How To Get an Illinois Concealed Carry Permit (Illinois License to Carry)

August 4, 2013 by

Since the enactment of the Firearms Concealed Carry Act on July 9th, everyone is trying to find out exactly how to get an Illinois Concealed Carry Permit. First off, it will be an Illinois License to Carry, not a “CCW.”

Applications are not yet available, and unfortunately not expected very soon. The first order of business will be to ensure that you have the required 16 hours of training that will be required to apply.

The Illinois State Police has until September 9th to issue a directive as to who the instructors will be and what the course curriculum will be for the 2nd eight hours of training. The first eight hours of training will be satisfied in a number of ways:
1) If you are an honorably-discharged veteran, you are credited with the first 8 hours of training
2) It has been communicated that NRA certified courses, concealed carry permit courses for other states’ ccw permits, and hunter education safety courses will also be recognized as sufficient to satisfy the first eight hours (this should be official and posted on the Illinois State Police website by Sept. 9).

In addition to training requirements, you will obviously have to pass a background check and pay the $150 fee.

So what about this “second 8-hour training course?” It is required that this course be passed by ALL applicants, regardless of prior training. This course will teach all the applicable laws relevant to concealed carry. The class also includes a shooting qualification, which most anyone who is familiar with a handgun will have no trouble passing.

If you want live in the following areas and you want to get training for an Illinois concealed carry permit (Illinois License to Carry), then Illinois Gun Pros has a class for you:

Cook County
Berwyn, Blue Island, Burbank, Bridgeview, Calumet City, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Countryside, Des Plaines, Elgin , Elmhurst , Evanston, Harvey, Hickory Hills, Hometown, Markham, Northlake, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows

Kane County
Algonquin, Aurora, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Batavia, Big Rock, Burlington, Campton Hills, Carpentersville, East Dundee , Elburn, Elgin, Geneva, Gilberts, Hampshire, Hoffman Estates, Huntley, Kaneville, Lily Lake, Maple Park, Montgomery, North Aurora, Pingree Grove, St. Charles, Sleepy Hollow, South Elgin, Sugar Grove, Virgil, Wayne, West Dundee, Allens Corners, La Fox, Mooseheart, Plato, Starks, Wasco

DuPage County
Aurora, Batavia, Chicago, Darien, Elmhurst, Naperville, Oakbrook Terrace, St. Charles, Warrenville, West Chicago, Wheaton, Wood Dale, Addison, Bartlett, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Elk Grove Village, Glendale Heights, Glen Ellyn, Hanover Park, Hinsdale, Itasca, Lemont, Oak Brook, Roselle, Schaumburg, Swift, Villa Park, Wayne, Westmont, Willowbrook, Winfield, Woodridge

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How & When Can You Carry When You Have Your License?

July 24, 2013 by

Section 65 of the “Firearm Concealed Carry Act” (Public Act 98-63) lists quite a few places you CANNOT carry a concealed weapon, even with your license.
The good news is that our allies in Springfield got a “safe harbor” provision that allows you to drive into the parking lot of a prohibited area and still be legal as long as you keep your gun in your vehicle.  Without that provision, citizens could be committing a crime just pulling into a parking lot of a school, government building or hospital even if they never left their vehicle.
With your vehicle being your “safe harbor” you can keep your gun in your car, go and conduct whatever business you must do, and return to your car (and your gun) and go about your business.  If you want to lock the gun in the trunk, you must unload it before exiting the vehicle, and then you are legal if you are bringing it to the rear of the vehicle for storage.
Following is a list of all prohibited places.  Please note that you cannot carry in the parking lot, buildings, or property of these places. Some exceptions are noted below.

1) Elementary or secondary school, whether public or private
2) Pre-school or childcare facility
3) State buildings
4) Court buildings or buildings being used for a court proceeding
5) Local government building
6) Jail, prison, juvenile detention / correctional facility
7) Hospital, affiliate, mental health facility or nursing home, whether public or private
8) Train, bus or other public transportation funded in part / whole with public funds
9) Bars & any restaurant that serves alcohol which accounts for more than 50% of their sales
10) Permitted public gathering / event (pass-through exception)
11) Special Event Retailer’s Licensee location
12) Public playgrounds (No pass-through allowed)
13) Public parks (pass-through allowed if trail or bike path merely passes through, but is not totally within the public park)
14) Cook County Forest Preserves
15) College / University, whether public or private – ANY location
16) Off-track betting parlor, riverboat or gambling venue licensed by the State
17) Stadium, arena, or any collegiate or professional sporting event
18) Public library
19) Airport
20) Amusement park
21) Zoo or museum
22) Nuclear Regulatory Commission facility – you may NOT have a firearm anywhere on their property, even in your car.
23) Any place prohibited by federal law.

If you are on a bike path or hiking trail that passes through a park, you can carry concealed as long as you are just passing through.  Additionally, you are allowed to pass through a public gathering to get to your house or place of business.

Filed Under: Gun Safety

Illinois Concealed Carry Bill Passes with a Strong Majority

July 24, 2013 by

The July 8th deadline imposed by the 7th Circuit Court is fast approaching. The Illinois Concealed Carry bill that the legislature passed with strong majorities awaits the signature of Governor Quinn. We expect him to wait until the last day to sign it into law, begrudgingly.
Once the law is in place, the Illinois State Police will have 60 days to begin approving instructors and course curriculum for the 16 hour training requirement. The Illinois lobbyist for the NRA has said that there is a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Police to recognize NRA instructors and NRA courses to satisfy this requirement.

The law spells out that at least 8 hours of the 16 must be training on the new law, where you can and cannot carry, and a shooting qualification. This course curriculum is being created now by Pro-2nd Amendment experts and should be available for the Illinois State Police to certify well within the 60 day window.

Filed Under: Illinois Concealed Carry Law News
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