Justin Agrelo

6 days ago | thetrace.org | Justin Agrelo

The Trace The Trace is a nonprofit newsroom solely dedicated to covering gun violence in the United States. We use the power of journalism to improve public understanding, increase accountability, and identify solutions that can lead to safer communities. We’re working to better understand the factors that drive gun ownership among everyday people, and we need your help to do so. Are you a gun owner living in Cook County? We’d love to hear from you.

3 weeks ago | chicagoreader.com | Justin Agrelo

Every November, Donte Quinn grows restless. His shoulders tighten. He becomes irritable. He finds himself brooding over the nearly 15 years he spent in prison, the time lost with his eldest daughter, and the Chicago courtroom where, before his mother and a crowd of strangers, he was sentenced at age 18 to three decades behind bars for his connection to a 1992 nonfatal shooting. Now 50, Quinn’s annual distress is caused by more recent interactions with the criminal legal system.

3 weeks ago | thetrace.org | Justin Agrelo |Rita Oceguera

The Trace Every November, Donte Quinn grows restless. His shoulders tighten. He becomes irritable. He finds himself brooding over the nearly 15 years he spent in prison, the time lost with his eldest daughter, the Chicago courtroom where, at age 18, before his mother and a crowd of strangers, he was sentenced to three decades behind bars for his connection to a 1992 nonfatal shooting. Now 50, Quinn’s annual distress is caused by more recent interactions with the criminal legal system.

1 month ago | thetrace.org | Josiah Bates |Rita Oceguera |Justin Agrelo

The Trace Mothers never expect to bury their children. Rachael Parker, a steadfast public servant in Peoria, Illinois, found that the 2020 shooting death of her son, Ryan, made her feel helpless. Just one year earlier, after nearly a decade on the county board, Parker had been appointed county clerk, a role she still occupies. Every day for years, she has helped maintain public filings, track land records, and issue various licenses.

1 month ago | blockclubchicago.org | Justin Agrelo

This story was originally published by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Sign up for its newsletters here. CHICAGO — Until this year, people in Illinois who were arrested for carrying a gun illegally faced charges with names like “unlawful use of weapons” or “aggravated unlawful use of a weapon,” phrases that seem to describe the firing of a gun.