Joliet to get state funding to bolster local gun enforcement

The Joliet and Romeoville police departments are set to receive more than $70,400 from the Illinois State Police to take guns out of the hands of people legally barred from owning them.

Joliet will receive about $50,744 and Romeoville will receive about $19,662 to help pay for their firearm enforcement details. The award of the money was announced in a news release Monday by Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly.

“People who have made homicidal or suicidal threats and clearly pose a danger to the public should not have a firearm,” Kelly said.

Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans spoke about his department’s efforts to take guns off the street at last week’s public safety forum. He said officers recovered more than 112 firearms this year.

Last year, the department’s tactical unit recovered 81 guns as part of an effort to slow down violent crime in the city, Evans said.

Illinois State Police awarded 19 other police agencies in the state with firearm enforcement grants. Since fiscal 2023, the state agency has awarded about $1 million grants to police agencies across the state.