A rare legislative victory gives Mayor Daley more tools in his gun-control fight.
The Illinois Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to mandate anyone convicted of unlawful use of a weapon to spend up to three years in prison if the offender was carrying a loaded weapon without a Firearms Owners Identification Card, the Sun-Times reports.
The House already passed the bill. It only needs Governor Quinn's signature.
In a statement, Daley praised lawmakers. He also ripped on the current law claiming "unlawful use of a weapon is so common, [charges are] just thrown out. Whether it's juveniles or young adults, they're back right on the street.... It's treated like spitting on the sidewalk."
Daley also took jabs at State Representatives John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford who made national headlines last week asking the governor to deploy the Illinois National Guard to patrol Chicago's streets to quell violence.
Neither the mayor nor the governor cared for the idea.
"They should be champions of this," he said. "Every one of these state representatives and senators should be champions of protecting children."
