Illinois is poised to pass an assault weapons ban. Will it withstand court challenges?

This week, the Illinois General Assembly begins its lame duck session and lawmakers will likely use the final days before a new legislature is sworn in to vote on one of the nation’s most hotly debated topics: banning semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines.   

Casting a shadow over the debate in Illinois are the horrific events of July 4, 2022, in Highland Park.   

During the north suburban city’s annual Fourth of July parade, a gunman — hiding on a rooftop along Central Avenue — used a semi-automatic rifle to fire into the crowd, killing seven people and wounding dozens of others, touching off a day filled with a creeping sense of unease around the region as the gunman remained at large.  

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