FIREARM OFFENSE ENHANCED PENAL

104th Regular Session Introduced by Willie Preston

Expands Illinois gun laws to ban modified firearms with forced reset/high-capacity mags, strengthens penalties for ghost-gun components, and adds 5-year consecutive enhancements.

Referred to Assignments

Summary — SB 1936 (Rafael Wordlaw Act)

Status and timing
- Introduced by Sen. Willie Preston (with Rep. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa listed as sponsor) and filed in February 2025.
- Passed both chambers in May 2025, enrolled and sent to the Governor, signed 6/20/2025.
- Effective date: September 1, 2025.

Purpose
- To expand and strengthen Illinois criminal law related to certain firearm modifications, high-capacity magazines, and "ghost gun" components, increase penalties for related offenses, and permit extended-term sentencing for specified firearms crimes. The Act is cited as the Rafael Wordlaw Act.

Key provisions and substantive changes
- Definitions and scope
- Expands the statutory definition of "machine gun" to include any firearm modified or equipped with a forced reset trigger (explicitly including auto-switches or binary switches). A "forced reset trigger" is defined as parts designed or intended to convert a weapon to fire more than one shot automatically by a single trigger function.
- Defines "high-capacity magazine" as a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip or similar device with capacity of more than 15 rounds; excludes tubular devices designed only for .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.

New/expanded offenses

Unlawful possession of weapons is expanded to cover knowingly selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing, or carrying any firearm modified or equipped with a high-capacity magazine.
Aggravated unlawful possession: carrying or possessing a weapon modified or equipped with a forced reset trigger (including auto-switch/binary switch), or a high-capacity magazine, is elevated to a Class X felony.

Ghost-gun component penalties

Persons who knowingly sell, offer to sell, or transfer unserialized unfinished frames or receivers or unserialized firearms face increased penalties: first violation becomes a Class 2 felony (previously Class 4); second or subsequent violation becomes a Class 1 felony (previously Class 2).

Sentencing enhancements

Courts are permitted to impose extended-term sentences for specified firearms violations under the Unified Code of Corrections.
If the firearm used in an offense was outfitted with parts intended to convert it into a machine gun or enable a high-capacity magazine, an additional 5 consecutive years shall be added on to the 15-, 20-, or 25-years-to-life enhancements already applicable in certain circumstances.

Who is affected
- Private individuals who own, modify, carry, sell, or transfer firearms — particularly those who install or trade parts like forced-reset devices, auto-switches, binary switches, or high-capacity magazines.
- Sellers/manufacturers and persons dealing in unserialized unfinished frames/receivers (commonly called "ghost gun" components).
- Law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts (new charging options, higher felony classifications, and expanded sentencing authority).

Notes and implementation
- The bill both revises Criminal Code (720 ILCS 5/24-1 and related sections) and amends the Unified Code of Corrections to permit extended-term sentencing and the specified 5-year consecutive enhancement.
- Effective for offenses committed on or after 9/1/2025.