Reporting firearm threats to principals ‘common sense,’ IL legislator
says
[September 13, 2025]
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – An Illinois lawmaker and law enforcement officer
reacts to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's enacting a law requiring schools to
report firearms or threats to principals, a move supporters say improves
safety.
State Rep. Dennis Tipsword, R-Metamore, described the bill as “just
common sense kind of legislation” that ensures threats are at least
reported to the proper school authorities.
“Originally, law enforcement was part of the process, but a House
amendment removed them. I would have liked to see law enforcement stay
involved. I understand concerns about call volume, but we have to take
these threats seriously,” said Tipsword. “If we can prevent, God forbid,
a mass casualty, we should.”
Tipsword explained that while the law establishes a baseline for
reporting, schools and local law enforcement agencies can still conduct
full threat assessments if they choose.
“Schools and individual law enforcement agencies can still have a threat
assessment conducted by law enforcement, if that’s what they choose to
do locally,” Tipsword said. “But at a minimum, there have to be
notifications made, which is what this legislation will do now.”
Critics argue that Illinois has already scaled back realistic active
shooter drills, and House Bill 1316 does not close the gap in hands-on
preparedness. Tipsword was asked whether requiring teachers to report
threats to the principal, rather than contacting law enforcement
directly, risks turning the process into a “notification-only” approach
that shifts responsibility away from staff.
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“I don’t read it that way. I see it as another layer, another
warning layer, to ensure that if there is a threat made, it is at
least reported to the principal,” said Tipsword. “Locally, schools
can still decide if it should go to law enforcement, and I would
always advocate for that in these situations.”
Tipsword criticized previous legislation that removed realistic
active shooter drills, calling it a misstep.
“That was horrible legislation,” he said. “Teachers want to hear
what it really will sound like if there are gunshots in their
building. To say our kids can’t handle that kind of theatrics
undermines proper preparation. We learned so much from realistic
drills years ago, and now we can’t do them anymore.”
Tipsword also stressed the importance of local control over school
safety decisions.
“This [realistic shooter drills] should have been left up to the
school districts,” he said. “If superintendents and principals
didn’t want that in their schools, that’s where the decision needs
to be made. Everything I advocate for is local decisions, not
something imposed under the dome in Springfield.”
House Bill 1316 passed both the House and Senate unanimously. |
