State’s Attorney candidate Donna More today outlined her plan for curbing gun violence in Cook County. She shared the plan with students and guests gathered for a lecture at the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago.

“The chief prosecutor is the nearest thing the County has to a centralized law enforcement official, and she ought to be setting the community’s anti-crime priorities,” More said. “Instead, we’ve all been victims of a leaderless State’s Attorney’s Office.”

Citing 2015 Chicago statistics – 2,552 shot and wounded, 443 shot and killed – More said that gun violence is a plague that affects the social, moral and financial health of our community and it will take top priority when she is the State’s Attorney.

“Prosecutors can’t be on the streets,” she said, “but we can focus law enforcement so we convict people who move large numbers of illegal guns in Cook County. The fact is, in 90 percent of the cases, the guns used to commit crimes are obtained illegally. Police are getting more guns off the streets than ever, but the violence won’t abate until the criminals are held truly accountable.”

More’s plan begins with the formation of a Cook County Safety Alliance where parents, principals and teachers, pastors, police, prosecutors, activists, elected officials, public and private social service agencies, and businesses can come together to wage the fight on crime.

“This is broader than anything that currently exists and it means ending the Alvarez era of closed doors to the community ... and ending the kind of political gamesmanship that puts personal agenda ahead of public service,” More said. “One of my first actions in office will be to call together the leaders of all 128 police departments in the County to share ideas and develop action strategies for gun violence reduction.”

The plan also involves programs to focus prosecutorial resources on the problem.

She said she would work with the County judiciary to form a dedicated gun court, mobilize resources to disrupt the market for illegal guns, and use grand jury strategies to compel witness identification and prosecution of major gun traffickers. She’ll also support legislation to tighten rules for sales and possession.

More also said it is time to change the culture of the State's Attorney's Office.

“It’s time to put justice before jail,” she asserted. “We need to stop this senseless practice of filling our jails with the wrong people and creating repeat offenders. Instead, we need to make room for career criminals who are profiting in the gun market with tragic effects.”

“I’ll work to change charging, bonding and sentencing policies to reflect the crime, not the conviction rate,” she concluded.