SPRINGFIELD, IL — Ahead of the first full week of the 101st General Assembly with control of the governor's mansion and supermajorities in both houses, Illinois Democratic lawmakers have already introduced several new gun laws.

A Senate bill would ban firearms it defines as "assault weapons," while two pieces of House legislation would amend the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. One would require applicants for gun licenses to provide a list of their public social media accounts that state police must review and another would allow state police to deny, revoke or seize FOID cards of those convicted of misdemeanor stalking in other states. The three bills filed Wednesday and Thursday by north suburban state lawmakers follow Gov. JB Pritzker's signing of new statewide regulations on gun dealers as one of his first acts in office. At a press conference on Chicago's North Austin neighborhood last week, Pritzker said it was "time to ban weapons of war."

Deerfield Democrat Sen. Julie Morrison introduced Senate Bill 107 to ban various types of specified semi-automatic firearms. The text of the bill closely mirrors other such bans passed by North Shore municipalities and by Cook County. Highland Park's ban was allowed to stand by the U.S. Supreme Court, while Cook County ban's, though upheld in federal court, has never actually been enforced and enforcement of Deerfield's has been put on hold pending court challenge in Lake County Court. But those local ordinance bans merely assess fines. Morrison's proposal would amend the state's criminal code and make the first offense of buying, selling or possessing the weapons a class 3 felony, with a possible penalty ranging from probation to five years in the state penitentiary.

In an August 2018 op-ed, then-candidate Pritzker called for a ban on "assault weapons, bump stocks, and high-capacity magazines." The governor's office did not respond to a request for comment about the proposed legislation Friday.

Last year, Morrison proposed giving local governments the ability to write their own firearm bans, introducing Senate Bill 2314. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee in April but it was unable to garner enough support for Democratic leaders to call it for a vote. She said her proposal for a statewide ban could assuage some of the concerns of her fellow senators.

"For too long, our federal government has failed to act on a number of important gun safety measures. While a renewal of the federal assault weapons ban would be the most effective solution, we can no longer delay action," Morrison said in a statement Friday. "In speaking with many of my colleagues as well as gun owners, a statewide assault weapons ban would create needed clarity instead of a patchwork of regulations from municipality to municipality."

29th District Illinois Sen. Julie Morrison (Illinois Senate Democrats) Under the proposed bill, firearm owners could keep qualifying guns they already own if they are registered with Illinois State Police within 300 days of the bill's passage. Only retired law enforcement who acquire the weapons on the job would be able to keep such guns after that period, although they may still be transferred to an heir. Non-residents travelling through the state would need to pass through Illinois within 24 hours to avoid falling afoul of the law.



Two Senate Democrats from Chicago, Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Antonio Muñoz and Majority Whip Sen. Jacqueline Collins, have been added as chief co-sponsors of Morrison's bill. Several lawmakers from southern Illinois, including Murphysboro Republican Rep. Terri Bryant, have vowed to fight Morrison's ban on AR-15s and other rifles, shotguns and pistols meeting its definition of "assault weapons," such as any semi-automatic pistol with a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds.