Lake County leaders address plan to tackle gun violence

WAUKEGAN, Ill. — The Lake County State’s Attorney said they are tackling gun violence and released a report Tuesday showing why they said it’s working.

Leaders in Lake County said they are taking a targeted approach to try to prevent shootings before they happen and released their plans in a 45-page plan.

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Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart explained how his office is addressing gun violence before bullets are even fired.

It’s a deeply personal issue for many in the community and the office as well.

“I’m also a survivor of gun violence,” Steve Spagnolo, chief of government relations and external affairs, said. “I was 3 years old when I lost my father to armed robbers and in 2018, I was robbed at gunpoint by three assailants in broad daylight with several colleagues.”

He explained how the state’s attorney’s office aims to prevent violence before it begins.

“When it comes to deterrents, we know that when clearance rates are low, perpetrators are willing to roll the dice, versus when there’s certainty of incarceration,” Spagnolo said.

County statistics show the majority of homicides in the area occurred in Waukegan, Zion and North Chicago.

But since the initiative started in 2022, Rinehart said homicides from firearms are down 41%. That’s in part, he said, to the violence reduction plan.

The initiative looked at firearm data, root causes of gun violence and then plans to implement a community approach to prevention.

“We are here to wrap those who are in trauma with love and free support, free help, free care,” Rinehart said. “Because every one of these instances of gun violence is a tragedy and it leads to trauma.”

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