A group of Chicago-area legislators are once again planning to push for tougher gun laws.
It comes the wake of last year’s increase in violence in parts of the city.
State Representative Mike Zalewski says the proposal would force judges to impose longer prison sentences on people who carry guns illegally, or carefully explain their reasoning if they choose not to.
The Riverside Democrat says the idea is to make court decisions more transparent.
“Judges will be guided by the fact that the General Assembly wishes you to take your time on these cases," he said.
The ACLU of Illinois is opposed to the idea. It says Illinois already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. The bigger problem, according to the ACLU, is that the vast majority of shooters are never even arrested.
