How Did Northbrook Legislators Vote on Conceal Carry?

By Darren McRoy, Stan Golovchuk and Steve Sadin

Illinois officially legalized private carrying of concealed guns on Tuesday as both houses of the legislature voted convincingly to override Gov. Pat Quinn's veto: the House by 77-31, and the Senate by 41-17.

State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, (D-Northbrook) voted against the override. The 9th District Senator, Daniel Biss (D-Evanston), also voted against the override.
The new legislation requires a background check and 16 hours of firearms training to purchase a $150 five-year concealed-carry license; as a "shall-issue" law, Illinois State Police must grant the license to anyone with those credentials.

As soon as the bill became law, state Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield), who was one of 17 senators to vote against the motion to override the veto, criticized her colleagues for allowing a law which allows people to carry a firearm while consuming alcohol.

“Alcohol and guns don’t mix. This is a tragic provision,” Morrison said. “The governor’s proposal had a lot of good in it,” she added referring to changes Quinn made which the legislature chose not to consider. Prohibiting possession of a gun while drinking was one of them.

Visit Deerfield Patch to read more about Morrison's response to the new law.

Illinois faced a Tuesday deadline to adopt a concealed-carry provision after a federal appeals court ruled in December 2012 that the state's ban on concealed-carry was unconstitutional.

A law was approved on June 1 by the state Senate, but Gov. Quinn refused to sign it July 2 without several amendments, including limiting carriers to a single firearm with a limited magazine and banning guns from any establishment serving alcohol.
The Illinois State Police now have 180 days to develop a concealed-carry licensing program, and 60 days to license instructors and training courses, the paper said.