The men and women of the Illinois State Police now find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. Unfortunately for them, the day is coming when they should choose wisely when it comes to enforcement of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) gun and magazine ban. “Choose wisely” aren’t GSL’s words, either. They’re from Second City Cop.
Governor JB Pritzker and his merry band of gun control jihadists passed the PICA gun and magazine ban last January. The Dems running the Illinois General Assembly took an insurance bill, gutted and replaced it with a gun and magazine ban known as PICA and then passed that into law in the middle of the night. The governor signed it a few hours later.
PICA is patently unconstitutional. It disarms the law-abiding. Meanwhile it does nothing to stop gang members from (illegally) wielding guns. Yep, the same gang members who drive much of the serious violent crime in Chicago and other cities across Illinois continue to brazenly ride around (illegally) brandishing (illegally) “possessed” and (illegally) carried firearms. Many of these gang member guns are equipped with (highly illegal) “switches” making them full auto. And they (illegally) carry them with magazines that PICA has banned for the good peeps. Here’s some young scholars driving just south of Chicago Mayor Big Brain Brandon Johnson’s home just days ago.
Hood Rich, Four Corner Hustlers (4CH) on 5800 West Madison, just south of @ChicagosMayor‘s Austin home.
Honors students driving to a SAT prep class. pic.twitter.com/SV7XqeBF7S
— Chicago Contrarian (@ChicagoContrar1) November 11, 2023
Instead of targeting gang members with guns, the Governor sends the State Police to target law-abiding FOID holders.
The governor will no doubt order the Illinois State Police (and other state agency LEOs including DNR Conservation Police, Secretary of State Police, University cops and plenty more) to rigidly enforce the PICA gun control law at some point soon. Most of these LEOs will forsake their oath to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States, just as the pols who voted for this measure did.
Let’s face the brutally honest truth: it’s a lot easier to arrest someone than to risk one’s job, pension and benefits to do the right thing.
Those highly trained state cops will use their verbal judo on you, as though you’re an idiot criminal.
They’ll tell you that if you play nicely with them they will be “as lenient as possible” with you as they’re putting you in cuffs, writing that report, taking your gun(s) and ultimately wrecking your life (and potentially livelihood as well) with a felony conviction. Welcome to “felon” status.
Gentle readers, I remind you that a “lenient felony” is still a felony.
And if local prosecutors won’t run with the case, then look for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to appoint a special prosecutor to handle it. This issue is a high enough priority to Pritzker and Kwame.
Breaking up is hard to do…
At the same time there’s one demographic that, at least until now, has shown itself generally very pro-police. Pro-police to the point of risking personal injury or death to come to the aid of cops in trouble in a meaningful way. Like this instance involving a Trooper on I-55 near Chenoa from a couple of summers ago.
Yes, it’s a single incident, but it’s one of many that happen each year. This is just one where we have nice, crisp video to pull some stills.
It’s a pretty safe bet that if ISP starts arresting FOID holders with unregistered guns, that goodwill will evaporate.
Breaking up is hard to do, as is ignoring decades of support of law-enforcement. But it can happen.
If ISP starts sending out “compliance details” to start making home visits to “bring gun owners into compliance” with the law, gun owner goodwill towards cops will evaporate. And if “enforcement” continues, the “bucket of goodwill” will be refilled with lots and lots of animus.
Eventually, those compliance details will pick the wrong person to run a compliance detail against. It’s going to result in dead gun owner(s).
And dead cops.
What’s more, this isn’t going to help ISP recruiting. The State’s cops are already have trouble (and then some) finding enough recruits to fill the seats at the training academy.
I got this email from a retired trooper from Central Illinois.
There was a time when an ISP cadet class averaged 50 cadets. Sure, there were some double classes of 100, but very few.
As one of the 50 cadets seated at the academy when I went through, we were told there were at least 50 applicants for each seat. Written and physical exams attracted hundreds and were held at university-sized venues.
Fast forward to today: I just got a text from a troop I know still on the job.
Nobody wants to be an ISP Trooper anymore.
Currently there is an academy class (new kids, no LEO experience) of 18 cadets!
There is a lateral transfer class (already LEOs with another agency) that started with 3 cadets and now is down to 2.
They are retiring 100-200 per year, and struggling to get 50 to replace them.
The problem is the Tier 2 pay/pension system they adopted. New retirement age is 55 to collect $$. Not 50 like the old Tier 1.
ISP starts troops out at 68K. Half of that for 6 months while a cadet in the academy.
$17 an hour to bust your ass at the academy? LOL. No wonder they can’t fill fifty seats. I remind you that the minimum wage in Chicago is $15.80/hour. Those that signed up for ISP must either have a very strong sense of duty and dedication to the department (maybe kids of troopers past) or they ain’t the sharpest tools in the drawer. (But at least they have diversity!)
Meanwhile many of the larger police departments are starting guys out closer to 85K, which puts them at or over 100K by year two or three. A current ISP troop will work 10 years to get to 100K. So what’s the incentive for a lateral transfer?
There is none.
Then if a trooper is involved in an incident where force is used, they are not allowed to view body cam footage until AFTER they write the initial report. WTF!!! After they view the footage they can write a supplement. Why?
August 18, 2023
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Police welcomed 15 new troopers today from Cadet Class
143 at a graduation ceremony at the Illinois State Police Academy in Springfield. The new
troopers will report to nine different Troops throughout the state on Sunday, August 20, 2023.
Cadet Class 143 marks the 15th cadet class graduation under Governor JB Pritzker. The total
number of ISP troopers added since 2019 now stands at 483.“I couldn’t be prouder to congratulate Cadet Class 143 on their graduation from the Illinois State
Police Academy today,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We’ve added 483 ISP troopers since I first
took office in 2019—and I have no doubt that this Lateral Entry Training Program class of 15
experienced women and men will continue to protect and serve with dedication and honor.”
Compliance Problems
So the Washington Gun Law YouTube site has a great video up the other day. This Second Amendment lawyer seems well versed in all sorts of laws across the nation and this particular video is about Illinois and governor Porky’s attempts to get the guns:
Why do we bring this up? Because some asshole – politician or boss – is going to have a bright idea of going after some of these guns. You know, to make an example. Oh, they’ll be “careful” about it….some grandmother, probably snitched on by some libtarded relative who always started arguments at Thanksgiving dinner. Granny’s house will be raided, Granny will be led out, politely, to a waiting squad car. She’ll be taken to a police station, fingerprinted, spend overnight in a cell, see a judge, have her FOID card revoked, be released on no-bail (because Illinois is civilized that way) and she’ll get fined….maybe.
And then the authorities will be emboldened. And someone will pick the wrong house. You know police are exempt from most of this law, but some boss or politician will expect you to enforce it on your neighbors because a mentally ill trans person in Highland Park broke the law.
Choose wisely.
Emphasis added.
Who is Second City Cop? A Chicago cop runs the blog. I believe his father might have also been a Chicago cop too.
A safer road?
So, instead of acting as cannon fodder for a rogue governor bent on ignoring the Constitution when it comes to guns, maybe these Troopers should leave ISP. SCC is right: sooner or later, they’re going to raid the wrong house and people are going to get killed.
That’s not going to help public opinion towards cops, at least when it comes to people who may have previously been willing to risk injury to come to the aid of a cop in trouble.
I GUARANTEE that if ISP arrested one of my FOID holding friends over enforcement actions meant to bring FOID holders “into compliance” with PICA, my personal goodwill towards ISP will be pretty much gone. And if they killed said gun owner during the raid, every member of that department would suffer for it. At that point, if I saw a Trooper in trouble, instead of helping him or her, I might would probably stop to pull out my camera and shoot some video instead of assisting.
In our increasingly bifurcated society, the last thing police need to do is alienate those who have supported them through thick and thin. The criminals already distrust and dislike the police. Motorists are already weary of traffic tickets from them. If the good guys start feeling the same distrust and dislike, it’s going to be a lot scarier place for those guys and gals in “Smokey the Bear” campaign hats.
Maybe it’s time for younger Troopers to look for lateral transfer opportunities to local departments paying more with signing bonuses. And maybe it’s time for the older ones to consider retiring a little sooner than they initially planned.
Because right now, Gov. Pritzker looks pretty dead set on enforcing his latest gun control scheme. That’s not going to end well for gun owners. It’s not going to work out much better for the cops who carry out the Governor’s bidding.
As Second City Cop wrote, the cops ordered to make arrests should choose wisely.
I will back the blue no matter what. They don’t always have a choice on what they have to enforce. They have bills to pay like anyone else so we can’t blame them for charging us with felonies or knocking down the doors of our homes and killing dogs or anyone else as they see fit. Us gun owners should know by now that the state government and relevant agencies don’t follow the constitution or laws themselves and we have to accept that’s just how it is. I can’t believe people come on this site and think THEY have some special right to have their constitutional rights accommodated all the time. Who do they think they are?? I would also like to think Jboch for continuing to demonize glock switches used by street thugs because it blames the gun. You see, that puts him in line with other IL based gun rights organization that compromise and give anti-gun lawmakers all the talking points they need. It should make us feel good that Chicago area lawmakers are using the language of gun owners while voting on bills. Look at Illinois Carry! They gave us red flag laws. I’m SURE they had our best interest in mind! Even the ISRA sits at the table and makes gun control better for us and gives anti-gun lawmakers all the excuses they need. Felonies aren’t so bad when you’re taking one for the team. We need more people in our state that do what they’re told and support the agencies they are told to. I back the blue. Do you? You should. They’ll be nice when they hunt you down and arrest you, check your bank records and such because they aren’t taking PICA seriously. Geez, I almost feel Canadian! Snooping online transactions? It’s their job! They’re just doing their job!
Thanks for supporting the blue. It’s pritzker that can go pound sand. Don’t blame the cops. They’re just doing their jobs! It’s someone else’s fault. Like the mean lefties.
THE ABOVE DRIVEL IS NOT MY POST, IS THAT YOU “IN-DEPEND-ANT” TODD-Y BOY? OR KEN, F U VERY MUCH A$$HOS!
At the time of the above first post, I have witnesses I was at GSL Rantoul meeting just getting ready to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and J. Boch acknowledged my presence with a “hello”; having seen the despicable way “ken” and the “Toaddy-boy” disparage others on this site, and the “Toad” has not posted recently, very good possibility it is one of them, my bet is the “Toad”. Is it you Todd? Prove me wrong.
WOW! John Boch is FINALLY seeing the light! Right on, bruvvah!!! Back the blue til it happens to you.
Allow me to start the disparagement now (HT: GSL1589–by the by, son, we know it wasn’t your post. It was literate and intelligible.).
The cops are the enemy. If you do not know it, they’ll escort you into the gas chambers with the others just so nice and politely. As they always have throughout history. That is, once they’ve disarmed you. When they’ve lost JohnBoch, they’ve lost mainstream America.
My bro, who is a certified genius, and in a right-thinking world, would be president-for-life, and who works in your defense at the Pentagon, has a theory. Well, two, actually, that are apt here: 1. “insert our family name here” rule of crowd control. Applicable to antifa, hamass and all like scum-of-the-earth. All you have to do is shoot the front row. The rest scatter like cockroaches; and 2. when the cops go door-to-door confiscating “our” guns (I put scare quotes around that cause all of mine were tragically lost in a fishing accident a while back), then “WE” go door-to-door at the cops’ homes. When they quickly figure out that they have no homes to go back to after they’ve engaged in a wonderfilled, wooly night of SS’ing, they will STOP BEING COPS. And remember what a wise fellow wrote once of the Jews. If, when the pogroms had started, they’d have fought back with stick, nail, cudgel, whatever weapons they could muster yes, MILLIONS of them would have died. BUT, MILLIONS OF THEM WOULD HAVE LIVED, instead of peacefully being escorted into the gas chambers and mass graves like sheep. Which will you do? Which will you be? OH, and, GOD BLESS Rooftop Koreans!
And GSL666 calls me “despicable” and “disparaging.” Son, mothereffer! My family FOUNDED THIS NATION. Where were you, still evolving from a SLUG? I’ve been here since the GET. And I will be here at the END. See you in the ditch, fodder.
P.S. Land O’Liink? Wasn’t that the nazi defense at nuremburg? I was just following orders? has it gained new significance in the century since?
Oh, and, in case you say “it can’t happen here.” IT IS HAPPENING HERE:
https://www.wnd.com/2023/11/think-going-die-film-gives-glimpse-horrors-oct-7-terror/
The ONLY REASON that many Jews died AGAIN is because their own GOVERNMENT disarmed them.
Imagine if some of the off-duty IDF soldiers had their duty weapons in their cars at the concert. Imagine if the moms and dads burned alive with their babies had, instead, the best modern sporting rifle made hanging on the wall, with many standard capacity magazines stuffed full o’ “go meet your God, hamass scum.”
Imagine. Cause you’ll be seeing it soon enough. There is only ONE REASON to disarm the law-abiding populace. ONE.
*wasn’t going to engage in any more “disparagement” tonight but I just happened to check today’s news at WND and saw that one. Have you seen the video they permitted the journalists to see. DO watch it.
kenny-boy
Anyone can say anything behind an anonymous keyboard, so your “bro” is a “certified genius”? ha, typical “ken” manure, IF true no intelligence “rubbed off” to you, or perhaps the rest of the genius DNA was flushed down the sewer while your daddy was having a bowel episode; you call me “son”, my next birth anniversary in a few weeks will be my entrance into my 7th decade, “daddy-ken”, so are you pushing your 9th decade? Is your “bro” the present “president wann-a-be” for life, joe Bite-me Biden? It would fit with your “humble bragging” about your family founding our great nation, was their name “Arnold”, as in Benedict?
Notice: ANYONE that “humble-brags” the way “kenny-boy, daddy-ken” does spreads more manure than the U of I cattle barns and swine barns combined do. When kenny-boy posts, the smell reeks throughout.
Damn, that’s powerful stuff. Well written. ISP *is* in a tough spot. And they should choose wisely. The gov should be targeting gang bangers. The fact he is not tells me he doesn’t mind gangsters killing people so long as it furthers his political agenda and career. He is evil.
And he is using his ISP to further his evil agenda. If they don’t want to be cannon fodder maybe they should go to work at another department.
At the same time, I wish we had less purse swinging in comments. GSL has some very valid points. Ken is cogent. But calling people names is not adding anything positive.
You are correct Sam,
my apologies for my participation in the “purse swinging” but when ken attacks me it gets my ire up, he has been a nemesis for many years and was banned for quite a while because he was going “over the top” with his manure piles, I am surprised he has been allowed back, for what its worth, but it is what it is, for now. He has a habit of “cloning” names and changing the “post names” he uses to make it seem that his posts are a “majority opinion” when not. And of course, he has to “brag/humble brag” because of his inflated opinion of himself, he really is pathetic, in my humble opinion.
kenny-boy
Anyone can say anything behind an anonymous keyboard, so your “bro” is a “certified genius”? ha, typical “ken” manure, IF true no intelligence “rubbed off” to you, or perhaps the rest of the genius DNA was flushed down the sewer while your daddy was having a bowel episode; you call me “son”, my next birth anniversary in a few weeks will be my entrance into my 7th decade, “daddy-ken”, so are you pushing your 9th decade? Is your “bro” the present “president wann-a-be” for life, joe Bite-me Biden? It would fit with your “humble bragging” about your family founding our great nation, was their name “Arnold”, as in Benedict?
Notice: ANYONE that “humble-brags” the way “kenny-boy, daddy-ken” does spreads more manure than the U of I cattle barns and swine barns combined do. When kenny-boy posts, the smell reeks throughout.
OOPS, sorry about the double post, don’t know how that happened, kenny-boy has me frustrated and my computer blanked out, had to hit “back button” and then it posted again, wasn’t intentional, but, stuff happens.
Anyone know who this person is I r l? Seems to me someone’s a tad unhinged, and maybe that new red flag law should be utilized. Is he a danger to himself and others?
ken, kenny-boy, daddy-kenny, no, really ken, who are you?
You are the one changing your post “name” just as you did several years ago that got you banned and you blathered on about J Boch’s “ban-hammer”; why don’t you just GO AWAY for several more years, you just spread contention, aggravation, and bull manure that rarely adds to constructive dialog, steering away from cordial exchange of pro-2A dialog that most people that post here are focused on.
John B. knows who posts by way of the email address they sign on with and he would know that you use different names with the url and email sign-on trail, just GO-AWAY, “ken” or whatever you are calling yourself on your next post.
Pro-2A dialog? Son, how many $$ have you given this year to support pro-2A litigation? How many lawsuits are you prosecuting presently against extremist governments? I’m working on ONE myself. It’s a doozy! It’ll impact positively on THOUSANDS of gun owners.
I only disagree with your infantile hero worship of the cops, and with good reason. Here’s another one.
At least no one was killed, but a good man was harassed by an ego-driven cop, and that cop was PROTECTED by all the other crooked ones.
I’m not changing my name. Sometimes it’s Ken, sometimes it’s “yes, really Ken,” sometimes it’s “no, really,,,,,,,,,Ken” and so on. But I’ve never impersonated another, as you’ve falsely claimed. And johnboch knows it. Also not “humble bragging” to inform that my family founded this nation when you question my very patriotism. I may not have fought in any wars yet myself, but I will certainly fight in the next – the very most important war to confront us.
By the by, John, why don’t you hop on my suggestion that we coordinate our “attempts at registration” for some time close to the deadline so we can crash the ISP website? Obviously we cannot be held criminally liable for anything when the very (and ONLY) mechanism the state has set up for “registration” fails. Let’s do it just to give those who are later prosecuted an “out” from the felony they’ll be charged with, eh?
Well “good on you”, kenny-boy. not a ken, daddy ken, yes a ken, or whatever you are calling/posting as in your next “screed/blather/manure pile”;
sooo, is your last name really “Arnold”, mr. benedict? as I said previously, “anyone can post anything from behind an anonymous keyboard” just because you post it does not mean it is truthful. I for one have doubts to your honesty. Don’t really care either, FWIW, are you really old enough to call me “son”, daddy ken? Are you really pushing 90 years? Your senility is showing like “biteme” Biden’s. You post you don’t “change your post name”, them give three examples of doing just that! What an idiot! Tou have proved many times that you are ANTI- law enforcement personnel, we get it YOU HATE COPS AND ANYONE WHO HAS THE LEAST BIT OF RESPECT FOR THEM. EXAMPLE AFTER EXAMPLE.
I have known and grew up respecting neighbors that were in law enforcement, are there “bad cops”? I am sure there are but… there are good cops as well and I have known a few. so KMA, kenny-boy!
kenny-boy, why do you suggest to John B. to push YOUR “wanna-have” agenda, you claim to be sooo pro-2A why don’t YOOU do the groundwork for what you want done about “registering” at the very last minutes to “crash the system”? After all, you can post with your many “names” and claim massive amounts of firearms to register, or just hack the system and crash it, when you suggest something like that, you want it accomplished, you “get it done”, after all, no one could do it to satisfy your “high standards” and you would just post your disappointment/disagreement/hatred as how no one could do it “right” according to your “standards”. YOU “GET IT DONE” kenny-boy!
I don’t have a website, a platform to do such a thing. John Boch does. that’s kind of the purpose of the whole gsL thing, daddy.
He can reach thousands of people in one posting, merely by suggesting. We all attempt to register at a certain time. We’ll crash the system.
ken, kenny-boy, not so much ken, mentally demented ken, not a mensa ken, YES,,,ken, mentally deficient…ken,
now you call ME daddy?,,, your senility is really pathetic, isn’t it, mr. b. arnold?
WTF? why don’t you just GO AWAY?
J. Boch has encouraged not to register firearms, WHY would he change and encourage all to now go and register their firearms?
kenny-boy, you have so many identities, you go ahead and “crash the system” all by yourself! You really are pathetic! GO …. AWAY!
confiscation/registration assholes should be safe if they stay away from real humans
keep your badge-dindu asses out