Hang onto your hats, ladies and gentleman. Michael Madigan doesn’t just want $200 FOID cards. He wants an “Omnibus Gun Control Bill.” And you can surely bet that doesn’t include lessening the number of prohibited locations for CCW holders and providing better services over at the Illinois State Police’s Firearms Services Bureau.
The Center Square reports on Madigan’s new “Gun Task Force” with twelve Democrats (and only one pro-gunner) and twelve Republicans (to pretend that it’s “bipartisan”).
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has formed a task force on gun violence with a goal of presenting an omnibus bill that would overhaul the state’s gun laws.
Madigan created the House Firearm Public Awareness Task Force earlier this month to “review the issue of gun violence and make recommendations to reduce violence.”
Chicago Democrat La Shawn Ford will lead the 24-member bipartisan task force, which has 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans.
Yes, LaShawn Ford. The same LaShawn Ford indicted for bank fraud in 2012. Twenty felony counts. Somehow, two years later, he pleaded guilty to a single count of misdemeanor bank fraud.
He also ran a failed campaign for mayor of Chicago.
And now, he thinks that he can convince neighboring states to adopt Illinois gun control… because, supposedly guns from Indiana make their way to Illinois (an average of 8.6 years (2018 data) after they are sold in stores) to Chicago crime scenes. Allegedly. Or something.
And Ford blames the enactment of concealed carry with an increase in “gun violence” – which we really know means “gang violence.” Ford doesn’t like addressing the “gang” issue. Nevermind that gang members by and large don’t even have FOID cards, much less carry licenses.
One policy that could come under the task force’s crosshairs is the 2013 enactment of concealed carry laws. Ford said gun violence has increased since the law’s enactment.
“We have to examine if our concealed carry law needs some amending,” he said.
Ladies and Gents: If you haven’t already made plans to attend the mini-IGOLD on Tuesday, October 29th of the first Veto Session, you need to. Wear your gun apparel and show up Tuesday morning. Bring your friends, family, kids and grandkids. We need to press the flesh with House and Senate members, both friendly and not so friendly.
I see LaShawn Ford coming for Illinois’ concealed carry law to be little more than a distraction to pass gun and magazine bans, or other legislation on top of SB-1966, the $200 FOID card bill that ends private gun sales in Illinois.
Where can we get the names of the task force members so we can contact them?
ILL-annoy.
When will the politicians realize that Chicago has a gun problem, but the rest of the state doesn’t?
In 2016 there were 944 gun homicides in Illinois, 762 of those were in Chicago. .4% of the area of the state accounted for 81% of the gun homicides.
The Chicago gun murder rate is 28/100,000, the rest of the state has a gun murder rate of 1.8/100,000. Remove Chicago from Illinois and the state has the lowest firearm death rate in the country.
And a *vast* majority of those were gang related. By criminals.
But the Illinois Dems, especially those in Chicago, seem adamantly opposed to putting criminals in prison. Quite the opposite, they are working on “criminal justice reform” to lessen sentences, bail amounts, and to reduce sentences of those already incarcerated.
Meanwhile, they keep raising taxes on the productive members of society.
Is it any wonder Illinois is hemorrhaging residents?
Yes, John and hemorrhaging is only going to get even worse as the total number of people who are leaving Illinois is already up from last year.
Chicago doesn’t have a gun problem. Chicago has a criminal/gang problem.
You are correct, Dmann, it is NOT GUN violence, it is CRIMINAL VIOLENCE! One of my “pet peeves” is hearing the “media-idiots” saying GUN-violence, grrrr.
http://www.ilga.gov/house/committees/TaskForcemembers.asp?CommitteeID=House%20Firearm%20Public%20Awareness&GA=101
d-rat d-suckers will do & say anything
If this group is honest they will realize that guns are not the problem but this is Illinois and honesty is a word that not understood in Illinois politics