Skokie lawmaker hopes to pass microstamping gun bill for law enforcement

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WGEM) – Illinois state lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum are trying to find a solution to rising gun violence. A suburban Democrat hopes introducing microstamping technology for guns could help law enforcement.

Microstamping is new ballistics technology to help identify a gun without having to recover it. Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback (D-Skokie) wants the state to provide $500,000 for a grant program for law enforcement to have microstamp-ready guns. Those guns would be manufactured to put a special code on shell casings. The casings will show the make, model, or serial number of a gun. Think of this as a license plate for a gun used at a crime scene.

Whether it’s the streets of Chicago, Peoria, Rockford or the suburbs, there are gun crimes that go unsolved each year due to lack of evidence. Stoneback said her plan could assist police in shooting investigations and hold perpetrators accountable.

“With all of the gun violence we have experienced in Illinois over the past couple of years, law enforcement has more gun cases than ever,” Stoneback said. “It behooves us to be forward thinking and take this step to advance the ballistics tools we provide to law enforcement to solve these crimes.”

This proposed program could award police departments grants between $35,000-$50,000 to purchase new microstamp firearms or insertable microstamping components for their guns. Police departments in smaller municipalities, between 30,000 to 200,000 people, could receive grants of $5,000-$20,000 to purchase the new guns. Stoneback’s legislation also calls for education and training for officers to better understand the new detection technology.

She noted Thursday morning that law enforcement only make arrests in 35% of shooting death investigations when victims are Black or Hispanic. Stoneback argues this new technology could improve those outcomes.

“The investigative leaders generated from a microstamped shell can help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes, generate transparency, and help build public trust,” Stoneback said.

Stoneback also stressed that her bill does not require that all new pistols have microstamping. She argues that this is a reasonable step forward to help solve gun crimes.

Rep. Mike Marron (R-Fithian) suggested taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for a microstamping pilot program. But advocates on the virtual House Police and Fire Committee hearing took that personally.

“Use my taxes. If it will solve some murders, use mine,” said Bertha Purnell. “And I’m pretty sure I stand with a lot of victims of gun violence who feel the same way.”

Still, the Illinois State Rifle Association strongly opposed the proposal. They worry that Illinois Democrats could later require the state’s gun manufacturers to make all guns with microstamping. ISRA lobbyist Ed Sullivan argues this bill will only hurt law-abiding gun owners.

“Criminals aren’t going to care whether they have a marked firing pin. It just won’t matter to them,” Sullivan said. “It doesn’t matter to them now to follow laws. They’re not going to follow laws in the future.”

Sullivan estimated it costs $150 per firing pin for a gun. However, Stoneback said her research shows it should only cost 50 cents to $5 per firearm. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are concerned about that wide range for the possible cost.

Some law enforcement with decades of experience support the idea. Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski see microstamping as the future and an opportunity for police to do their job better.

“Someday, you know, an officer can go to a crime scene and an evidence technician can get the casing with the microstamping,” Kaminski said. “And they can immediately start to connect the dots on a case.”

Under the proposal, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority would administer the microstamp grant program. Stoneback specifically noted in the proposal that departments can only use the grant funding for microstamp-ready firearms or other microstamp components. ICJIA officials would create the grant program and notify law enforcement agencies about the opportunity to apply no later than September 1, 2022. The statewide agency would award the grants by June 30, 2023.

The language also calls for ICJIA to file emergency rules before the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to implement the grant program in an expeditious manner. The emergency rules, if approved, would be repealed one year after the microstamping law takes effect.

The Illinois State Police and Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police are neutral on the bill. Stoneback hopes it can move out of the Police and Fire Committee soon.

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