SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Bill Cunningham advanced a bill through the Senate that gives law enforcement stronger tools to track down the criminals bringing illegal guns into Illinois neighborhoods.

“This is about giving our police the tools they need to track down illegal guns and the people that traffic them into our communities,” said Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the Southwest Suburbs. “When we can trace more guns and share more data across jurisdictions, we can solve more crimes and keep more dangerous individuals off our streets.”

Under current law, firearm tracing is limited to specific scenarios. The measure broadens that scope by requiring firearm tracing in all cases where a gun is recovered at the scene of a crime, used unlawfully or is believed to be associated with a crime. The bill also asks every law enforcement agency in Illinois to participate in the federal eTrace program, providing investigators with faster, more complete data on gun origins, trafficking patterns and crime links. This will ensure consistent reporting and firearm tracing across all counties, helping to close investigative loopholes and make communities safer statewide.

“We know most gun owners follow the law,” said Cunningham. “This bill is about finding the people who don’t—and stopping them before they can do more harm.”

House Bill 1373 passed the Senate on Saturday.