Lake County Crime Stoppers offers reward for illegal gun tips

People who help get illegal guns off the street can collect a $100 cash reward, Lake County Crime Stoppers officials announced.

The cash rewards are available to anyone who helps recover an illegal gun that is being carried in a public place, Crime Stoppers Executive Director Andy Anderson said.

“This isn't for an arrest, it's for a tip that leads to the confiscation of an illegal gun,” Anderson said. “The arrest has nothing to do with this.”

People can call Crime Stoppers at (847) 662-2222 and tell the organization where the gun is located, he said.

The tipster will be told to call back in two days to see if the gun was recovered. If the gun is recovered, the tipster can pick up their cash reward, or make other arrangements to obtain the money if they want to remain anonymous.

“We aren't interested in the name behind the tip or anything like that. We just want the gun,” Anderson said. “By getting that illegal gun off the street, that's one life we can save.”

Anderson said the goal of the program is to help ensure safety in places like schools, playgrounds and buses, while simultaneously counteracting gangs and drugs.

“It's been shown that gangs have very little respect for life, whether it's their life or someone else's,” he said. “There are places where a shooting takes place every day. By getting some of these guns off the street, we are hoping to continue to reduce the amount of lives lost.”