Zanotti is referring to Senate Bill 107 . The Bill, which was introduced in the Illinois Senate on January 23, 2019, is currently assigned to the Judiciary committee. If the Bill passes, the new law will ban the possession, delivery, sale and purchase of “assault weapons.”.
About the author: John Thomas is a U.S. Navy veteran, and a former prosecutor and defense attorney with over 20 years of experience in state and federal courts. He has handled everything from traffic tickets to first-degree murder cases and is a long-time supporter of Second Amendment rights and the rights of individuals to defend themselves, their families and their property.
A Class 3 Felony carries a prison sentence of 2 to 5 years, as well as up to $25,000 in fines. Zanotti explained that if the law passes he is not looking to make felons out of what he considers “good southern Illinois people” who use these weapons to protect themselves, hunt or shoot competitively.
Some wonder whether a prosecutor can just choose not to prosecute someone for violating a law that’s on the books. The answer is: Yes, he can.
No person or entity can force the State’s Attorney to bring charges. The only check on his charging discretion is by the people, who get to choose the State’s Attorney in their county during an election held every four years.