New laws: Gun storage, police background check changes take effect in
2026
[December 12, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski
Gun owners in Illinois must take new steps in 2026 to secure their
firearms in their homes, particularly when children are present.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 8, known as the Safe Gun Storage
Act, in late July, which prohibits gun owners from storing their weapons
in an unsecured way at any location where they know that the gun could
be accessed by a minor, a person at risk of harming themselves or
others, or by a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Under the law, gun owners will be required to keep them in a locked
container so that they are inaccessible or unusable by anyone other than
the owner. Owners who violate the law could be subject to fines as high
as $10,000.
Gun owners must also report lost or stolen firearms to police within 48
hours of discovering a gun missing. That’s down from the previous
72-hour requirement.
Background checks for police officers
State lawmakers passed a bill in response to the murder of Springfield
resident Sonya Massey in 2024. Massey, a Black woman, was killed when
former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, a white man, shot
her in her kitchen while investigating a reported prowler. Grayson was
convicted of second-degree murder in October.
Capitol News Illinois reporting in 2024 revealed that Grayson had a
history of reprimands and disobeying superiors at departments that
previously employed him.
Under Senate Bill 1953, a police department or sheriff’s office making a
hire would be required to request employment personnel files from the
applicant’s previous employers, including other law enforcement
agencies. The previous employer would be required to share the
information within 14 days.
Law enforcement applicants would be required to sign a document
authorizing the release of information, including military service
records, police discipline databases, employment and criminal history,
driving records, academic credentials, a credit check, and more.
“I feel confident that going forward and over time, our communities and
law enforcement will have built a trusting relationship, and I will have
kept my promise to my childhood friends and Sonya’s mother,” Sen. Doris
Turner, a Springfield Democrat who sponsored the bill and knows Massey’s
family, said at an August news conference.
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Gov. JB Pritzker passes in front of a row of Illinois State Police
vehicles during a ceremony outside the Illinois Capitol in
Springfield on March 30, 2022. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry
Nowicki)
Gun permits for offenders
Senate Bill 1899 creates a path for first-time gun offenders to obtain a
Firearm Owner’s Identification Card and legally own a gun.
First-time offenders are allowed to apply for a FOID card after
receiving a court order demonstrating they successfully completed the
First Time Weapons Offense Diversion Program and are otherwise eligible
to own a gun.
The opportunity narrowly applies to people charged with a Class 4
felony, which is the lowest level charge for illegally possessing a
firearm. The bill received bipartisan support in the legislature, and
proponents said it will mostly benefit young people.
Human trafficking statute of limitations
The statute of limitations on cases of human trafficking of minors is
going away.
House Bill 2602 removes the 25-year window for victims of involuntary
servitude, involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, or trafficking to
pursue charges from crimes that happened while they were a minor. They
will now be allowed to bring charges at any time.
Rep. Anne Stava, D-Naperville, said in April that the 25-year cap was
protecting human traffickers who “really don’t deserve peace of mind.”
The bill unanimously passed the General Assembly.
Missing persons reports
Senate Bill 24 prohibits police departments from establishing waiting
periods before they accept a missing persons report. The law requires
police to immediately enter information about a person reported missing
into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System.
The law also requires police to keep missing persons cases open until
the person is located.
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by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
