Reporting firearm threats to principals ‘common sense,’ IL legislator says

By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – An Illinois lawmaker and law enforcement officer reacts to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s enacting a law requiring schools to report firearms or threats to principals, a move supporters say improves safety.

State Rep. Dennis Tipsword, R-Metamore, described the bill as “just common sense kind of legislation” that ensures threats are at least reported to the proper school authorities.

“Originally, law enforcement was part of the process, but a House amendment removed them. I would have liked to see law enforcement stay involved. I understand concerns about call volume, but we have to take these threats seriously,” said Tipsword. “If we can prevent, God forbid, a mass casualty, we should.”

Tipsword explained that while the law establishes a baseline for reporting, schools and local law enforcement agencies can still conduct full threat assessments if they choose.

“Schools and individual law enforcement agencies can still have a threat assessment conducted by law enforcement, if that’s what they choose to do locally,” Tipsword said. “But at a minimum, there have to be notifications made, which is what this legislation will do now.”

Critics argue that Illinois has already scaled back realistic active shooter drills, and House Bill 1316 does not close the gap in hands-on preparedness. Tipsword was asked whether requiring teachers to report threats to the principal, rather than contacting law enforcement directly, risks turning the process into a “notification-only” approach that shifts responsibility away from staff.

“I don’t read it that way. I see it as another layer, another warning layer, to ensure that if there is a threat made, it is at least reported to the principal,” said Tipsword. “Locally, schools can still decide if it should go to law enforcement, and I would always advocate for that in these situations.”

Tipsword criticized previous legislation that removed realistic active shooter drills, calling it a misstep.

“That was horrible legislation,” he said. “Teachers want to hear what it really will sound like if there are gunshots in their building. To say our kids can’t handle that kind of theatrics undermines proper preparation. We learned so much from realistic drills years ago, and now we can’t do them anymore.”

Tipsword also stressed the importance of local control over school safety decisions.

“This [realistic shooter drills] should have been left up to the school districts,” he said. “If superintendents and principals didn’t want that in their schools, that’s where the decision needs to be made. Everything I advocate for is local decisions, not something imposed under the dome in Springfield.”

House Bill 1316 passed both the House and Senate unanimously.