High profile Illinois democrats put the issue of gun control front and center Monday, just days after the shooting in Connecticut.

Governor Pat Quinn, among them, and spoke out on the Connecticut school shooting.

“One way to keep faith with those victims of that massacre on Friday is for Illinois, in the heart of the heartland to ban assault weapons,” he said.

The Rev Jesse Jackson talked assault weapons ban on the WGN Morning News .

“These military style weapons can bring down airplanes, they can bring down buildings, they can shoot people in mass with the pull of a trigger,” he said. “We must get these weapons off the street and out of our houses.”

Chicago’s police superintendent Garry McCarthy said his concern lies in gun over production not just an assault weapons ban.

“There’s no other economy on earth where supply so outweighs legitimate demand,” he said.

But Illinois State Rifle Association executive director Richard Pearson says stricter laws shouldn’t focus on guns, but mental health.

“Everyone of the things that have happened, the person has been mentally unstable so we need to get a handle on that and get that done first,” he said.

Mayor Emanuel, who still has influence with the White House, told a Chicago police graduating class Monday, the National Assault Weapon Ban, which expired in 2004, needs to come back.

The governor says its likely Springfield will take up an assault weapons ban in its January session.

At a shooting range in Lombard,  its not more gun laws needed, they say. Barry Soskin, owner of Article II Gun Range says the system is broken.

“If I have a mental problem, and I go to somebody, my neighbor shouldn’t find out about it.  But I’ll be damned if my gun shouldn’t be taken away,” he said. “That’s what we need here and we’ve lost that.”

We reached out today to The National Rifle Association and several state lawmakers who’ve voted in favor of gun rights in the past.   All of whom either did not return our calls or did not want to comment.

It’s the conversation schools nationwide are likely having this week: Just how secure are our children?

There are some critical steps when it comes to securing a school and Paul Timm,  a RETA security consultant,  says the bells and whistles can cost you but good security doesn’t always have to.

RETA isa 2nd generation company started back in 1984.

Sadly, Timm says schools are often reluctant to prioritize security until tragedy strikes.

His priority when securing the classroom is communication first. 2-way radios or walkie talkies, PA systems indoors and out and even emergency phones peppered throughout the school.

And when it comes to access control, he says one door in and the same  door out for all visitors.

In a pinch, to tighten security, some area schools quickly turned to the basics: Emergency drills and lots of them.

Increased police presence outside the school is another approach.

Timm wants to see visitors at every school turn over their state ID’s until they are ready to leave, have them checked and screened on the spot for criminal history.  Wearing labels at all times he says is a must. Timm wants them hanging from a colored lanyard so they are easy to spot and easy to identify any outsider.

Cameras at $2,000 -$3,000 a lens are costly, but effective. Timm says only as effective as your hard drive, however.  Keep images and data for 30 days before deleting and don’t spend good money on bad cameras. The images are everything, especially at a soft target like an elementary school.

He goes on to say today’s best technology is in virtually everyone’s pocket.  He said schools can tap into the same tablet technology we see everywhere and use apps that can even be shared by first responders and school administrators to avoid or reduce the effects of a determined intruder.

There’s a story behind every life taken in the Connecticut shooting spree.

A picture of  some of the victim’s is a little clearer today.

Six-year-old Jack Pinto loved sports – especially football. His favorite player was New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz. Cruz paid tribute to him by writing “Jack Pinto, My Hero” on one of his cleats and “R.I.P. Jack Pinto” on the other.

Noah Pozner, also 6, lit up the room.  His aunt says he was a bit rambuctious and knew exactly how to get whatever he wanted by batting his long eyelashes and looking at you with his big blue eyes.

Six-year-old Ana Marques-Greene enjoyed playing playing piano and singing with her brother, Isaiah. Her family had moved to Connecticut two months ago from Canada.  They were drawn to Sandy Hook Elementary School, in part, because of its sterling reputation.

Seven-year-old Grace McDonnell was the ultimate “girly girl.”  “Gracie” – as her grandmother called her – loved wearing pink and playing dress-up and was always smiling.   She also loved art, gymnastics, soccer and her small spaniel, “Puddin.”

Subsitute teacher Victoria Soto, 27, has emerged as a hero.  She died trying to shield her students from the gunman.  She was the oldest of 4 kids and had wanted to be a teacher since she was three.

Principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47, died while lunging at the gunman.  The married mother had two daughters and 3 step-daughters.  They say their mother was always there for them, despite her busy work schedule.

In the wake of the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, school systems around the chicago area are viewing and reviewing their school safety plans.

Chicago Public School principals and teachers are being urged to review their emergency management plans.

The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary has helped put the issue of gun control back in the spotlight.

20-Year-old Adam Lanza shot his way into the school in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14.

He then shot and killed 20 students and six adults.

At a time when Newtown should be reveling in holiday cheer, the grief-stricken community will begin the grim task of lowering 20 little coffins into the ground.

Six-year-old Jack Pinto, whose love for sports ran the gamut but none so deep as football, will be laid to rest Monday.

Noah Pozner, another 6-year-old, whose family said he could get what he wanted just by batting his long eyelashes, will also be buried.

And the heartbreaking ritual will continue for days.

Jessica Rekos on Tuesday. Benjamin Wheeler on Thursday. Madeleine Hsu, Friday. All of them 6 years old.

But even after the families of the 20 children and six educators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school say their last goodbyes, it’s unlikely the tight-knit community will ever be the same.

“It’s incomprehensible, the pain here,” resident Darla Henggeler said. “You can’t imagine. We’re still in shock. I can’t let my heart go there because it’s so overwhelming.

“I think once it settles in, I think my heart will break.”

Obama: “These tragedies must end.”

In Newtown High School’s packed auditorium, President Barack Obama recited the names of the children slain at Sandy Hook and offered his condolences to the community.

“All across this land of ours, we have wept with you,” Obama said Sunday night.

He also said the country has failed to do everything it can to protect youths from such immense tragedy.

“Can we honestly say we’re doing enough to keep our children — all of them — safe from harm?” Obama said, adding that “if we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right.”

“If we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is no.”

He noted this is the fourth time in the past two years that a mass shooting has united the country in despair. Tucson, Aurora, Oak Creek, Newtown.

“These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change.”

The president didn’t mention specific steps, but promised to “engage my fellow citizens — from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators — in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this.”

His call to action capped an emotional prayer service at Newtown High, in which local leaders of several religions — a Jewish rabbi singing a prayer, a Muslim manchoking back tears, and several Christian leaders offering perspective — attempted to comfort a shattered community. Nine hundred watched in the school’s auditorium, including several children toting teddy bears.

Shortly before Obama’s remarks, the grassroots group Newtown United launched “to create meaningful dialogue, both locally and beyond, around the issues that led to this this senseless act of violence.”

The group plans to send a delegation to Washington on Tuesday to meet with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence as well as families from July’s movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado.

Clues on what happened, but not why

It’s possible no one will ever know what led Adam Lanza to kill his mother, Nancy, in their home before taking her guns and raining hell on Sandy Hook Elementary School and eventually killing himself.

Investigators now know the gunman used “an assault weapon” to “literally (shoot) an entrance into the building,” Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said Sunday.

The nightmare worsened as he moved through Sandy Hook’s halls.

Using a Bushmaster AR-15 “assault-type rifle,” the 20-year-old fired multiple magazines — each of which contained 30 bullets — to gun down the adults and children in two classrooms, Connecticut State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance said.

He then took out a handgun and shot himself in a classroom as officers approached, officials said.

All the victims were shotbetween three and 11 times.

“This probably is the worst I have seen or the worst that I know of any of my colleagues having seen,” said Connecticut chief medical examiner H. Wayne Carver II, who conducted autopsies on seven victims.

The perpetrator had no known criminal record.

His father, Peter Lanza, released a statement Saturday saying his family is “grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy.”

“Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones and to all those who were injured,” the father said. “We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We, too, are asking why.”

Relatives carry on the victims’ voices

As more details about the 20 children and six educators emerge, so do stories of heroism and joyous memories of lives cut far too short.

When the gunfire rang out, 27-year-old Victoria Soto scrambled to move her students away from her first-grade classroom door and shielded them in the corner of the room.

It’s not surprising that Soto would risk her life to save others, her mother said.

“She was truly selfless,” Donna Soto said Sunday. “She would not hesitate to think to save anyone else before herself and especially children. She loved them more than life.”

Six-year-old Emilie Parker was a budding young artist who would have been the first to console the victims had she herself not been killed, her father said.

“She loved to use her talents to touch the lives of everyone that she came in contact with,” Robbie Parker said. “She always carried around her markers and pencils so she never missed an opportunity to draw a picture or make a card for those around her.”

Emilie’s father also offered his condolences to all the families affected.

“This includes the family of the shooter,” he said. “I can’t imagine how hard this experience must be for you, and I want you to know that our family, and our love and support goes out to you as well.”

Noah, one of the boys who will be laid to rest Monday, loved playing with his siblings — especially his twin sister. They still don’t know know how their brother passed away, Noah’s aunt said.

“How do you tell them that’s how their brother died?” Haller asked. “It’s the unthinkable really.”

It’s just as unbearable as the thought of a parent burying a child.

The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta/+1-404-827-WIRE(9473)
™ & © 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

A group of specially trained comfort dogs from the Chicago area are in Newtown, Connecticut helping residents cope with the school shootings tragedy.

The dogs vistied a makeshift memorial and a church on Sunday.

They will be at after school activities with Sandy Hook Elementary School students on Monday.

Trainers from Lutheran Church Charities say residents can pet the dogs while they talk or pray with volunteers.

The dogs have traveled across the country to support victims in the aftermath of major tragedies such as Hurricane Sandy and the tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri.

The memorial in Newtown that started with a few candles, just keeps on growing. There’s another one, larger still, over by the village’s Christmas tree.

Newtown residents were joined in their time of sorrow by the president.

President Obama, like parents across the country, is trying to get his arms around this back in his role of consoler-in-chief.  It’s the fourth time he’s travelled to a city after a mass shooting.

The inconsolable families of the tiny victims- starting to speak, issue statements and release photos of the little ones who won’t be with them this Christmas.  There’s the story of one young survivor, who ran past the gunman to safety after seeing his teacher get shot. He still doesn’t know she was killed.”

“He keeps asking about her,” one parent said, “and I think he’s reassuring himself that she’s going to be OK. He really, really, really cared about his teacher. He was very close with her, and she really loved that class. And, he keeps saying, “I really hope she’s OK. I hope it’s not her.”"

Police say their investigation’s progressing rapidly; that it was an ar-15 bushmaster assault-style rifle the gunman used in the school– one of two pistols that he used on himself that he had hundreds of rounds of ammunition, likely prepared for a larger massacre that may have been cut short.

Police are withholding a lot of information– reiterating Sunday night that there are a lot of answers they just do not have. They are promising another update Monday morning.

As president Obama arrived to meet with grieving families in Newtown, Connecticut Sunday– it brings new sadness to Scott Larimer at his home in Crystal Lake.

“The pain is universal.  I wish I could go there to give them a hug. But we can’t so we have to do it from afar,” Scott said.

His son, John, was one of 12 people killed in the Aurora, Colorado Theater shooting in July, and in many ways, knows the pain. The grief being felt 800 miles away.

“Our hearts go out to these folks. It’s only been 5 months and this has just ripped open an open wound. It’s just horrible,” he said.

In August, the families of the theater shooting victims banded together– they said that Giving First, the Denver-based charity collecting donations in their loved ones names, was not following through with payments to victims and their families.

The American people donate this money from their hearts– it should go to the victims it shouldn’t go to some blood bank,” Scott said.

This weekend, the Colorado shooting families went online with their own website.

“We’ve had to accelerate our timeline because we weren’t expecting it to need it so quickly but I’m confident that we will make it happen.”

They said victimsfirst.org will make sure what happened with them does not happen again.

“One of the things that our organization is going to do is make sure that we have a guaranteed funnel so that these victims, not any other organization- but the victims, get money, get help.”

The first link posted, is for the victims at Sandy Hook– a small start, Scott says, to helping the victims of tragedy not be victimized again.

For more information and to donate visit http://victimsfirst.org/

A police chief in Indiana says a man arrested for threatening to go on a school shooting spree, was just blowing off steam.

Von Meyer was arrested at his home in Cedar Lake Saturday, a day after he and his wife had an argument.

She told police, he threatened to kill her where she worked, at the Jane Ball Elementary School.

She said he also threatened to kill as many people as he could.

But Police Chief Jerry Smith now says he believes Meyer just made an empty threat in the heat of an argument.

Meyer is charged with intimidation, domestic battery and resisting law enforcement.