, it's time for policymakers to immediately fund and scale effective nonfinancial alternatives to cash bail like court notifications, travel assistance, and referrals to crucial supportive services that help people return to court and avoid justice system involvement altogether," Gaspar added. "Our own work demonstrates that with these smart investments and enough support, people will return to court more than 90% of the time without any of their own money on the line."
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