After West Side mass shooting, Lightfoot calls for statewide ban on assault weapons and ‘switches’ that turn handguns into machine guns

Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivers the 2023 Budget Address during an Oct. 3 City Council meeting at City Hall. (Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times)

After a shooting in East Garfield Park left 14 people wounded, Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged state lawmakers Tuesday to ban assault rifles and devices that turn semiautomatic weapons into machine guns.

“Last night’s shooting reminds us that there are too many weapons of war available to criminals,” Lightfoot said in a written statement about Monday night’s shooting in the 2700 block of West Flournoy Street. “We must have a statewide ban, and I urge the legislature to act.”