Illinois Appellate Court Reinstates Lawsuit Brought by the City of Chicago Against Westforth Sports, Citing Evidence The Store Was “Operating as a Pipeline For Illegal Weapons into Chicago” 

Opinion Sets Important Precedent As First Appellate Court Decision to Confirm that Cities Targeted by Out-of-State Dealers Selling to Straw Purchasers Can Sue the Bad Actors in Their Home Court

COOK COUNTY, Illinois – An Illinois court of appeals today reinstated a 2021 lawsuit brought on behalf of the City of Chicago by the City of Chicago Department of Law, Everytown Law and the law firm Mayer Brown LLP against Indiana gun store Westforth Sports. The lawsuit seeks to hold the store accountable for its role in facilitating decades of illegal gun trafficking from Indiana into Illinois. From 2009-2016, the last years for which data is available, Westforth Sports was the single largest out-of-state supplier of crime guns recovered by Chicago police.

Today’s opinion sets an important precedent as the first appellate court decision to confirm that cities targeted by out-of-state dealers selling to straw purchasers can sue the bad actors in the impacted cities’ home court. As the appellate court recognized, “the record is replete with evidence that Westforth knew it was operating as a pipeline for illegal weapons into Chicago” and “made a deliberate choice to facilitate and profit from illegal firearm sales destined for Chicago’s streets.”  

“As I have said before, we need to end the flow of guns into our neighborhoods that come in through illegal routes,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. “This decision is a step towards accountability. We will keep fighting until we end the gun violence epidemic in our city.”

“We are grateful that the Illinois Appellate Court has reinstated Chicago’s case against Westforth Sports. The residents of Chicago deserve justice against this large-scale supplier of guns that have been used to wreak havoc on city streets, and we look forward to litigating this case on their behalf,” said Alla Lefkowitz, Managing Director of Affirmative Litigation for Everytown Law. “As alleged in our complaint – and the evidence we presented is damning – Westforth has not only intentionally facilitated illegal gun trafficking, but directly sold illegal firearms to Illinois residents, putting countless local communities in the line of fire. We will fight to hold them accountable for the harm they’ve caused as a byproduct of their greed.” 

The case was dismissed when an Illinois circuit court ruled it lacked the authority to hear a case against an Indiana-based defendant. The City of Chicago asked to update its complaint based on new evidence showing that Westforth not only knowingly engaged in straw purchasing sales, but also sold illegal firearms directly to Illinois residents, but the circuit court refused permission. Following an appeal argued by Everytown Law in 2024, a state court of appeals today reinstated the case. 

Filed in 2021, the suit alleges that Westforth Sports – located just 10 miles from the Illinois border – repeatedly broke federal gun laws and ignored clear signs of straw purchasing and gun trafficking, such as high volume, repetitive, and multiple-sale transactions involving duplicate or near-duplicate firearms. In the two years after the City’s lawsuit against Westforth was filed, the City was able to uncover further evidence that is now part of the public record showing:

• Over 300 guns were straw purchased at Westforth from 2014–2021. In some cases, Westforth sold as many as 19 guns to one individual. Many of these guns have been used in serious crimes in Chicago, including homicides, non-fatal shootings, and assaults.

• For years, Westforth has sold assault weapons to residents of Chicago, despite the fact that it has long been illegal to possess such weapons in the city. 

• Between 2010 and 2021, ATF inspected Westforth at least six times, with each inspection resulting in violations – many of which were repeats. During the 2021 inspection, Westforth was cited for nine categories of federal firearms regulations with eight of these categories being repeat violations. 

• Among these violations were actions that may have frustrated efforts by law enforcement to identify individuals trafficking firearms into Chicago. These violations included:
  • The practice of ripping up and discarding ATF-mandated records (4473 forms) in instances in which the firearm sale was not completed, despite a law requiring such forms to be maintained for five years;
  • The repeated failure to timely report multiple handgun sales; and
  • False information and misrepresentations that Westforth made to ATF in response to a request for information about a firearm that was found at a crime scene and traced back to the store.

• During the litigation, the long-time owner of Westforth testified that no amount of firearms purchased could ever be a warning sign of potential straw purchasing despite ATF’s repeated attempts to educate him and his employees about the importance of firearm laws. He also testified that it was not the store’s job to tell a potential straw purchaser no. 

On July 25, 2023, Westforth Sports publicly announced that the store would be closing and liquidating its inventory. Westforth Sports still has a federal firearms selling license and is listed as an active corporation in Indiana.