Black gun owners face wrongful prosecution, CBS Chicago finds

In this week’s edition of the Cook County Courtroom Observer, I want to highlight the work of CBS Chicago investigative journalist Dorothy Tucker.

The year 2025 marks her 40th year as a reporter in Chicago. Her skill at uncovering injustice is on display in her most recent investigation.

For the past couple of months Tucker has been digging into a potential Second Amendment violations for some gun owners in Chicago.

This fall she just produced three stories that highlight the wrongful prosecutions of an entrepreneur, a real estate agent, and an Illinois state representative. All three are licensed gun owners, and all are African American. Despite showing police officers their valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) and concealed carry licenses (CCL) during traffic stops, all three still faced criminal charges for illegal gun possession.

As body-camera footage shows, the three immediately told police that they were carrying a firearm and handed over their FOID and CCL cards.

However, patrol officers said the information didn't appear in the state’s database. As a result, police handcuffed, patted down and placed these motorists under arrest. Prosecutors approved felony and misdemeanor charges.

As she was being arrested, Lucy Washington asked officers for a chance to show them an email from the Illinois State Police proving that she had renewed her CCL.

“Can I please look for my phone?” Washington asked as officers told her to exit her vehicle and began placing her in handcuffs in 2023. “I have never been arrested in my life.”

Washington and Louis McWilliams say the wrongful prosecutions cost them time and money and had a negative impact on their businesses.

At issue, Tucker says, is the Second Amendment right to bear arms—and whether that right extends equally to all Americans.

Here’s the video with the stories of Ms. Washington and Mr. McWilliams.

In this next video we meet Curtis Tarver, an attorney and an Illinois lawmaker. who was stopped in 2019. In 2025 he still appears shaken by the experience.

Tucker seeks to find out why this is happening and introduces us to an anonymous source who shares his perspective.

He says that it comes down to money and to race.

Finally this third video, Tucker seeks to share a solution. She introduces us to Jehan Gordon-Booth, a lawmaker who has introduced a bill that would automatically expunge cases of people wrongfully prosecuted for illegal gun possession.

Philip Smith, founder and president of the National African American Gun Association, says motorists who are wrongfully prosecuted should sue the police.