Carry in Chicago?

8

8t6gt

New member
I'm at work right now so I've done a little research but can't be looking on the computer all day.

I've read alot of conflicting things online which is also another reason I'm asking here. As far as I knew you were NOT allowed under any circumstances to carry in Chicago or even the state of IL. I ask because we are taking a trip to Chicago in a few months and I would like to be able to carry but obviously if its against the law then I will not. And it'll be just another time where a law abiding citizen cannot even legally protect himself from criminals in one of the worst city's.

I also hear there was a new bill going through IL in November that could possibly make it legal and we are going after November so maybe?

If anyone could shed some light on this without linking a lawyer language law writing it would be appreciated. Thanks guys.
 
^^^
Man, I couldn't have said it better.

I was in the Loop for a meeting last month and someone asked me if I came into Chicago for the nightlife/culture...etc because I live relatively close. I told him that I had many opportunities to attend various sporting events, cultural events, and charity events due to my position. However, I avoid Chicago like the plague and that I make it a point to not come into or through Chicago unless absolute required for business business.

He seem taken aback and asked whether I had formed that opinion as a result of something bad happening to me. I laughed and informed him that I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, am still a Sox fan but when I lived in Chicago I had my apartment burglarized into twice, cars broken into a half dozen times, and had to pull guns on bad guys on a couple of different occasions (oh, you pious ones - don't go there...)

I then told him that just because we're currently sitting in a high rise office building by Michigan Ave, it doesn't mean he won't get mugged on the way to his car or jack'd going home regardless of where he lived. The crap has migrated from Englewood, Humbolt, West Lake St, & Washington Park. Yeah...he didn't talk to me much the rest of the day.

The decent people of Chicago are victims waiting to be robbed, assaulted, raped, or murdered. The unfortunate part is that many of them don't acknowledge it or believe it. What the citizens of Chicago need is to fire each and/or toss in prison every crook in political office. BTW, most of the street cops are probably the only decent ones working the city. Some of them will tell you straight up - you're stupid if you don't have a gun and live in the City. The other old-timer's saying is "better to be judged by 12...etc."
 
You can't carry in Chicago unless you're a cop, an alderman, or a criminal.
 
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Wow thanks alot guys for the quick response. I'm glad I heard directly from people of IL. Its just another classic example of outlawing firearms thinking it will make them not fall into the wrong hands. But since when do criminals buy their firearms legally and obey laws like no concealed carry? Ill never understand how the liberals can honestly believe that, I'm pretty sure a 1st grader could comprehend that outlawing firearms only keeps them out of the hands of people that actually follow the laws....

It should be apparent enough that the city's with the highest murder rates such as NYC, Chicago and Washington DC have made handguns illegal to carry. It really cuts down the violence doesn't it? *sarcasm* it'll make it worse because criminals know that the chances of their victim being unarmed is close to 100% so there is nothing to deter them from trying.
 
So I'm also guessing that this makes it illegal to carry one in your car also? The law doesn't apply to only on your person?
 
8t6gt
So I'm also guessing that this makes it illegal to carry one in your car also? The law doesn't apply to only on your person?
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It depends on where you are. Technically, I believe it is legal to place an unloaded handgun in your center console and a loaded mag along side it. But, if you are in Chicago, forget it. Home rule laws preempt State Laws. I ain't a lawyer nor do I want to be one.
 
You can legally transport it in your car. In a case, unloaded and while not technically required, inaccessible would be recommended.

This can give you some more answers. Both in simple Q&A form and the text of the law.

edit: No center console by itself. Case is defined, as
“a container specifically designed for the purpose of housing a gun or bow and
arrow device which completely encloses such gun or bow and arrow device by being zipped, snapped,
buckled, tied, or otherwise fastened with no portion of the gun or bow and arrow device exposed.”
Click to expand...
 
the ONLY people that can legally carry a firearm in chicago and/or the state of illinois are the police and the politicians. :eek::confused: for everybody else its a BIG no no.:(
 
The link that Sigcurious provided is a RECOMENDATION and it's not an accurate reflection of the law.

The pamphlet "Illinois Gun Laws, Common Questions & Answers
Illinois Gun Statutes" states:

it is recommended that, in order to be in compliance with all statutes, all firearms be transported:

1. Unloaded and,
2. Enclosed in a case, and
3. By persons who have a valid FOID card.
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http://www.isp.state.il.us/docs/ptfire.pdf

The actual statute says:

does not apply to or affect transportation of weapons that meet one of the following conditions:

(i) are broken down in a non-functioning state; or
(ii) are not immediately accessible; or
(iii) are unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm carrying box, shipping box, or other container by a person who has been issued a currently valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card.
Click to expand...
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/072000050K24-1.htm

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled on 10/8/2009 Docket # 106367 that the Center Console of a vehicle was a case and a firearm could be carried in the closed Center Console.

People v. Holmes, Ill. Supreme Court, Docket # 109130, Opinion filed 4/7/11.

The defendant owner/driver of a motor vehicle, an Indiana resident who had been issued a carry license by his home state, was stopped by Chicago police officers for a traffic violation. Pursuant to a search, a 9 mm handgun was recovered from a backseat armrest of the car. The Court noted that “[t]he armrest separated the two back seats and contained a storage compartment that closed with a latch. The compartment could be folded up into the seat or left in a down position.

Illinois State Supreme Court found for the defendant in this case.
 
I grew up in Chicago. Yes, some people - good people - carried guns on occasion. The smart ones did nothing to attract police attention.

By way of background, my next door neighbor was a police officer, as was one of my uncles.

As far as I know, neither knew the other - and yet on separate occasions they told me that every year there were a number of fatal shootings in which the deceased a) was shot at very close - sometimes contact distance - range; b) was shot while facing the shooter; c) had a history of violent crime himself; d) was not mutilated, robbed, or otherwise disturbed by the shooter. (other than being shot.)

General consensus among police is that these were cases of muggers or rapists who experienced a catastrophic failure of the victim selection process. Unless someone came forward, these cases remained unsolved, as police didn't look for the shooter very hard . . .
 
I wouldn't chance it. I make it a point to avoid Chicago (and as a result Illinois till they get a CCW law in place and even then I'd avoid Chicago like the plague) if I'm going somewhere.

That often results in me making a long trip around Lake Michigan via the UP and down through the LP, cut across on the ferry from Manitowoc to Ludington or make the long loop down south of Illinois by way Iowa and Missouri. Sure that adds a lot of time, distance and expense to my trip but it keeps me out of an area that I may end up paying a much more expensive price were I to travel through and be stopped.

Since you have no choice but to go there your choice is your choice and you have to live with the consequences if anything should happen depending on what you choose to do.
 
Are Chicago's firearms laws unneccessarily and possibly unconstitutionally strict? Yes, and constructive discussion of such is encouraged.

Is the history of Chicago politics rife with colorful and questionable characters? Yes, but we don't do straight political discussion. Nor do we use silly invectives like "Chicagocrat" or "Commiefornia."

Do some otherwise law-abiding people break the law by carrying a firearm anyway? Perhaps, but we don't want to go into discussion on that, lest we imply condoning illegal behavior.

If you find a post was deleted, it was for good reason.
 
I would never illegally carry. I was asking if the law had been changed and what exactly the law was.

I guess I will just avoid the bad areas like I planned anyways. As long as your in a populated part of the tourist downtown area then in sure everything will be fine. Its when you straight straying into more dark areas that things more likely happen. I just don't like big city's and I normally carry when I go to Detroit. But obviously I cannot in Chicago unless I want to leave it unloaded in the console. And what good is an unloaded gun in a console? Not much good.
 
And what good is an unloaded gun in a console? Not much good.
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Oh, I dunno. A length of rope and an all-steel 1911 would make a pretty handy flail;)

(720 ILCS 5/33A‑1)
(1) "Armed with a dangerous weapon". A person is considered armed with a dangerous weapon for purposes of this Article, when he or she carries on or about his or her person or is otherwise armed with a Category I, Category II, or Category III weapon.
(2) A Category I weapon is a handgun, sawed‑off shotgun, sawed‑off rifle, any other firearm small enough to be concealed upon the person, semiautomatic firearm, or machine gun. A Category II weapon is any other rifle, shotgun, spring gun, other firearm, stun gun or taser as defined in paragraph (a) of Section 24‑1 of this Code, knife with a blade of at least 3 inches in length, dagger, dirk, switchblade knife, stiletto, axe, hatchet, or other deadly or dangerous weapon or instrument of like character. As used in this subsection (b) "semiautomatic firearm" means a repeating firearm that utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the next round and that requires a separate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge.
(3) A Category III weapon is a bludgeon, black‑jack, slungshot, sand‑bag, sand‑club, metal knuckles, billy, or other dangerous weapon of like character.
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So no guns, no ASPs, no saps, no Tasers, and no large or exotic knives

However, in my non-lawyer opinion there is nothing to stop you from carrying a knife, provided that the blade is less than 3" long. Nor any law against carrying a cane or walking stick. Pepper spray is also always an option.
 
Chicago - protects the crooks

Chicago and it's sister city Evanston have, IMO, ridiculous gun control laws. Right now only the criminals are protected as they know that most law abiding citizens aren't packing. Our son has been an avid "anti-gun nut" all of his life, thanks to my wife's dislike of firearms. He and his fiance live in a nice part of Evanston, IL, but a couple of months ago a Mexican gang moved into a new "territory" only some 3 blocks from where they live. Guess who became a convert to "personal protection"??? Yup, our son! My wife is still in shock...lol... Unfortunately, even to get a permit to buy a pistol to be legal takes 8-10 weeks. How about calling the cops? It takes them anywhere from "20 minutes to never" to answer a call - that is assuming that one has the time to make that all-important call. By that time a gang could have cleaned out a house and shot whomever they pleased. Fortunately my wife and I live in Texas. By the way - did I mention that since we passed the concealed weapon law down here that car jackings, home invasions, etc. have decreased :) Perhaps Cook County residents should look into what is happening elsewhere (and not NY City) and smarten up.
 
I generally go out of my way to go around Chicago and C(r)ook county, but I find this very interesting:

People v. Holmes, Ill. Supreme Court, Docket # 109130, Opinion filed 4/7/11.

The defendant owner/driver of a motor vehicle, an Indiana resident who had been issued a carry license by his home state, was stopped by Chicago police officers for a traffic violation. Pursuant to a search, a 9 mm handgun was recovered from a backseat armrest of the car. The Court noted that “[t]he armrest separated the two back seats and contained a storage compartment that closed with a latch. The compartment could be folded up into the seat or left in a down position.
Click to expand...

My car has just such a compartment. It is there for the mandatory (in Germany) Medical kit.

Now the question: Why did the cops seach his car at a a traffic stop?
 
Now the question: Why did the cops seach his car at a a traffic stop?
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Because he:
had been issued a carry license by his home state
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and, thinking he was covered under the FOPA safe passage provision, felt he had nothing to hide and (foolishly) consented to a search without warrant.

That was a guess, was I right?
 
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