August 1, 2025 – Since taking office in 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed numerous laws imposing restrictions on the sale, ownership, and possession of firearms. The most notable of these were the 2023 ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines, and a public nuisance statute specifically targeting firearm industry members. On July 28, 2025, Governor Pritzker signed two additional firearm measures into law. These new laws add additional storage requirements for firearm owners in Illinois and set forth new tracing requirements for firearms recovered by law enforcement.
Senate Bill 8, known as the Safe Gun Storage Act, takes effect January 1, 2026. It requires firearm owners to keep firearms in a locked container so they are inaccessible or unusable by anyone other than the owner. Violators may face civil fines starting at $500, which can increase to $1,000 if a minor, at-risk individual, or prohibited person gains access to the firearm, and can escalate up to $10,000 if the firearm is used to kill or injure someone during the commission of a crime. Rather than imposing fines, courts may instead order the owner of the firearm to perform community service or pay restitution for violating the law. The Safe Gun Storage Act also provides that firearm owners may be subject to civil liability in private lawsuits for failing to store their firearms in a secured manner. In addition to the new storage requirements, the Act requires firearm owners to report a lost or stolen firearm to law enforcement within 48 hours of discovery, a reduction from the previous 72-hour reporting requirement.
Governor Pritzker also signed House Bill 1373, which requires law enforcement agencies to trace the ownership of every firearm recovered from a crime scene or seized due to unlawful possession, unlawful use, or a reasonable belief that it was involved in a crime. House Bill 1373 mandates that law enforcement agencies submit all such weapons through the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ web-based system, eTrace. This was previously discretionary. According to the bill’s lead Senate sponsor, Senator Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago), House Bill 1373 addresses the issue that “approximately half of shootings nationwide remain unsolved, and that “the same firearm is often involved repeatedly in multiple shootings and killings.”
Renzulli Law Firm will continue to monitor the challenges to this law, related litigation, and its potential impacts. If you have any questions about laws regulating the sale of firearms and ammunition, please contact John F. Renzulli or Christopher Renzulli.