Conceal and carry shot down in Illinois (But Daley wants 5, count 'em, 5 armed guards)

Democratic Governor Pat Quinn and his comrade Chicago Mayor Richard Daley worked the phones, called in favors and leaned on their partisan troops in the legislature to kill a measure which would have allowed law-biding citizens in the ‘Land of Lincoln’ the right to conceal and carry firearms for their protection. Score another victory for the corrupt Chicago machine in their unholy quest to strip the citizens of Illinois of their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

--snip--

The Bloomington Pantagraph reports:

The measure, which traditionally pits rural downstate lawmakers against their counterparts from Cook County and Chicago, would have allowed Illinoisans age 21 or older to get concealed carry permits after completing a training course consisting of live-fire exercises and classroom instruction. It would be up to county sheriffs to issue the permits, which would cost $100.

People convicted of felony charges or some misdemeanor drug crimes would be barred from getting a permit as would anyone who has been a patient in a mental institution within the prior five years.
<…>

Nearly all state and local government buildings, including courthouses, jails, schools, libraries and airports would be barred. Colleges and universities also would be no-gun zones.

Concealed firearms wouldn’t be allowed at bars and taverns, child care facilities, casinos, amusement parks, stadiums, indoor sports arenas and businesses that don’t want guns on the premises.

--snip--

The usual anti-gun lobby talking points were spouted by the usual partisan pols seeking to justify their continued assault on the Second Amendment (and maintain their campaign contributions from the anti-gun lobby). Chicago Democrat Monique Davis claimed “it puts a lot of people in jeopardy.” Ms. Davis concern for the safety of criminals who currently are free to prey on the state’s unarmed citizens is touching. Fellow Chicago Democrat Will Burns said “It will not make our streets safer.” Apparently Mr. Burns forgot that prior to the SCOTUS decision to strike down Chicago’s hand-gun ban, the city had asked for National Guard units to be deployed to stem the bloody tide of criminal violence in the streets.

--snip--

In a supreme bit of irony, the Chicago Sun Times reports that the lame-duck mayor has requested five full time police bodyguards to be assigned for his (and his wife’s) personal safety.

Fraternal Order of Police President Mike Shields called the mayor’s request ill-timed when a two-year police hiring slowdown has left the Chicago Police Department more than 2,300 officers-a-day short of authorized strength, counting vacancies and officers on medical leave and limited duty.

“We have an extreme manpower shortage. The citizens of Chicago can feel that shortage. To ask for five bodyguards is ridiculously excessive,” Shields said.

Perhaps Mr. Daley and his wife should consider relocating to a less dangerous city in a state which has ‘conceal and carry’ laws on the books rather than further burden the Chicago Police Department and the city’s taxpayers.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/05/conceal_and_carry_shot_down_in.html

Edited to add link

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How can someone who has 5 armed body guards tell the people of Chicago that they can't have access to the only tools to protect themselves?

I dare say that their crime problem would drop rather rapidly.

Illinois, with no carry except for criminals and politicians (yes, i recognize the redundancy), is a perfect set up for a case on BEARING arms.

Daley's hypocrisy may cause the Supreme Court to rule that a state cannot ban public carry of firearms by sane, law-abiding folks, and that license free open carry is legal for qualified adults from sea to shining sea.

He deserves not one penny of tax-payer funds once he departs office.