Firearms Trace Data: Illinois - 2020

Data Source: Firearms Tracing System

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020

 

Contents

  1. ATF Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer
  2. Table: Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced in Illinois in Calendar Year 2020
  3. Table: Firearm Types with an Illinois Recovery
  4. Table: Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with an Illinois Recovery
  5. Table: Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with an Illinois Recovery
  6. Table: Top 15 Source States for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery
  7. Table: Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery
  8. Table: Age of Possessors for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery
  9. Table: Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery
  10. Analytical Criteria Used to Compile the Enclosed Statistics

 

ATF Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer

Firearm traces are designed to assist law enforcement authorities in conducting investigations by tracking the sale and possession of specific firearms. Law enforcement agencies may request firearms traces for any reason, and those reasons are not necessarily reported to the federal government. Not all firearms used in crime are traced and not all firearms traced are used in crime.

Firearms selected for tracing are not chosen for purposes of determining which types, makes or models of firearms are used for illicit purposes. The firearms selected do not constitute a random sample and should not be considered representative of the larger universe of all firearms used by criminals, or any subset of that universe. Firearms are normally traced to the first retail seller, and sources reported for firearms traced do not necessarily represent the sources or methods by which firearms in general are acquired for use in crime.

 

Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced in Illinois in Calendar Year 2020

14,986

 

Firearm Types with an Illinois Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Pistols 11,769
Revolvers 1,353
Rifles 1,129
Shotguns 564
Derringers 73
Receivers/Frames 36
Other* 62

* Other includes Unknown Types, Machineguns, Combinations, an Any Other Weapon and a Silencer.

 

Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with an Illinois Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
9mm 6,438
.40 Cal 2,012
.45 Cal 1,165
.22 Cal 1,065
.380 Cal 1,053
.38 Cal 636
12GA 410
.357 Cal 327
7.62mm 243
5.56mm 241

NOTE: There were 1,150 additional traces that were associated with other calibers. There were 246 traces with an unknown caliber.

 

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with an Illinois Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Firearm Under Investigation 4,624
Possession of Weapon 4,034
Weapon Offense 2,494
Found Firearm 1,224
Dangerous Drugs 413
Family Offense 413
Aggravated Assault 308
Homicide 235
Firing Weapon 203
Suicide 185

NOTE: There were 853 additional traces that were associated with other categories.

 

Top 15 Source States for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Illinois 5,827
Indiana 1,954
Missouri 638
Wisconsin 462
Kentucky 308
Mississippi 276
Tennessee 226
Iowa 214
Ohio 209
Georgia 198
Texas 192
Alabama 162
Michigan 124
Arkansas 112
Florida 102

NOTE: An additional 34 states, Guam and Puerto Rico accounted for 704 other traces. The source state was identified in 11,708 total traces.

 

Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Under 3 Months 1,150
3 Months to Under 7 Months 1,049
7 Months to Under 1 Year 765
1 Year to Under 2 Years 1,436
2 Years to Under 3 Years 1,142
3 Years and Over 5,987

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 Illinois Average Time-to-Crime: 6.70 Years

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 National Average Time-to-Crime: 7.01 Years

 

Age of Possessors for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
17 and Under 546
18 to 21 1,534
22 to 24 1,409
25 to 30 2,311
31 to 40 2,065
41 to 50 928
Over 50 762

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 Illinois Average Age of Possessor: 31 Years

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 National Average Age of Possessor: 34 Years

 

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Chicago 6,828
Rockford 426
Peoria 412
Springfield 295
Joliet 284
Plainfield 278
East Saint Louis 213
Aurora 202
Orland Park 156
Decatur 129

NOTE: There were 544 additional municipalities that accounted for 5,746 other traces. The recovery city could not be determined for 17 traces.

 

Analytical Criteria Used to Compile the Enclosed Statistics

Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced

  • Includes traces with a recovery state of Illinois. Traces in which the recovery state was not provided were included when the requesting agency state was equal to Illinois.
  • Includes Firearms Recovered and Traced between 1/1/2020 – 12/31/2020 or, if the recovery date was blank, firearms with trace entry dates between 1/1/2020 – 12/31/2020.
  • Duplicate traces, Firearms Not Recovered, Gun Buyback and Firearms Turned In are not included in this figure.
  • Data was extracted from the Firearms Tracing System (FTS) on April 12, 2021.
  • All traces may not have been submitted or completed at the time of this study.

Firearm Types and Calibers with an Illinois Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with an Illinois Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced. Beginning in CY 2010, attempted homicide, attempted suicide and negligent vehicular manslaughter are reported in separate categories.

Top Source States for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Traces must identify a purchaser and the state in which the final dealer is located.

Time-to-Crime Rates for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Traces must identify a purchaser.
  • Time-to-Crime was calculated for those traces in which the purchase date could be subtracted from the recovery date.

Age of Possessors for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Includes traces that provide a possessor and the possessor’s date of birth.
  • Possessor’s age is calculated by subtracting the possessor’s date of birth from the recovery date.

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with an Illinois Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Includes traces with a recovery city or, if the recovery city was not provided, traces requested by agencies with jurisdiction only within that city.

 

View All 2020 Firearms Trace Data

Last Reviewed November 22, 2021