skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Gun Violence Victim in Illinois Every 8 Hours

play audio
Play

Wednesday, October 19, 2016   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Despite Chicago's reputation, Illinois comes in 40th overall in national rankings for gun violence, according to a new report.

The Center for American Progress found that in Illinois, someone is fatally shot every eight hours. Researchers looked at 10 different types of gun violence from 2005 to 2014, including suicides, homicides and mass shootings. Report co-author Chelsea Parsons, the center's vice president for guns and crime policy, said states with the strictest gun laws had the lowest levels of violence.

"What we found," she said, "is that the 10 states that have the weakest gun laws collectively have rates of gun violence that are more than three times higher than the 10 states with the strongest gun laws."

Gun-violence victims in Illinois are predominantly young African-Americans. From 2005 to 2014, more than 1,900 people younger than age 21 were killed. While African-Americans make up close to 15 percent of the state's total population, they account for about three quarters of gun-related homicide victims in the state.

The researchers found that laws requiring background checks, trigger-lock rules and training requirements coincided with lower rates of gun violence. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation late this summer targeting people who purchase guns in other states with the intent of bringing them into Illinois to resell. Parsons said that, and tougher identification laws for gun purchases, are needed.

"Making sure that all gun sales in the state are required to undergo a background check will help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, who are not supposed to be able to buy them," she said.

From 2005 to 2014, the report said, twice as many people in Illinois were killed with guns than the total number of combat fatalities in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. Illinois is one of the 21 states where more people are killed with guns than in car accidents.

The report is online at americanprogress.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021