Chicago has been the epicenter of much of the gun debate over the last handful of years. Why? Because it's so bad there, despite Illinois being a deeply anti-gun state. Gun control failed left and right, yet officials there keep saying they need more of it if they're to get violent crime under control.
But the truth is that they're not interested in addressing so-called gun crime. Not really.
I mean, if they were, they'd probably take the opportunity crack down on those using guns to threaten public safety at every opportunity. Unfortunately for everyone in the Windy City, that's not happening, and no one seems to mind.
It’s been a year since the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) under Eileen O’Neill Burke directed prosecutors to stop the practice of sending low-level, nonviolent gun possession cases to Cook County’s Restorative Justice Community Courts, or RJCC. In January, following a review, O’Neill Burke reversed the policy and resumed referring certain gun-possession cases to the RJCC.
Gun possession cases make up nearly 83% of all cases diverted to the RJCC, according to a 2024 joint report by the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and Chicago Council of Lawyers. A solo gun possession charge, on its face, only involves the weapon and the person accused of improperly possessing it.
O’Neill Burke’s office at the time of the policy shift in 2025, said that these courts should focus on cases directly involving victims, such as retail theft, burglary or possession of a stolen car.
Following the completion of the RJCC program, participants’ cases are dismissed. Restorative justice courts also require participants to have a “repair of harm” agreement, where they talk face-to-face with the entity they have harmed.
In a statement to The TRiiBE, the CCSAO said the change follows “collaborative discussions with stakeholders.”
Basically, these folks get to sit down with someone, chat for a little bit, maybe act like they feel really bad, then get their cases dismissed, even as officials in the Land of Lincoln continue to push gun control down the throats of law-abiding citizens who have done nothing wrong.
It might be easier to swallow that these people actually believe what they're saying if they treated those who are carrying guns illegally with the same vehemence they go after the rights of lawful gun owners, but they don't. They never really have.
Instead of acting in accordance with their supposed principles, they let this happen with nary a word spoken against it.
Now, I think people should be free to carry firearms everywhere they go. The problem is that just about everyone in power in the Chicagoland area disagrees, at least when it comes to law-abiding citizens.
The truth is that the left doesn't mind violent crime all that much. They like it because it justifies them trying to disarm people like you and me, and the more they have of it, the easier it tends to be to push gun control down the throats of the American people. If they actually punished criminals who break the laws they swear are essential for public safety, they're afraid that it might actually do something for the crime rate as a whole, thus denying them more chances to push an anti-gun agenda.
At least, that's the only way any of this could make sense. I could be wrong, but I won't buy it until they actually give me a plausible explanation as to what's really happening here.
I won't be holding my breath.
