Deaths from domestic violence in Illinois rose 110% last year, according to a new report from the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Courtesy Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Deaths stemming from instances of domestic violence rose a staggering 110% in Illinois last year, according to a new report from advocates who cite the lingering effects of the pandemic and easy access to guns for the spike.

The annual Domestic Violence Homicide Report from the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence states that 120 deaths occurred as a result of domestic violence in 2023, up from 57 the previous year.

“These numbers show we need to be doing more to stop these preventable deaths,” Vickie Smith, the former executive director of the coalition, told us this week.

According to the report, 107 of the deaths attributed to domestic violence were homicide; the other 13 were suicides. A gun was used 68% of the time, up from 49% in 2022.

The deaths occurred in 27 of the state’s 102 counties, with Cook County leading the way with 37 deaths, followed by Will, Lake, Peoria and Madison counties.

Like domestic violence itself, Smith said the factors involving each case are often complicated. However, the coalition believes one component of the increase is the post-COVID environment in which people are more willing and able to leave abusive relationships they endured through the pandemic.

“People in unhealthy relationships are taking steps to end those relationships, and when that happens, the person causing harm is more likely to try to increase their power and control and more likely to cause violence,” Smith said.

To turn the tide, the coalition advocates for more public education on how to spot abusive relationships and how to find resources to help people escape them safely.

They also hope the troubling numbers help push legislation known as Karina’s Bill through the Illinois General Assembly this fall. The bill is named for Karina Gonzalez, a Chicago woman who authorities say was fatally shot, along with 15-year-old daughter Daniela, by her husband last year after she had obtained an order of protection against him.

If enacted, the legislation would require law enforcement to confiscate firearms when an emergency order of protection is granted with a firearm remedy. It also requires a judge to issue a search warrant in cases where the remedy is granted if the court finds probable cause that the person has a firearm and is a threat to the victim.

The bill also would prohibit gun owners from transferring firearms to another person instead of turning them over to law enforcement.

Smith said the measure stalled in the state legislature this spring in part because lawmakers were awaiting the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case known as United States v. Rahimi. In an 8-1 decision handed down June 21, the court upheld a federal law banning anyone subject to a domestic violence restraining order from possessing a gun.

“We’re hopeful that now that it is decided, the state will move forward with the legislation,” Smith said.

Facts and figures

Some more tidbits from the report:

· Of the 120 deaths, 105 were caused by male perpetrators, and 61% of their victims were female. Of the female perpetrators, 85% of the victims were male.

· Victim ages ranged from less than 1 year old to 86 years old. Eight percent of the deaths were victims 17 and under, down from 33% in 2022. The largest age group of victims was 26 to 35 years old, followed by 36 to 45 and 46 to 55.

· The most common relationship status among victims was girlfriend, accounting for 17% of the deaths, followed by ex-girlfriend at 13%. A parent was the victim in 12% of the cases.

To read the full report, visit https://tinyurl.com/yeff668r.

Planning for problems?

We’re not saying that law enforcement is expecting trouble when thousands of politicos — and perhaps as many protesters — descend upon Chicago next month for the Democratic National Convention. But just in case, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced this week that, at the request of the Chicago Police Department, the county’s court system has made preparations to handle an increased number of cases.

Democrats are hoping to avoid the kind of violence that disrupted their 1968 convention in Chicago, but law enforcement is taking no chances. As part of their planning, Cook County is opening a temporary court facility on the city’s North Side to handle excess arrestees.
AP

That includes setting up a temporary courthouse on West Belmont Avenue in the event there are too many defendants for the normal criminal courts to process.

“We have been meeting for weeks with more than 50 people from county, city, state, and federal agencies to prepare for the possibility of multiple arrests,” Evans said in the announcement. “We want to make sure the police are able to focus on providing security and that the rights of arrested individuals are scrupulously respected.”

The temporary facility will be open from 8 a.m. to midnight, and 57 judges — in addition to those already assigned to the criminal or pretrial divisions — have been trained on the requirements of the Pretrial Fairness Act, officials said.

In addition, jury trials scheduled to take place between Aug. 12-30 at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in the city will be moved to the courthouse in Rolling Meadows if they can’t be rescheduled.

Ignoring the signs

At the entryways to all five Kane County court locations, visitors are greeted with signs listing the items they’re banned from bringing inside.

And yet last year, court security workers manning the screening machines confiscated 720 forbidden items, according to a recent report by the sheriff’s office. That includes knives, pepper spray, scissors, box cutters, torch lighters, aerosol cans and nail files, according to Undersheriff Amy Johnson.

Many are thrown away after they’re confiscated. But you might see some displayed on a show-and-tell board at the sheriff’s National Night Out event set for 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 6 at the sheriff’s office, 37W755 Route 38 in St. Charles.

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