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.