(430 ILCS 69/35-20)

Sec. 35-20. Office of Firearm Violence Prevention.

(a) On or before October 1, 2021, an Office of Firearm Violence Prevention is established within the Illinois Department of Human Services. The Assistant Secretary of Violence Prevention shall report his or her actions to the Secretary of Human Services and the Office of the Governor. The Office shall have the authority to coordinate and integrate all programs and services listed in this Act and other programs and services the Governor establishes by executive order to maximize an integrated approach to reducing Illinois' firearm violence epidemic and ultimately ending this public health crisis.

(b) The Department of Human Services and the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall have grant making, operational, and procurement authority to distribute funds to violence prevention organizations, youth development organizations, high-risk youth intervention organizations, approved technical assistance and training providers, evaluation and assessment organizations, and other entities necessary to execute the functions established in this Act and other programs and services the Governor establishes by executive order for the Department and the Office.

(c) The Assistant Secretary of Firearm Violence Prevention shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Assistant Secretary of Firearm Violence Prevention shall receive an annual salary of $170,000 or as set by the Governor, whichever is higher, and, beginning July 1, 2023, shall be compensated from appropriations provided to the Comptroller for this purpose. On July 1, 2023, and on each July 1 thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall receive an increase in salary based on a cost of living adjustment as authorized by Senate Joint Resolution 192 of the 86th General Assembly. The Assistant Secretary of Firearm Violence Prevention shall report to the Secretary of Human Services and also report his or her actions to the Office of the Governor.

(d) For Illinois municipalities with a 1,000,000 or more population, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall determine the 10 most violent neighborhoods. When possible, this shall be determined by measuring the number of per capita fatal and nonfatal firearm-shot victims, excluding self-inflicted incidents, from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2020. These 10 communities shall qualify for grants under this Act and coordination of other State services from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. The Office shall, after identifying the top 10 neighborhoods, identify an additional 7 eligible neighborhoods by considering the number of victims in rank order in addition to the per capita rate. If appropriate, and subject to appropriation, the Office shall have the authority to consider adding up to 5 additional eligible neighborhoods or clusters of contiguous neighborhoods utilizing the same data sets so as to maximize the potential impact for firearm violence reduction. For Illinois municipalities with less than 1,000,000 residents and more than 35,000 residents, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall identify the 10 municipalities or contiguous geographic areas that have the greatest concentrated firearm violence victims. When possible, this shall be determined by measuring the number of fatal and nonfatal firearm-shot victims, excluding self-inflicted incidents, from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2020 divided by the number of residents for each municipality or area. These 10 municipalities or contiguous geographic areas and up to 5 additional municipalities or contiguous geographic areas identified by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall qualify for grants under this Act and coordination of other State services from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall consider factors listed in subsection (a) of Section 35-40 to determine up to 5 additional municipalities or contiguous geographic areas that qualify for grants under this Act. The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may, subject to appropriation, identify up to 5 additional neighborhoods, municipalities, contiguous geographic areas, or other local government-identified boundary areas to receive funding under this Act after considering additional risk factors that contribute to community firearm violence. The data analysis to identify new eligible neighborhoods and municipalities shall be updated to reflect eligibility based on the most recently available 5 full years of data no more frequently than once every 3 years.

(e) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue a report to the General Assembly no later than January 1 of each year that identifies communities within Illinois municipalities of 1,000,000 or more residents and municipalities with less than 1,000,000 residents and more than 35,000 residents that are experiencing concentrated firearm violence, explaining the investments that are being made to reduce concentrated firearm violence, and making further recommendations on how to end Illinois' firearm violence epidemic.

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-679, eff. 12-10-21; 102-1115, eff. 1-9-23.)