Jeff, not quite. Bet you got that idea either from an IL State Police memo or a dealer who recieved one, but the law says NOTHING about where in the car the gun has to be located, nor does it mention ammo in any way. If you go to
http://www.gunssavelife.com you'll find the website of the Champaign County Rifle Association. They have printable versions of both the statute and the court decision used as precedent, a case called McDade vs. Illinois from 1997. Basically, the guy was caught with a Lorcin .380 cased and unloaded in his glove box, with the loaded magazine in a jacket pocket on the back seat. In throwing out the case, the appeals judge noted another case, Illinois vs. Bruner, where a woman was found not in violation of the statute in 1996. She was actually carrying her cased, unloaded gun IN HER PURSE, but the exemption in the statute is for a cased, unloaded gun and the possession of the FOID card. It says absolutely nothing about those other points.
(If you're interested, that site also has several very deceptive memos sent to gun dealers by the Illinois State Police, plus the CCRA's response putting Terry Gainer in his place.)
Personally, I now carry my Ruger .22 (I'll replace it with the Glock when the damn thing gets here) unloaded with the slide locked open in a hard case, and two loaded magazines in the glove compartment. I also carry a printout of the McDade decision (it handily includes the Bruner citation in the judge's opinion) and of the statute itself on the off chance that a cop who doesn't know the law will let me talk sense.
For the original question, don't speed on I-55, it's a drug corridor. Also, I'm not advising you to carry the way I do, just saying the courts have said it's legal. That does NOT guarantee that the cops will know that, and in fact most State cops in the Springfield area believe the gun and ammunition have to be in separate areas (i.e trunk and backseat) with neither accessible to the driver. I have no idea how they deal with trucks and SUVs.s
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Don
"Its not criminals that go into schools and shoot children"
--Ann Pearston, British Gun Control apologist and moron
[This message has been edited by Gwinnydapooh (edited January 17, 2000).]