New Lenox Marks Gun Violence Awareness Day, Spotlights New State Storage Law

Meeting Summary and Briefs: New Lenox Village Board for May 18, 2026

Article Summary: The New Lenox Village Board on Monday, May 18, 2026, issued a proclamation recognizing National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and a community advocate used the occasion to highlight a new Illinois law requiring firearms to be stored in a locked container when a minor is in the home and to announce Wear Orange Weekend activities.

Gun Violence Awareness Day Key Points:

• The board issued a proclamation recognizing National Gun Violence Awareness Day, observed June 5, the anniversary of victim Hadiya Pendleton’s birthday.
• A community advocate said a new Illinois law requires firearms to be stored in a locked container — not a trigger or cable lock — when a child 17 or under is in the home.
• The advocate cited a recent study finding that a firearm is stolen from a vehicle every nine minutes nationally.
• Residents were encouraged to wear orange June 5–7 and to attend a blood drive June 6 at Grace Episcopal Church.

NEW LENOX — The New Lenox Village Board on Monday, May 18, 2026, issued its annual proclamation recognizing National Gun Violence Awareness Day, with Mayor Tim Baldermann presenting the document and a community advocate using the platform to brief residents on a new Illinois firearm-storage law and to invite participation in Wear Orange Weekend.

Baldermann, a retired Chicago Ridge police chief, framed the proclamation around what he called the need for common ground on firearms policy. He said he supports Second Amendment rights for law-abiding citizens while also backing efforts to keep firearms away from people with dangerous histories.

“As a supporter of the Second Amendment myself, I believe that guns do belong only in the hands of law-abiding citizens, and that we do have an obligation to make sure that we are securing those weapons in our homes,” Baldermann said. He lamented that debate over the issue has become increasingly polarized, saying “common sense has to start prevailing” and that residents “have to resist the politicalness of every issue” regardless of political affiliation.

The proclamation cited a series of statistics on gun deaths nationally and in Illinois, and noted that the observance is held in tribute to Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed at age 15 in January 2013. National Gun Violence Awareness Day is observed June 5, which would have marked her 28th birthday.

Advocate Highlights New Storage Requirement

The community advocate who accepted the proclamation — a returning annual speaker whose name was not stated on the record — asked the board and residents to “honor with action” all lives lost to firearms, including those lost to suicide, homicide and unintentional shootings.

She told the board that a new Illinois law requires residents with a child 17 or under in the home to store firearms in a locked container, and that trigger locks and cable locks are no longer sufficient under the law. She also cited what she described as a newly released study finding that a firearm is stolen from a vehicle every nine minutes nationally.

The advocate said June 5–7 is Wear Orange Weekend and asked residents to wear an orange article of clothing, drawing a parallel to the orange worn by hunters to signal their presence. She announced a blood drive on June 6 at Grace Episcopal Church in New Lenox and directed residents to make appointments online using the 60451 ZIP code.

The proclamation was presented during the meeting’s opening business and did not require a board vote.