Cook County’s top prosecutor launches crackdown on illegally modified guns

Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke is making good on one of her signature campaign promises to crack down on illegally modified firearms.

Burke announced Thursday that her prosecutors will request detention for defendants charged with committing a felony while possessing or using a machine gun or machine gun conversion device; extended and drum magazines; an automatic switch that enables a semiautomatic pistol to fire automatically; a privately made firearm; or a ghost or defaced gun.

“Anyone who has seen one of these modified guns in action — which enable a shooter to unload a 30-round drum magazine in less than two seconds — understands that these are weapons of war that have no place in our communities,” Burke said in a prepared statement. "With this policy shift, we are providing certainty and consistency for prosecutors and police so they can do their work with confidence to get these incredibly dangerous weapons and the people who use them off the street.”

Under the new policy, when there is evidence a machine gun or machine gun-like device was used in a crime, prosecutors will not reduce charges or accept a plea to a lesser charge.

“The bottom line is if you are convicted of using one of these weapons of war on the streets of Cook County, you are going to prison,” Burke said.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the recovery of machine-gun conversion devices in Chicago increased 7% last year, from 546 in 2023 to 604 in 2024.

Data from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network indicates that 49.9% of those devices are linked to one or more shootings, according to the ATF.

Christopher Amon, ATF special agent in charge, praised Burke’s efforts.

“Our law enforcement officers are confronted with the threat of offenders using machine-gun conversion devices and tragically, both officers and innocent victims have lost their lives due to their proliferation on our streets,” Amon said in a prepared statement.