Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has introduced a new data dashboard that provides detailed information on violent deaths and firearm-related injuries across the state. This tool, divided into two sections—Illinois Firearm Injury Rates and Illinois Violent Deaths—aims to deliver county-level insights into incidents such as homicides and suicides, including weapon types and victim residence details.

IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra emphasized the public health implications of firearm violence, stating, "Firearm violence is a public health crisis that requires public health solutions." He noted the importance of modernizing data collection to address these issues comprehensively. The project was developed in collaboration with the Joyce Foundation and Understory Consulting.

The Joyce Foundation, based in Chicago, funded the dashboard's development. Understory Consulting designed it, focusing on human rights and social justice issues. Data sources include two CDC-funded public health surveillance systems: the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System (IVDRS), operated by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and IDPH syndromic surveillance.

IVDRS provides historical data on violent deaths since 2015, covering victim demographics and circumstances surrounding fatal injuries. Syndromic surveillance offers emergency department visit data from 185 hospitals statewide, detailing non-fatal firearm injury rates by age range, sex, race/ethnicity, and county.

Tim Daly from The Joyce Foundation expressed support for this initiative: "We're excited to support this groundbreaking data dashboard...to keep our communities informed with such important and timely information."

Quiwana Bell from the Illinois Department of Human Services highlighted the significance of reliable data: "Access to reliable data is a powerful tool for directing resources...empowering communities...to take decisive, life-saving action."

Maryann Mason from Northwestern University underscored the need for such data-driven approaches: "We need data to identify public health problems so we can develop...interventions to reduce violence."

The dashboard reveals several trends about violent deaths and firearm injuries in Illinois:

- Men are disproportionately affected by firearm-related incidents.

- Homicide rates increased notably in 2020 and 2021.

- Firearms were involved in a significant percentage of both homicide and suicide deaths.

- Chicago reports high non-fatal firearms injury rates.

- Young adults aged 20-to-29 are most frequently affected by firearm injuries.

- Communities of color experience higher rates of firearm violence.

Looking ahead, IDPH plans to expand its tracking capabilities beyond firearms to include other critical incidents like sexual assault. This initiative is part of broader efforts by IDPH to mitigate firearm violence through campaigns like “Pause to Heal” which focuses on promoting awareness about firearm restraining orders (FROs) in partnership with organizations like the Ad Council and Brady Campaign. Additionally, over 150,000 free gun locks have been distributed since spring 2023 as part of safe gun storage promotion efforts.