Chicago calls for tougher gun laws, but has no room for more prisoners

(CBS News) CHICAGO - Last December, minutes after he allegedly shot at a neighbor, Julian Gayles was caught by Chicago police. Gayles, 22, already had a record of gun crimes and parole violations, but had spent little time behind bars. Since 2009, he has been sentenced to seven years in jail, but has served just two.

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Gayles was on parole when CBS News witnessed his arrest by police commander Leo Schmitz and is now in custody again, awaiting trial.

Chicago police superintendent Gary McCarthy wants such offenders to face a mandatory minimum sentence.

"This has to stop," McCarthy said. "Gun offenders have to do significant jail time."

Chicago already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. This week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for making them even tougher, with minimum mandatory sentences for gun violations.

Cook Country Sheriff Tom Dart

/ CBS News

But Cook Country Sheriff Tom Dart says he doesn't have the cells to hold more inmates.

"I mean, we are at capacity right now," Dart said. "The state prison system is beyond capacity. You talk to them right now, they haven't had a population like this in decades. And there's no place to put 'em."

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Dart runs the largest county jail in the country. Nearly 10,000 inmates -- including 300 prisoners -- living in a former cafeteria and some sleeping on the prison hospital's floor.

"This is not something that you would design, " said Dart. "Frankly at this time this should be a building that we should have empty right now at this time of the year. There should be no one in it. But because of our population explosion, this is full."

Experts say the prison population would swell by thousands if mandatory minimum sentences came to pass for gun violations.

"We can't have this irrational type of notion that there's magic jail cells all over the place that are all sitting there empty, " said Dart. "It's as if all of a sudden we just raise penalties and these people get shipped off to the moon or something. It's like, 'No, we know where we need to put 'em,' and we need money to fund that."

But Illinois doesn't have the money and has actually been closing prisons to save money so it can reduce the $9 billion it owes in unpaid bills.

[docstat61]

It is a federal law that any felon found in possession of a weapon gets a minimum sentence of at least five years. This applies whether the felon is involved in a crime or not. The subject in this story was on parole, so why isn't the feds prosecuting more of these and taking the burden off the state and local governments.

[FromCalifornia]

What part of gun control doesn't work don't you people in Chicago get? It isn't really complicated. In Florida where Adults can carry guns, criminals prey on people leaving Airports in rental cars. I am not going to comment on the obvious. They do not attempt to prey on other segments of the general population. Oh, never mind. You wouldn't understand. Just for fun, imagine for one second what your gang bangers would do if you armed everyone BUT them. They would go to New York or Detroit and our would be virtually crime free. Now wasn't that easy?

[gmcgmc]

About time this country reviews it's options with these criminals. Since they like violence, maybe forcing them to serve in military would be possible.

[fred9098445]

Wait, I'm confused. Is this an attempt to equate legal gun owners to the clown highlighted in this video? Ofcourse Emanuel wants to increase jail enrollment, the prison system is big money and a big union that votes democratic.

[cab_351]

chicago has got to have the stupidest politicians and citizens there are,,they already have the toughest gun laws in the country and the criminals still have guns! even worse the cops know where the gangs are and do nothing,,round them up,,if they belong to gangs involved in killings arrest them for conspiracy to commit murder!

[Ulgnud]

Gun control is a "Feely Good" for the sheep. Chicago proves it doesn't work. Somehow the criminal element has to be addressed. Locking them up works, but isn't the total answer. Somehow the criminal mind set has to be addressed. We may have to use unorthodox methods on that. Perhaps some sort of surgically induced modifications might work. As soon as the criminal mind understands their behavior will have devastating consequences, they will change. Especially if they see the results to those that didn't get the message. Another possibility would be to change the laws so if you are convicted of murder with a gun it is automatically a death penalty. Lighten up the laws for those defending themselves. Put the advantage back to law abiding citizens. Gangs that promote violence? Extermination would work well. Citizens in Chicago have a right to conduct lawful activities without these animals running loose and killing them.

[judymar14]

Build more prisons. Budgets are made for planting trees, ridiculous studies for what is harmful to one's health, which is everything according the studies and $500 toilet seats for public buildings paid for by the government.

Building more prisons would put people back to work.

[bsally47]

Illinois just sold a brand new, unused prison to the Federal Government.....The money to run the prison is the bigger problem.

[kcreligion]

I suggest Chicago quit paying teachers 6-figure retirements and start building more prisons along lake shore. The younger ones you might chain to a desk and try again to teach them but ho knows, Maybe Obama and Michelle can volunteer to teach them to read.

[OweninNJ]

File this under: "it didn't work, we need more of it". The people of Chicago, and to an equal extent Illinois, have the goverment they deserve. Corrupt, incompetent and completely comfortable that no one in authority will ever pay any price. Doomed.

[vanys-2009]

We need a prison Czar. I vote for Sheriff Arpaio.