Yep, all is proceeding as John Boch has foreseen. So far, anyway. The latest iteration of a concealed carry bill in the Land of Lincoln, one designed by Speaker Madigan to split the baby between Chicago and downstate interests, passed today with an overwhelming majority in the House. It only needed 71 votes but drew 85. As John points out, the “historic” bill was opposed by Mayor Rahm and Governor Sockpuppet Quinn, which seems to be a good indication it will be, on balance, something RKBAers can live with, if not love. For now. Next up: the Senate, a probable veto and override votes. Watch this space.
I’m excited?
Seeing as how Tiny Dancer has his little statist leotard in a bunch over this iteration of the bill, I’d certainly agree that it’s something we can live with.
Illustrating Chicago’s Murders, Homicides, Violence and Idiocy at heyjackass.com
Just because Rahmbo doesn’t like it, doesn’t mean it’s good for us. There’s a lot to like, but the severe restrictions on where you can carry are what keep me from liking it. For those that are saying that we need to get this (anything) passed any way we can so we can get past the high threshold required to override home-rule, we’re going to have the same high threshold to make future amendments that can withstand a veto from Gov Jackass Quinn.
I completely agree with your assessment but as a native and life long Chicagoan, having all of our stupid and asinine rules, laws and ordinances thrown out is worth the restrictions at this point. Considering we have nothing now, I’ll take this as a first step and look to improve on it in the future.
Does this mean ALL Chicago ordinances will be thrown out if this passes? Will they be able to create new ones after it passes like what they did after 2010?
Yes, ALL Chicago ordinances will go out the window. State government gets the sole right to create gun laws.
For Illinois gun owners I hope this bill is the camels nose under the tent leading to better time for the People of the Gun.
That’s the hope. I never thought I’d be banking on the camel’s nose phenomenon to work for my benefit, but I also never thought I would hear Madigan give a speech on the floor of the Illinois General Assembly in support of a concealed carry law . . . and democracy. I about fell out of my chair.
Obama just made a speech about how much he believes in Freedom of the Press. I hope you were strapped down for that one :).
There is something to be said about making a stand against horrible gun laws where you live, and many people in Illinois have certainly done that. I wish the best for all of the responsible gun owners in the state of IL, and may you enjoy legal concealed carry soon.
Call me paranoid, but why is Madigan supporting this bill?
Her name is Lisa Madigan, and she would like to be Governor.
I am still looking for a catch, like the Senate stripping out preemption. The way it is right now, it seems almost too good to be true. Or does the tooth fairy really exist?
I fear that exact thing as well, but it’s too late to send a modified bill back to the House. And I doubt it would pass the House, even if there was time. It’s either this or constitutional carry subject to home rule jurisdictions attempting to set their own rules, and more than few would implement may issue systems.
for the win!!
Some others have mentioned that once this bill is passed, a simple majority vote is all that will be required to modify some of the provisions of conceal carry, thereby meaning let’s pass this now and fix it more later.
What worries me is that the sword cuts both ways…who’s to say the Chicago machine isn’t planning to do the same, and remove the State Preemption clause in the next 6-12 months? The rest of Illinois won’t really care, they’ll still have their carry provisions (possibly even better ones at that point).
Once this is through, new bills restricting our rights will only need a simple majority and Quinn will sign them in with a pat on the back from Mike M. and Rahmbo. Any bill to expand our rights will still need a super-majority to get past Quinn and then Lisa Madigan when she gets elected governor, all as Mike has planned.
I like our odds in court better. We should take the June 9 deadline and then concentrate our legal funds to beat down a Chicago or Aurora local ordinance to set precedence statewide. We may not have the votes to pass what we want, but we do have enough to still sink this compromise before it’s too late.
40% of the house/senate is Chicago based. they cant force anything by simple majority, but they can block super majority, ie home rule legislation. this is how most states started w concealed carry. give it 5 yrs. the Chicago voters will get behind it when they see crime start to drop in non-banned areas
This feels like a set up. & if it is who’s going to make it right? The courts 5 years later? Like you say, hit the courts now, Randy
Isn’t there a Federal court deadline they have to make or face constitutional carry state wide? If so, maybe Madigan is trying to salvage at least a little gun control with this bill.
@jwm … that is exactly the reason. Madigan said it himself, either pass this bill or their will be no cohesive law what-so-ever.
They won’t face constitutional carry; only the state’s ban will be null and void. At which point every single municipality will be free to come up with their own laws. Some would ban (Chicago) and some would be much less restrictive than the current proposition, so they’re nipping that in the bud.
Disclaimer: all the above is based on my educated guess.
Not every town. Home-rule only. You can find a list on the cyberdriveillinois site. I know we would be good in my county/city. It would be about 220 municipalities.
@ Lloyd:
Thanks for the info.
I have said this to others and I will say it again, if it makes it to law, this is a good first step and, frankly, a giant leap for a state like Illinois. Not only does it make concealed carry an option (lots of limitations tho), it is shall issue and includes state wide preemption. That last piece is huge for us that live near/in Chicago and cook county. It wipes out all the Chicago gun laws. No need for a special permit. The magazine limit goes away, assault rifle ban … gone! In a day when most laws seem to be going the other way, this would really be a big victory for gun owners in our state. We will not longer be beholden to the Chicago pols in the way we are tied to them now.
I predict this will pass as described in the post. It will get through the Senate, Quinn will veto it and they will over ride the veto.
This would make Illinois gun friendly, the preemption is huge. It’s a major win. The carry law will suck, but so did Ohio’s carry law, it was garbage when it was first created and it’s a lot better now.
The only benefit I see is for those in Crook County and Aurora. Those folks can now own Evil Black Rifles and standard capacity mags. We all get shall issue, but with severely restricted areas where we can exercise this right. If we just hit the June 9th deadline without a new law, then I’m fine with the people of Cook County/Chicago/Aurora getting the government they chose. If those entities come up with more ridiculous rules, vote with your feet. Either way, I stay out of Chicago and Crook County anyways.
Or . . . you could look at this as an opportunity to provide even further evidence that the draconian gun laws of Cook County and Chicago were pointless and even harmful and, therefore, advance our cause both within this State and Nationally. Btw, when the housing market crashed, the option of voting with our feet went out the window for a lot of us. But I thank you for your compassion.
Yes…they’ll see how the foolish firearm restrictions make them less safe, just like they’ve had that opportunity for how many years in comparison to the rest of the country? I’m not holding my breath. Crime is part of the political equation of Chicago/Crook County. If it was truly something the pols wanted to solve, it would have gotten done. There are built in constituencies with the “Reverends” and ward bosses that will maintain the status quo. To whit: $150 fee, no public transportation CCW, nor in parks or FP land, etc., etc. None of that affects me, but it goes right to the heart of who would benefit the most from this: the low income folks riding public transportation that are getting shot at going to work or trying to enjoy a day off at the park. I live in the far west suburbs, and frankly, we don’t have a high crime problem out here. This bill passing or not will not likely increase nor decrease my families safety. I’m just hoping we’ll finally be able to enjoy reciprocity with other states when traveling. It would be nice if it could meaningfully increase the safety of million or so residents of the state in the highest crime areas of the country. This bill manages to not do that.
SeanC, I dislike the same things that are in the bill that you dislike. And I don’t disagree with pretty much anything that you just said. But getting this bill and seeking to improve on it later, no matter the odds, is better than hoping a conversative federal appellate court — i.e., a court that does not like imposing its will on legislatures lightly — will impose a conceal carry law that is consistent with both of our ideals.
We ain’t done yet. What’s the chance there will actually be a law passed come June 9? Over the cliff we go.
This is Illinois. Even a baby step is one giant leap for mankind.
good deal
As a life long resident of Chicago this is a huge step forward for Illinois. It’s nowhere near ideal but a million miles from where I thought we were heading. And once the crime rates start plummeting it won’t be that hard to make the law better.
Quinn will prolly pull some BS and and veto it and try to introduce a gun ban again imho…
Madigan has told everyone that this is the bill and that it WILL pass. Do you think Quinn will man up or quail? I think he’ll fold. Rahm is a power–but so is Madigan. And Quinn has to deal with Madigan everyday, Rahm not so much.
Congratulations on the state law preemption, and a big step toward a better CC. On the CC map, we can now check off the last statutory “no issue” state. Despite the setbacks in a few states recently (which are unfortunate), we really have made incredible progress since the 80’s. If you haven’t, check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rtc2.gif
A bit of inspiration for us as we lick our wounds from the recent disarmarment push. The fight goes on.
NJ is effectively “no issue” for CCW.
We need some courts to slap around our politicians.
DC is still no-issue as well.
I’d like to see that GIF next to a similar one showing violent crime rates. Would be interesting to see the correlation, if any.
Well, i hope this works out good for Ill…..but no way do I think Rahm and Quinn are done..and I fully expect BHO to chime in with his 2 cents later this year, too.
As an Illinois resident… finally!
As an Illinois resident… are you f*$#ing kidding me?! $150 for an application? 16 hours of training? You can’t carry it 80% of the time because of the restricted locations.
I hope the Senate and Governor are dumb enough to block this bill so we can get Constitutional carry, or get the fees reduced and freedom to carry at 90% of the places we go to.
I am glad to see that they are covering terminology well with the fully or mostly covered firearm… this’ll prevent (hopefully) from some cops charging law abiding citizens with brandishing like they have in other cities/states.
Chicago up North and then the entire rational rest of Ill. Is there no rope, or tar/feathers, fence rails in downstate Ill? 150+ years of this BS and still not fed up with the Chicago mob?
Basically the powers that be said it was this bill or another may issue non preemption senate bill. They said point blank there would be no cliff. Our downstate support would vote for whatever bill to avoid the cliff, even a bad one. Parts of it suck, but it is an overall win for our state. Not a clean one, but a win none the less.
It’s a win for 2A supporters in IL for sure. I suspect the libs are eyeing that $150 per CCW and drooling at the gazillions that will generate…..still it’s ‘shall issue’….. It’s a real win. From all of us in Florida, congratulations.
Does this mean I can now have flights that connect through Chicago while carrying my guns without fear that I’ll be stuck in a hotel overnight and be subject to arrest?
You were already allowed to transport your firearms, unloaded, in a case. This won’t change that for better or worse.
NO. NO. NO. If you have to check into a hotel overnight and have your luggage with you without an Ill. permit or FOID, you WILL be arrested for a felony – and I will guarantee that the TSA at O’Hare will inform the Chicago cops that you have a gun in your luggage. The ONLY exception for out-of staters who do NOT have an Ill. permit is if they are transporting a gun in their LOCKED vehicle, and never remove the gun from the vehicle. Read the whole law before you rely on anyone’s interpretation – it is YOUR butt that will end up in jail if you make a mistake.
See my response below to JoshinNC
Which is why I don’t connect through Chicago or other Tarkin-esque states when flying with firearms. What if an equipment failure or snowstorm left you stranded? Too much potential for legal entanglements.
As an Illinois native who has been in love with firearms his entire life, I’m optimistic for the state’s future. I’ve lived in North Carolina for almost 17 years. I enjoy my open carry/shall issue residence, and cringe at the thought of returning home unarmed. Does anyone know if Illinois will be honoring out of state CCL’s?
Given that the bill already has a provision for non-resident permits, which is very expensive (source of income), and the fact that the training requirements are much higher than most other places, I’d say that’s pretty unlikely. There is no specific language honoring (or even mentioning) honoring other states’ permits.
Went to the on-line version, and this is what it says: “Nothing in this Act shall prohibit a non-resident from transporting a concealed firearm within his or her vehicle in Illinois, if the concealed firearm remains within his or her vehicle and the non-resident: (1) is not prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm under federal law; (2) is eligible to carry a firearm under the laws of his or her state or territory of residence; and (3) is not in possession of a license under this Act. If the non-resident leaves his or her vehicle unattended, he or she shall store the firearm within a locked vehicle or locked container within the vehicle in accordance with
subsection (b) of Section 65 of this Act.”
So it looks as if you can transport a firearm, you just can’t carry it anywhere outside your vehicle including the motel you stay overnight in.
So if you go to or through Illinois, don’t stop or stay overnight.
No way in hell the this passes with quinn and rahm all in the mix but its the best bill thus far i dnt see it getting any better just worse
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