By Ivan Moreno, Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois legislators are facing increasing pressure from law enforcement to crack down on repeat gun offenders who are blamed for the surge in Chicago’s violence this year.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and others have urged lawmakers for months to pass a bill that increases prison sentences for defendants who previously committed a gun-related crime.
State Sen. Kwame Raoul is working on a proposal for next year’s session that would direct judges to impose longer sentences on repeat gun offenders. But his measure would not impose a new mandatory minimum.
Black legislators have previously opposed increasing mandatory minimums, saying it would further increase incarceration rates without addressing the root causes of the violence, including readily available illegal guns.
Chicago has topped 700 homicides this year, outstripping 2015’s total of 468 homicides.
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