Gun Crime Has Been on the Rise in Illinois for Over a Decade

By Sam Stebbins Published Feb 7, 8:20AM EST

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Gun Crime Has Been on the Rise in Illinois for Over a Decade — © marchello74 / iStock via Getty Images

Firearm sales have hit historic highs in the U.S. in recent years, and the ongoing proliferation of firearms may be fueling a rise in gun crime.

When firearms are recovered at a crime scene or taken from a suspect, they are often reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for tracing. In these cases, the ATF assists in criminal investigations by using serial numbers and other markings to determine when and where a firearm was originally purchased — and over the last 12 years, firearm-related offenses have been taking up a growing share of federal resources.

Between 2010 and 2022, the number of guns traced by the ATF surged by 174%, from 145,600 to 399,400, climbing by anywhere from 3% to 18% in a single year. Most homicides in the U.S. are committed with a firearm, and over the same period, the national homicide rate climbed by over 50%.

While not all guns traced by the ATF were used in a crime — and not all firearms used for illicit purposes are traced — federal tracing data offers valuable insight into trends and geographic patterns related to gun violence in the United States.

Mirroring the national trend, gun tracings are up sharply in Illinois. The ATF traced 7,273 seized firearms in the state in 2022, compared to 15,353 in 2010. Adjusting for population, gun crime now appears far more common in Illinois than it is across the U.S. as a whole. In 12 of the last 13 years, the number of firearm tracings for every 100,000 people in the state was above the comparable national rate.

As of 2022, the most recent year of available data, the ATF traced 122 seized firearms for every 100,000 people in the state, the 21st highest gun-tracing rate among states.

2010: 7,273 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2010: 56.6 per 100,000 people (13th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2010: 47.1 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2010: 5.5 per 100,000 people (14th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2010: 4.8 per 100,000 people

2011: 7,511 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2011: 58.4 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2011: 47.9 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2011: 6.1 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2011: 4.7 per 100,000 people

2012: 7,349 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2012: 57.1 per 100,000 people (17th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2012: 49.8 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2012: 6.0 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2012: 4.7 per 100,000 people

2013: 7,068 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2013: 54.9 per 100,000 people (20th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2013: 52.6 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2013: 5.6 per 100,000 people (11th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2013: 4.5 per 100,000 people

2014: 7,269 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2014: 56.4 per 100,000 people (20th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2014: 53.4 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2014: 5.4 per 100,000 people (13th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2014: 4.4 per 100,000 people

2015: 8,254 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2015: 64.2 per 100,000 people (18th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2015: 59.3 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2015: 5.9 per 100,000 people (15th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2015: 4.9 per 100,000 people

2016: 8,745 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2016: 68.3 per 100,000 people (21st highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2016: 65.4 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2016: 8.3 per 100,000 people (5th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2016: 5.4 per 100,000 people

2017: 10,425 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2017: 81.4 per 100,000 people (17th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2017: 73.4 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2017: 7.7 per 100,000 people (9th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2017: 5.3 per 100,000 people

2018: 10,504 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2018: 82.4 per 100,000 people (23rd highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2018: 77.9 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2018: 7.1 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2018: 5.0 per 100,000 people

2019: 11,574 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2019: 91.3 per 100,000 people (19th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2019: 82.0 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2019: 6.7 per 100,000 people (12th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2019: 5.1 per 100,000 people

2020: 11,708 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2020: 92.1 per 100,000 people (25th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2020: 93.9 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2020: 9.1 per 100,000 people (8th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2020: 6.5 per 100,000 people

2021: 14,792 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2021: 116.7 per 100,000 people (20th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2021: 108.9 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2021: 6.8 per 100,000 people
U.S. homicide rate, 2021: 7.7 per 100,000 people

2022: 15,353 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois, 2022: 122.0 per 100,000 people (21st highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2022: 119.8 per 100,000 people
Illinois homicide rate, 2022: 9.2 per 100,000 people (11th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2022: 7.3 per 100,000 people

Year	Firearm tracings per 100,000 people in Illinois	Firearm tracings per 100,000 people in the US	Total firearms traced by the ATF in Illinois	Total firearms traced by the ATF in the US
2022	122.0	119.8	15,353	399,397
2021	116.7	108.9	14,792	361,587
2020	92.1	93.9	11,708	306,686
2019	91.3	82.0	11,574	269,250
2018	82.4	77.9	10,504	254,700
2017	81.4	73.4	10,425	239,175
2016	68.3	65.4	8,745	211,384
2015	64.2	59.3	8,254	190,538
2014	56.4	53.4	7,269	170,344
2013	54.9	52.6	7,068	166,426
2012	57.1	49.8	7,349	156,346
2011	58.4	47.9	7,511	149,276
2010	56.6	47.1	7,273	145,604

About the Author Sam Stebbins →

Sam Stebbins is a writer at a673b.bigscoots-temp.com where his primary focus is on government policy, politics, companies, and broad social and economic trends. Sam has been writing in the money and news verticals for over 8 years and holds a bachelor's degree from Hobart College, which he earned in 2010. Sam resides in upstate New York and enjoys hiking, biking, canoeing, and skiing in the Adirondack Mountains and across the Northeast.