Pritzker declares gun violence a public health crisis in Illinois

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker has declared gun violence in Illinois a public health crisis with an executive order.

Officials on Monday unveiled a $250 million investment to implement a public safety plan over the next 3 years, and curtail gun violence around the state.

According to data from the 2020 Uniform Crime Report, the crime rate in Illinois was 6.9% higher than the overall national crime rate.

There were a total of 1,151 murders committed in Illinois in 2020, up 38% from the previous year. Chicago, a city struggling with high rates of gun violence, was the setting of 774 of those murders, a more than 50% increase from 2019.