Top Cop Makes Case In Springfield For Tougher Sentencing For Repeat Gun Offenders

By Stephen Gossett in News on Mar 9, 2017 11:10PM

Supt. Eddie Johnson was in Springfield on Thursday, making the case to legislators for stricter sentencing against those with repeat gun offenses.

Chicago’s top cop has maintained for months that tougher sentencing standards for repeat offenders are a lynchpin to solving the city’s violent crime. He backed a bill that would raise the sentencing range for repeat gun felons from three to 14 years up to seven to 14 years, according to the Tribune.

They make the decision to pull the trigger because they don’t fear our judicial system,” Johnson told the Illinois Senate Criminal Law Committee, according to the Sun-Times. “If they fear the judicial system, then it is a deterrent.”

The bill—which has the support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and is sponsored by Democratic Senators from Chicago districts, Sens. Kwame Raoul and Antonio Munoz—passed committee, but only by the slim margin of 6-5.

While sentencing for repeat gun criminals would be stricter, the bill simultaneously includes some criminal-justice reforms that may prove a difficult sell to Republican lawmakers. The Sun-Times wrote:

“Other provisions in the bill include reforms to address disproportionate sentencing, providing incarcerated offenders with more programming and providing lower-risk offenders with opportunities after mandatory supervised release. It would allow the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to terminate a person’s mandatory supervised release after a risk assessment tool determined that person is considered low risk.”

The bill also faces criticism from experts who remain skeptical of strict sentencing as a deterrent. Stephanie Coleman of Northwestern University argued to committee that the bill was “not the answer,” and that the state’s laws are already among the country’s most stringent.