Illinois Concealed Carry Laws Are Now A Year Old; Authorities Pleased So Far

Last January, the state of Illinois became the last state in the country to make concealed carry legal. Thousands applied and received their permits in the first few months, but many other people were unsure of what would happen now that people could legally carry firearms around with them.

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The deputy chief of the Champaign police, Joe Gallo, said “For us, it’s been a non-event.” Law enforcement from other areas of the state echoed similar statements.

Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh says that his department made one DUI arrest of a person who was legally carrying, and that the man was very cooperative.

As far as any problems, they have yet to encounter a single one.

“I think people were so concerned about it in the beginning, because there was a lot of media hype and speculation,” said Urbana Police Chief Patrick Connolly. “But quite honestly, we have often said the people who are law-abiding and take the time to go to class and register and understand the concept, hopefully, are going to be smart enough to handle the firearm appropriately. So, I don’t think this was something out of the ordinary.”

It looks like Illinois hasn’t turned into a wild west scenario that some feared. Hmm, interesting. We’d say we didn’t see that coming, but we would be lying.

Danville police Sgt. Josh Campbell agreed, saying “When you’re talking concealed-carry, it’s mostly your law-abiding citizens, who don’t cause problems anyway.”

Through mid-December, a total of 90,300 permits have been issued in the state since January.