Illinois House Votes to End Concealed-Carry Ban

A law that would end Illinois' status as the last state in the nation without concealed-carry provisions passed the House with enough votes to override a likely veto.

By an 85-30 vote, the Illinois House moved on Friday to approve a law allowing certified residents to carry concealed firearms, which would end Illinois' status as the only state in the nation to completely prohibit carrying guns in public. According to Reuters, the "shall-issue" law, supported by Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan, mandates that concealed-carry permits be issued to Firearm Owners Identification Card-holders who have completed 16 hours of training; it maintains the ban on firearms in many places, including government buildings, schools, stadiums and bars. "Criminals are cowards," Rep. Mike Bost, a southern Illinois Republican, told the Associated Press before the vote. "If they know there's an opportunity they're going to …

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Patch on Politics

Guns in Public Places: Where Do You Stand?

On Feb. 19 and Feb. 22, the state will stage public hearings to discuss a new concealed carry handgun law for Illinois.

Gun control hearings will convene before an Illinois House committee later this month, says Speaker Mike Madigan, and there will be much talk about a new concealed carry law. One hearing will take place in Chicago on Feb. 22, at the Michael A. Bilandic Building in Chicago. The other will be in Springfield on Feb. 19 at the Capitol. “In light of events in recent months in Illinois and in other parts of the country, it’s appropriate and necessary that we give a full vetting to proposed state legislation on this matter," reads a statement from Madigan. "These hearings will provide an opportunity for gun-safety advocates, gun-rights supporters and members of the law enforcement community to offer their views and argue their cases to …

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Madigan Seeks Full Appellate Court Review of Conceal Carry Ruling

No determination of when the 10-judge panel will decide whether to look at last year's decision.

Illinois' attorney general Lisa Madigan has asked the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to review a December ruling that overturned the state's ban on the concealed carry of handguns in public. The Chicago Tribune reports that the move is aimed at challenging the decision by a three-judge panel of the court, which ruled 2-1 that the state's longtime ban violated the Second Amendment. If the court accepts the petition, the case would be reviewed by all 10 appellate judges. If the court rejects the petition, Madigan would have to decide whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "In ruling that Illinois must allow individuals to carry ready-to-use firearms in public, the 7th Circuit Court’s decision goes beyond what the U.S. Supreme …

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Concealed Carry Bill Advancing in Springfield

Here is a roundup of some of the latest political news.

  A number of state representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of a bill that would legalize the concealed carry of firearms in Illinois, the last state in the nation where some form of carry, concealed or open, is not legal. House Bill 5745 would allow sheriffs in the state’s 102 counties to issue concealed-carry permits, the Illinois Statehouse News has reported. People wanting a permit would have to pay a $65 fee and complete firearms training. No one with a criminal record would be given a permit. To approve this bill would require 71 votes in the House, instead of a simple majority of 60 votes. Because lawmakers decided that a statewide concealed-carry law would pre-empt local laws, the bill would require three-fifths of the …

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