Rock Island Today

Illinois Sen. Neil Anderson co-sponsored a bill on Oct. 20 that would make it a Class X felony to sell or give a firearm to a felon.

The bill, which was proposed by Sen. Chapin Rose on Oct. 13 and co-sponsored by seven senators, states that anyone in Illinois who sells or give a firearm to a convicted felon is guilty of a Class X felony and would face no less than 10 years and no more than 30 years in prison. Current law puts it as a Class 3 felony, which calls for 5- to 10-year prison sentences.

“A period of probation, a term of periodic imprisonment, or conditional discharge shall not be imposed for the offense,” the bill states.

Other senators co-sponsoring the bill include Donald DeWitte, Terri Bryant, Jason Plummer, Win Stoller, Jil Tracy and Dan McConchie.

According to nwillinoisnews.com, Anderson and four fellow Republican senators held a press conference on Oct. 20 about violence in Illinois and how to give police the means to protect themselves as well as Illinois residents.

“Public safety is very important to me, mostly because of my job as a professional firefighter, but one of the things that's been frustrating is that Friday I'll be back on duty for another 24-hour shift and I guarantee you I'm going to go on a call that involves violence,” Anderson said in a Facebook Live video by the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus, as reported by North West Illinois News. “That’s not unique, but what is getting to be more prominent is that we're going out on these calls time and time again with the same people.”

Anderson added that The Fund the Police Act, which Rose introduced this month, finances police to put “more boots on the ground to fight violent crime, funding police training, incentivizing the hiring and retention of police officers, helping to offset local governments’ police overtime costs and tackling mental health issues.”