A six-year-old program designed to give first-time gun offenders a second chance has been expanded with bipartisan support.
The pilot program launched in 2017 allows defendants under 21 with no prior convictions for violent crimes to receive deferred prosecution. The program was set to end in January, but under the new legislation, the age limit will be dropped, the probationary period will be shortened, and the program will continue indefinitely.
In Cook County, over a seven-year period that ended in the mid-2010s, the study shows people sentenced to probation for a Class 4 firearm possession felony weren’t any more or less likely to commit a violent crime than people convicted of the same firearm-related felony who served time in prison.
The bill was proposed by Democrats as part of a more scientifically-based approach to fun violence, but it was supported by Republicans in part over concerns that Illinois’ new ban on many high-powered weapons will be flouted by their constituents. House Republican Sen. Seth Lewis called those who violate the ban “law-abiding gun owners.”
“This bill provides our state’s attorneys the opportunity to demonstrate leniency when the situation calls for it,” Lewis said.
The gun charges filed against participants who successfully complete the program are then dropped. Participants can only go through the program once. The gun charge they face must not be any more serious than a Class 4 felony, the lowest felony level.
