Miss Demeanors
New member
This has been a week long ongoing decision. A bunch of us have been emailing George Ryan all week long stating that we NEED CCW's in IL. Here is the latest, at least it may be considered. PLEASE if you are in IL keep sending emails until its over, dont give up just yet. 
CONCEALED WEAPONS
By Rick Pearson
Tribune Political Writer
December 25, 1999
Shortly after Senate President James "Pate" Philip's
forces rejected Gov. George Ryan's compromise
anti-crime package a week ago, the governor warned
that his opponents were laying the groundwork for
legalizing concealed weapons in Illinois.
Making the illegal possession of a firearm a
misdemeanor instead of a felony would be "kind of a
precursor for concealed carry so everybody in the
country can walk around with a .45 stuck in their belt
under their coat," Ryan said.
The governor's opponents dismissed his remarks as
political hyperbole, an attempt to bolster his argument
that the unlawful use of weapons should be a felony
punishable by up to 3 years in prison. Philip wants the
crime to be a misdemeanor for some first-time
offenders, punishable by up to 364 days in jail.
But as the standoff between Philip and Ryan continues,
the issue of allowing the concealed possession of
firearms by private citizens has quietly emerged among
the Senate's 32-member Republican majority.
In discussions last week, opponents of gun control
argued that making the weapons offense a felony would
make it even more difficult to pass a concealed-carry
law later, according to several senators.
Philip, for his part, openly questioned why the offense
should be a felony when 31 other states allow citizens to
carry concealed firearms. And he and others noted that
Ryan is the state campaign chairman for Republican
presidential candidate George W. Bush who, as Texas
governor, signed into law a concealed-carry bill.
The current controversy revolves around the Safe
Neighborhoods Act, a comprehensive 1994 crime
package that was struck down on constitutional grounds
by the state Supreme Court on Dec. 2. Despite nine
days of negotiations and several roll calls, Ryan and
Philip have not been able to agree on the penalty for the
unlawful use of weapons, preventing the law from being
reinstituted.
Ryan has called the Senate back to Springfield on
Wednesday to try again to reach a compromise. He has
proposed keeping the gun offense a felony but allowing
the record to be expunged if first-time offenders
successfully complete probation.
The offense, which generally is applied to people
carrying concealed firearms, had been a misdemeanor
for years until the Safe Neighborhoods law made it a
felony. It reverted to a misdemeanor as a result of the
Supreme Court decision.
Some Ryan aides contend Philip has not been
negotiating in good faith in hopes of keeping the offense
a minor one and opening the door to negotiations about
new legislation allowing concealed carry.
Philip, a Wood Dale Republican, has been soliciting
advice from state Sen. Edward Petka (R-Plainfield), a
former Will County state's attorney and co-sponsor of
the last Senate attempt to legalize concealed carry for
qualified, trained citizens in May 1995. The bill failed to
pass the Senate by two votes.
"As they say in New Hampshire, `Live free or die,' "
Petka said during the 1995 roll call. "If we do not have
the ability to protect or defend those rights at any cost, I
submit to you we don't have any rights."
Ryan contends that the entire impasse "boils down to a
lesser penalty for unlawful use of a weapon and
eventually it will lead to concealed carry. I don't agree
with concealed carry, and I know not too many
law-enforcement officials do either," Ryan said.
"That's what's frustrating. They ought to introduce the bill
for concealed carry and vote it up or down," Ryan said.
Philip was unavailable for comment.
Advocates of concealed carry said the court's decision
and the legislative impasse may be a way to further their
cause.
"The recent Illinois Supreme Court action overturning
the Safe Neighborhoods Act was a boon for those who
need to provide for their own self-protection," said John
Birch, the president of Oak Brook-based Concealed
Carry Inc.
Birch has given Senate Republicans a proposal that
would make the weapons offense a felony but would
exempt from prosecution anyone who has completed an
existing 40-hour state training course and criminal
background checks.
"We understand that it's got to be a felony," Birch said
this week. "But we can't cast a wide net that entraps
everybody, like the small businessman afraid for his life
or the woman who is a victim of a spousal abuser."
Birch's proposal so far has not progressed in the Senate,
and many Republican senators acknowledge that
concealed carry is a politically volatile issue.
Yet several of the 12 Republican senators whom Ryan
has targeted in an attempt to sway their votes supported
Petka in his effort to legalize concealed firearms.
Ryan has targeted GOP Sens. Larry Bomke of
Springfield; Adeline Geo-Karis of Zion; Wendell Jones
of Palatine; Doris Karpiel of Carol Stream; Dick Klemm
of Crystal Lake; Chris Lauzen of Aurora; Robert
Madigan of Lincoln; John Maitland of Bloomington;
Patrick O'Malley of Palos Park; Steve Rauschenberger
of Elgin; Todd Sieben of Geneseo; and Dave Syverson
of Rockford.
Of those dozen, 10 served in the Senate in 1995 and
eight voted for concealed carry: Geo-Karis, Lauzen,
Madigan, Maitland, O'Malley, Rauschenberger, Sieben
and Syverson.
Karpiel and Klemm voted against it. Bomke and Jones
were not in the Senate at the time, but their
predecessors voted for concealed carry.
That may not bode well for Ryan's lobbying attempts.
Jones' predecessor in the Senate was Peter Fitzgerald,
now the state's junior U.S. senator. Fitzgerald has tried
to downplay his vote for concealed carry and has
moderated his stance on gun control in his first year in
the U.S. Senate.
------------------
My-website
We are as one as we all are the same fighting for one cause -Metallica
CONCEALED WEAPONS
By Rick Pearson
Tribune Political Writer
December 25, 1999
Shortly after Senate President James "Pate" Philip's
forces rejected Gov. George Ryan's compromise
anti-crime package a week ago, the governor warned
that his opponents were laying the groundwork for
legalizing concealed weapons in Illinois.
Making the illegal possession of a firearm a
misdemeanor instead of a felony would be "kind of a
precursor for concealed carry so everybody in the
country can walk around with a .45 stuck in their belt
under their coat," Ryan said.
The governor's opponents dismissed his remarks as
political hyperbole, an attempt to bolster his argument
that the unlawful use of weapons should be a felony
punishable by up to 3 years in prison. Philip wants the
crime to be a misdemeanor for some first-time
offenders, punishable by up to 364 days in jail.
But as the standoff between Philip and Ryan continues,
the issue of allowing the concealed possession of
firearms by private citizens has quietly emerged among
the Senate's 32-member Republican majority.
In discussions last week, opponents of gun control
argued that making the weapons offense a felony would
make it even more difficult to pass a concealed-carry
law later, according to several senators.
Philip, for his part, openly questioned why the offense
should be a felony when 31 other states allow citizens to
carry concealed firearms. And he and others noted that
Ryan is the state campaign chairman for Republican
presidential candidate George W. Bush who, as Texas
governor, signed into law a concealed-carry bill.
The current controversy revolves around the Safe
Neighborhoods Act, a comprehensive 1994 crime
package that was struck down on constitutional grounds
by the state Supreme Court on Dec. 2. Despite nine
days of negotiations and several roll calls, Ryan and
Philip have not been able to agree on the penalty for the
unlawful use of weapons, preventing the law from being
reinstituted.
Ryan has called the Senate back to Springfield on
Wednesday to try again to reach a compromise. He has
proposed keeping the gun offense a felony but allowing
the record to be expunged if first-time offenders
successfully complete probation.
The offense, which generally is applied to people
carrying concealed firearms, had been a misdemeanor
for years until the Safe Neighborhoods law made it a
felony. It reverted to a misdemeanor as a result of the
Supreme Court decision.
Some Ryan aides contend Philip has not been
negotiating in good faith in hopes of keeping the offense
a minor one and opening the door to negotiations about
new legislation allowing concealed carry.
Philip, a Wood Dale Republican, has been soliciting
advice from state Sen. Edward Petka (R-Plainfield), a
former Will County state's attorney and co-sponsor of
the last Senate attempt to legalize concealed carry for
qualified, trained citizens in May 1995. The bill failed to
pass the Senate by two votes.
"As they say in New Hampshire, `Live free or die,' "
Petka said during the 1995 roll call. "If we do not have
the ability to protect or defend those rights at any cost, I
submit to you we don't have any rights."
Ryan contends that the entire impasse "boils down to a
lesser penalty for unlawful use of a weapon and
eventually it will lead to concealed carry. I don't agree
with concealed carry, and I know not too many
law-enforcement officials do either," Ryan said.
"That's what's frustrating. They ought to introduce the bill
for concealed carry and vote it up or down," Ryan said.
Philip was unavailable for comment.
Advocates of concealed carry said the court's decision
and the legislative impasse may be a way to further their
cause.
"The recent Illinois Supreme Court action overturning
the Safe Neighborhoods Act was a boon for those who
need to provide for their own self-protection," said John
Birch, the president of Oak Brook-based Concealed
Carry Inc.
Birch has given Senate Republicans a proposal that
would make the weapons offense a felony but would
exempt from prosecution anyone who has completed an
existing 40-hour state training course and criminal
background checks.
"We understand that it's got to be a felony," Birch said
this week. "But we can't cast a wide net that entraps
everybody, like the small businessman afraid for his life
or the woman who is a victim of a spousal abuser."
Birch's proposal so far has not progressed in the Senate,
and many Republican senators acknowledge that
concealed carry is a politically volatile issue.
Yet several of the 12 Republican senators whom Ryan
has targeted in an attempt to sway their votes supported
Petka in his effort to legalize concealed firearms.
Ryan has targeted GOP Sens. Larry Bomke of
Springfield; Adeline Geo-Karis of Zion; Wendell Jones
of Palatine; Doris Karpiel of Carol Stream; Dick Klemm
of Crystal Lake; Chris Lauzen of Aurora; Robert
Madigan of Lincoln; John Maitland of Bloomington;
Patrick O'Malley of Palos Park; Steve Rauschenberger
of Elgin; Todd Sieben of Geneseo; and Dave Syverson
of Rockford.
Of those dozen, 10 served in the Senate in 1995 and
eight voted for concealed carry: Geo-Karis, Lauzen,
Madigan, Maitland, O'Malley, Rauschenberger, Sieben
and Syverson.
Karpiel and Klemm voted against it. Bomke and Jones
were not in the Senate at the time, but their
predecessors voted for concealed carry.
That may not bode well for Ryan's lobbying attempts.
Jones' predecessor in the Senate was Peter Fitzgerald,
now the state's junior U.S. senator. Fitzgerald has tried
to downplay his vote for concealed carry and has
moderated his stance on gun control in his first year in
the U.S. Senate.
------------------
My-website
We are as one as we all are the same fighting for one cause -Metallica