WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderNew state law targets gang members with guns

New state law targets gang members with guns

By Samantha Ptashkin

BELVIDERE (WREX)- From now on when a gang member in Illinois gets caught carrying a gun he or she will face much tougher consequences than other gun holders.

The new legislation requires that any gang member without a FOID card who's carrying a loaded gun in a public area will face a minimum of three years in prison and a maximum of 10. "I hope they realize if they get caught they're going to prison," said Boone County State's Attorney Michelle Courier.

Courier has been at the forefront of fighting gang violence in her county's neighborhoods. "We always have a variety of gang related crime whether that's graffiti, batteries, or drive by shootings, but guns always play an important role because of the deadliness of them," Courier said.

Prior to the new law, if police charged a gang member with unlawful use of a weapon they didn't have to face any prison time. Now they must serve without any possibility for probation. The amount of time they spend locked up will depend on how serious the offense is and their criminal history. "I think the biggest impact this is going to have is it's going to tell gang members that they're going to go to prison and I think that's a very effective tool and effective deterrence against the gangs," Courier said.

Courier said she has also been tracking other pending bills that would increase punishment for gang members. She calls them necessary to keep our communities safe. "Gangs destroy our communities and I think we need to have every sort of methods and means to attack them."

In July Courier brought a lawsuit against 30 members of the Latin Kings gang in Boone County for various offenses. The majority have already agreed to orders that prevent them from having contact with other gang members and committing gang activities. Those that don't will head to trial next month.