New legislation would crack down on 'ghost guns' in Illinois
MAYWOOD, Ill. - Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and state Sen. Jacqueline Collins proposed new legislation Tuesday to ban the possession and sale of guns without serial numbers, also known as "ghost guns."
Ghost guns can be ordered online and assembled with no background checks required.
The guns also don't have serial numbers so sales can't be traced.
"It's a problem because the obvious reason is you can't trace them but the other part of it is we're seeing an explosion of it," Dart said. "We're seeing more and more. Two years ago, we had no ghost guns. Already this year we have 15, 19 or something like that. Everywhere around the country, they're seeing the same thing, that the numbers are going up by the hundred percentile, not one or two additional guns."
The kits do not require a background check which means anyone, even individuals prohibited from owning a firearm, can buy one.
Police arrested an Illinois man on Sept. 3 after discovering a ghost gun in the vehicle he was in during a traffic stop.