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Illinois public playgrounds are gun-free zones. In theory. (courtesy news.wisc.edu)

TTAG reader Curtis P. Newport writes:

The ink is barely dry on the Illinois concealed carry law, which makes it a Class B misdemeanor (up to $150 fine & 6 months in jail) for carrying into any of the twenty or so “prohibited areas.” [Click here to read HB3669  in its current form.] A bill introduced by State Rep. Deborah Conroy would make carrying onto a prohibited area a felony. Slip up once, someone sees the gun print under your shirt and calls the cops. If convicted, you’ll never be able to own a firearm as long as you live. [Click here to read the bill.] Current prohibited areas include . . .

Schools
Preschools and daycare facilities
State government buildings
Local government buildings
Courthouses
Jails and juvenile detention facilities
Hospitals
Nursing homes
Public transportation facilities
Bars/taverns (50% gross receipts from alcohol)
Public gatherings/special events
Playgrounds
Parks
Athletic facilities
Colleges and universities (public or private)
Stadiums/arenas
Libraries
Airports
Amusement parks
Zoos
Museums
Nuclear energy facilities (federal law)
Post Offices (federal law)
Private property displaying a 4×6 “no guns” sign

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105 COMMENTS

  1. So here is the shopping list of locations for the next wack-job who wants to commit the next atrocity in Illinois:

    Schools
    Preschools and daycare facilities
    State government buildings
    Local government buildings
    Courthouses
    Jails and juvenile detention facilities
    Hospitals
    Nursing homes
    Public transportation facilities
    Bars/taverns (50% gross receipts from alcohol)
    Public gatherings/special events
    Playgrounds
    Parks
    Athletic facilities
    Colleges and universities (public or private)
    Stadiums/arenas
    Libraries
    Airports
    Amusement parks
    Zoos
    Museums
    Nuclear energy facilities (federal law)
    Post Offices (federal law)
    Private property displaying a 4×6 “no guns” sign

    These feel-good folks will just never get it.

    • Just List of target rich envionments, as far as I’m concerned. Dandy list of places to avoid as unsafe due to these laws. BTW, not crazy about Texas prohibited areas either.

    • Exactly.

      This battle will never end until we take the necessary steps at the national level to force the other side to stop limiting our freedom.

      I think this is one issue where there is actually a chance of a successful Constitutional amendment to ensure that we can carry where we want.

      • “I think this is one issue where there is actually a chance of a successful Constitutional amendment to ensure that we can carry where we want.”

        We already have such an amendment — the 2nd Amendment.

        The problem isn’t the amendment. The problem is getting politicians and bureaucrats to honor the amendment.

        • A great way to get them to do that is to pass another amendment clarifying the matter. Federal statutes pursuant to the new amendment would be good, too.

          Or we could keep banging our heads against the wall.

    • Many of these are places where children are likely to be present. It’s astounding that gun prohibitionists look at the harm that has been caused to children in gun-free zones and conclude that the solution is more gun-free zones. They still blame lawful concealed carriers for crimes that have nothing to do with lawful concealed carry. It just defies logic.

    • I wouldn’t worry too much about the nuclear energy power plants. They typically have a pretty well trained armed security force and high security entrances (probably better than Navy facilities if recent events are any indicator).

    • I’m willing to bet, that Public Transportation will end up in court real soon. It deprives the poor of their 2nd amendment right, and the right to self defense. Also, ” my boys need to pack heat for defense” ! : ) .

    • make sure that you read up on the state and local laws on this, we do still have restrictions on sprays, knives and stun guns.
      i wish i was kidding

      • The law is a bit fuzzy on the knife thing. From what I understand, you can carry a knife larger than 3.5″ as long as you carry it without ill intent.

        (a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use
        of weapons when he knowingly…(2) Carries or possesses
        with intent to use the same unlawfully against another, a
        dagger, dirk, billy, dangerous knife, razor, stiletto,
        broken bottle or other piece of glass.

    • You better check the law regarding the knife you carry. Some knives are prohibited as well. I forget the specifics but in CCW class there are places some knives are prohibited and illegal.

    • This is just what they do. When the court tells them they can’t have a law restricting X they pass a law that restricts (X-.00001) and the whole thing starts again. Here it puts the courts in an uncomfortable position as there have always been special areas where it is illegal to bring a gun; but here we have a great example of how that ‘special places’ idea can be used to mean everywhere except your house.

  2. Next step- make carrying a gun within 1000 ft of any of the above places illegal.

    BAM. Chicago becomes a no-carry zone again.

    • One of the few positive provisions of the Illinois law is the parking lot exemption. So you can pull into a prohibited parking lot, put your gun in the glove box or other container so it’s not visible, and you’re legal. The reality is that this is mostly a vehicle carry law, but at least it gives us a few options if we get stuck in traffic in an area where carjackings are common, or break down in a high crime neighborhood.

      • Right but if you’re a fitness buff like me and prefer to ride your bike or your horse to pick up your kid from school, or jog or walk you are SOL.

        • You pick up your kid on a horse from school? That’s Awesome!

          Now you just have to do the pony express pickup thing where your kid grabs your arm and you swing them up behind you at full gallop.

          I need to move out of the city.

        • Sorry, I should have specified the vehicle has to be locked or the “container” has to be locked.
          “concealed in a case within a locked vehicle or locked container out of plain view within the vehicle in the parking area.”
          Here’s the statute:
          http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3497&ChapterID=39

          You can also get out of the vehicle with the gun and put it in the trunk, but you have to unload the gun first. You would do this if you wanted to draw attention from loitering crooks looking to steal guns.

      • How would this work with lockable saddlebags on a Motorcycle? If I am discrete about it, can I un-holster and stuff my gun into a hard pannier?

        • It is my understanding if the gun is unloaded in a case locked on your vehicle is is allowed. My intent on the motorcycle is to be discreet and keep it out of sight even when locking it up. My opinion is concealed carry is best done in such a manner that no one knows you are carrying.

  3. The Illinois State Rifle Association currently lists on their web site five bills other than this one that have been introduced that would negatively affect Illinois CC licensees. Here’s their web site:
    http://isra.org/

    It’s hard for me to know whether any of this will get any traction or if the Chicago libs are just showing off for the folks in their districts. Our CC law was created under order of the Federal Courts and passed last year with fairly broad bipartisan support. The majority of legislators really don’t want to mess with it.

    • Curtis, what about efforts to peel back some of the restrictions by form downstate and/or ISRA? Heard about it coming, but then it sort of went away.

      The “prohibited list” is one area we compromised on with Chicago that I really don’t understand. We had them in a real take our final offer position and just gave it away.

      • No, we didn’t. The majority would have supported Madigan’s “may issue”. We did not have 100% leverage despite what people continue to claim.

        • Ah. If so then it makes sense. If that was the price of “shall issue” it’s a worthy trade. As time goes, it will probably be easier to get the list shortened then it will be for Chicago to make it longer.

          Speaking of which… Do you know anything about Rauner position?

      • Raul,
        I know there are legislators trying to improve the law with regard to the prohibited areas. My guess is they won’t get anywhere, either. Honestly I think the best thing to do is leave it alone until the hysteria dies down a little bit.

  4. Eff that! I will carry wherever the hell I feel like it. Well, except jails, I don’t think I’d even consider that.

  5. So basically you can carry on the street but your only destination can be a private residence, a nongovernmental facility, or your own home.

    • As a frequent visitor to and former resident of Chicago, I can tell you that one of the places where you can’t carry is one where you need it the most-CTA buses, trains, and stations.

    • From what I remember, it’s illegal to conceal a knife but if the clip is sticking out of your pocket, then you are good to go. Either way, I have carried a knife every day of my adult life (except when I lived in Japan where scissors get regulated)

  6. Who rides the bus?
    Who goes to parks and playgrounds with your kids.
    Alot of poor people.
    Good way to keep black peple from protecting themselves and with a felony, get them off to jail.
    Not a problem anyway because of the cost of a CCW in the first place, they can’t carry anywhere.

    • Good point. Sounds like this list would have a disparate impact on the poor and minorities. More back door discrimination and another end run around the Constitution by the Democrats. When does their lawlessness ever slow, never mind stop?

      • I’m glad you brought that up. The “disparate impact” argument favored by liberals refutes almost all of the liberals’ own policies. Non-liberals should be raising this point every chance they get (as you just did). It should be a key talking point.

      • Don’t forget the liberal delusion that they are keeping people safer by keeping guns out of their communities. They actually think they’re helping the poor by restricting their access to guns.

  7. After they rob you for the license fee and 16 hours of instruction, then they publish a list that prohibits almost everywhere! I am a 74 year old female. I own a handgun. I will not be mugged in a parking lot AFTER I get into my car. Any attempt will be in the lot. You stinking politicians with your bodyguards and money-hungry attitudes, need to be replaced. The Constitution states “shall not be infringed”. This is infringement of the worst kind.

  8. The camel’s nose can go under the tent from both sides.
    Getting CCW in Illinois was a long-difficult process that included a bunch of political sausage such as the list above. In the next session of their legislature, look for the downstaters to push for removal of many of these prohibited area and a general downgrading of the offense/punishment. They might start by getting some Second City representatives to agree to remove Public Transportation Facilities from the list.

    The situation now is better than it was prior to now. Look for it to get better.

    Everyone of those prohibited places is absolutely an infringement and should be immediately removed by the legislature, ignored by the sworn officers, and thrown out by the courts. It is not changing fast enough or far enough, but it is improving.

  9. I take my chances Gregg. When I get a ccl it will most likely be a tiny .380 or 9. I also don’t spend a lot of time in the city. I have an ax & a baseball bat in my truck too. Life’s rough and then you die. AND I’ve told many gun owners NOT to get too excited.

  10. Pro RKBA people should vote with their U Hauls and move out of slave states, leave them to the gangbangers and libtard Democrats. Lost causes.

  11. Yes, the current bill is too restrictive but I carry just about everywhere and still stay within the law. When you consider just how blue this state is, the law is better than most Democrat dominated states. Hopefully we can work to make it better. How bout next election all you complainers vote to oust the anti gun (mostly demos) from office.

  12. “Slip up once”, REALLY, “slip up”…??? If you “slip up” and carry in a prohibited area, you’ve proven yourself too irresponsible to carry at all…

    Responsible gun owners don’t “slip up”, they abide by the laws set forth…

        • Beautifully expressed.

          The Constitution is an example. Another is the Declaration. Another yet is the law of natural rights on which both the Declaration and the Constitution are based.

        • The supreme Law o the Land…

          United States Constitution Article VI
          All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
          This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
          The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
          Article VI of the Constitution makes federal law “the supreme law of the land,” notwithstanding the contrary law any state might have. In the important 1958 case of Cooper v Aaron, in which the Court considered the efforts of state authorities to block integration of Little Rock’s Central High School, the Court unanimously declared, “No state legislator or executive or judicial official can war against the Constitution without violating his undertaking to support it….If the legislatures of the several states may at will, annul the judgments of the courts of the United States and destroy the rights acquired under those judgments, the Constitution itself becomes a mockery.” Federal law, not state law, is “the supreme law of the land.” Despite the efforts of some states, even today, to “nullify” federal laws they disapprove of, few things in constitutional law are any clearer than the fact that any such efforts are grossly unconstitutional. What remains a much more difficult question under Article VI is when a state law or action, which is at least arguably consistent with federal law, in fact creates sufficient conflict so as to justify finding it “preempted.”

          Preemption

          The preemption doctrine derives from the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution which states that the “Constitution and the laws of the United States…shall be the supreme law of the land…anything in the constitutions or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” This means of course, that any federal law–even a regulation of a federal agency–trumps any conflicting state law.

      • “The Constitution is an example. Another is the Declaration. Another yet is the law of natural rights on which both the Declaration and the Constitution are based.”

        Really, you think the Constitution is the “supreme law”…???
        The Second Amendment to The Constitution of the United States, is just that, an Amendment, NOT a law of any kind…

        “Declaration” what…??? Declaration of Independence, not hardly, perhaps you should read the document to see what it actually contains…

        “law of natural rights”, what does that even mean…??? And where did you come up with that…???

        You really have no clue, do you…???

        • Look, WI Patriot, I’m not sure why you’ve reacted so angrily to my question about whether one should obey an unconstitutional state law. I’m not your enemy.

          More generally on the question of whether one should obey an unconstitutional law (or an unconstitutional Supreme Court decision, more specifically), I recommend reading Lincoln’s speech following the Dred Scott decision: http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/speech-on-the-dred-scott-decision/.

          If only we had today just one prominent GOP leader who was educated enough and willing enough to make the same point about our obligations under the Constitution! (Instead we have Boehner and McConnell and Priebus and Romney and McCain…)

        • Article VI of the Constitution states that the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land…

    • Dear Patriot,
      If you come to Illinois, watch carefully for those 4×6 inch signs on doors. They’re easy to miss if there are people around. By the way, the sign only needs to be on the front door, but if you go in the side door you’re just as guilty.

      All the same, I want to be welcoming to the tourism dollars that might come from our friends in America’s Dairyland.

      • My local Walgreens posts the 4 x 6 sign at the very bottom of the door, a couple of inches off the ground. Ridiculously easy to miss, but the statute does not have a height requirement for the posting.

      • Whenever I go somewhere, I ALWAYS scan the entrance area, not just the door for signs prohibiting weapons, whether concealed or openly carried, and if there should happen to be one of those signs, I just turn around and take my business elsewhere…

        WHY should I, or any other law abiding gun owner, continue to patronize businesses that would deny us of our rights…???
        WHY would I put myself in a position to commit a crime to support such businesses…???
        There are plenty of other business out there that either, welcome our business OR take a neutral stance…

    • Only if the grocery store, gas station and bank don’t have signs prohibiting guns. I haven’t personally seen any of those signs on private businesses yet, but I live in a fairly conservative area. The socialist meccas might be different.

  13. Really WI Patriot? What are you? A COP? Don’t forget to leave your gun at home when you mail a letter. Soon enough everyone’s going to be a felon anyway.

    • That’s just an ignorant reply…as far as mailing a letter, that can be done from many, many locations, and the Post Office being off limits, that’s Federal, and NOT a state level restriction…

      But please, continue to carry where you want, without regard, the sooner you and those like you are off the street, the better of ALL law abiding gun owners will be…

      • Actually, I’m surprised that the federal government hasn’t come after our guns in the home based on our supposed participation in “interstate commerce.” Did you call someone outside the state while home-carrying? Did you call your son on a college campus while home-carrying? Did you use the interwebs to email the nurse at your daughter’s elementary school?

        Yer goin’ to the big house, buddy, and we’re takin’ yer abused children, too.

        • Do you have idea as to what you’re talking about, or are you just spouting some rhetoric you heard on Alex Jones…

  14. Just like everywhere else…Conceal properly and nobody will know you are armed. Of course in Chicago folks will freak out for a little while anyway. “Officer! Officer! That man has a GUN!!!!”
    I am glad I don’t have to put up with that.

  15. I can’t believe that someone would believe that a good citizen wishing to protect themselves and families is being held in such contempt that they equate then the same as rapists and murderers – if not less.
    I met Conroy. She is a fool.
    I also can’t stress enough that requiring someone to un holster their weapon and abandon it is far more dangerous than allowing them to enter any of the restricted areas.

  16. Nagurski I’m sorry you ride the el. I lived in the city 30 years ago. Pretty awful then. I was mugged by 3 lowlife punks ( grabbed from behind). I slammed the fool into a wall and chased all 3 away. I was incredulous anyone would attack a 220pound weightlifter. I was a lot younger & mobile then. Keep carrying.

  17. Can’t get it there way, so what do they do, make it hard for people to actually conceal carry in public. Yet these are the people who say they respect the second amendment.

  18. ” State government buildings
    Local government buildings”

    Why is it that so many states prohibit carry in government buildings? Does not make any sense. If you are good to carry elsewhere, why prohibit inside “our” buildings? Another reason I love Texas. Can carry even inside the Capital building.

  19. What’s this crap about no CC in zoos! Are they worried that you may whip out your 454 Casull and blow away all the endangered species on the premises?
    What a crock!

  20. Ignorant? Do YOU UNDERSTAND a LOT of people think Wisconsin open carrying makes you look like a crazy gun nut? I’m NOT one of them but I get that point of view. Do YOU ever cheat on your taxes, exceed the speed limit, lie to a COP? No? Law abiding gun owners? Unlike Curtis I don’t CARE if you spenexd money in Illinois. YOU CAN’T CARRY in Illinois unless you pay the $300 juice fee, get BS training & jump through some hoops. I’ve never illegally carried a gun but I damn well am not going completely defenseless.

  21. Excuse me, let me just call up the tavern I was going to tonight and ask them for their fiduciary records and receipts for the last year to ascertain whether they made more or less than 50% on alcohol. I was just going to eat a sandwich but I don’t want my gun going off automatically if it’s 51%!

    • Those establishments meeting the 50% gross sales from alcohol provision are required to prohibit the carrying of firearms via the aforementioned 4×6 inch sign.

      I can’t say for sure if the customers are protected if the business fails to post the sign. But the business could loose their liquor license if they’re caught out of compliance.

  22. Reading this makes me glad to live in a state – Utah – where most people have common sense when it comes to guns. In the past year, I have legally carried in 17 of the 24 places on that list. I’m glad that many of my fellow citizens are packing in those places as well.

  23. I guess (430 ILCS 66/) Firearm Concealed Carry Act will also be known as the “Top 20 Places in IL to Shoot/Attack Someone With Minimal Risk of Being Shot At” list.

  24. I am confused about State Parks and National Parks. The top twenty list says “parks”. Without any definition of which parks. My understanding is many state and national parks allow open and concealed carry. I guess it will be like going into other states. You better check with someone at the gate and find out what they do and do not allow.

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