Free Republic

Yesterday, we looked at Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's latest maneuvers intended to minimize Illinoisans' Constitutionally guaranteed, fundamental human right of the individual to keep and bear arms. Or perhaps that it is not her latest maneuver. As it turns out, she has also been busy lately trying to persuade the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to dismiss an 18-year-old woman's lawsuit over the state's refusal to issue her a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, required in Illinois for purchase or possession of guns and ammunition. From the Madison-St. Clair Record:

Many states, especially California and Illinois, have had severe pension underfunding problems for many years. However, new actuarial pension rules will finally force states to admit the problem. Thus, it should not be surprising that talk of "technical bankruptcy" and “service insolvency” is growing. Here are some pertinent ideas from California on the Brink: Pension Crisis About to Get Worse   Moody’s new credit standards for public pensions would nearly double the unfunded liabilities for state and local pension plans in California to $328.6 billion from $128.3 billion. California has the second lowest credit rating at Standard & Poor’s of all 50 states;...

100 million database set up to store extensive records on millions of public school students has stumbled badly since its launch this spring, with officials in several states backing away from the project amid protests from irate parents. The database, funded mostly by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is intended to track students from kindergarten through high school by storing myriad data points: test scores, learning disabilities, discipline records - even teacher assessments of a child's character. The idea is that consolidated records make it easier for teachers to use software that mines data to identify academic weaknesses. Games,...

Illinois --(Ammoland.com)- Cliff or no cliff- that is the question. Today we should see revised language for HB0183. As all of you know we have been working very hard for concealed carry for a very long time.For me it has been 27 years and for others like Jim Vinopal it has been twice that long. Today at some time we will see language for an amendment to HB0183. We will all have to read the bill and decide if we can support it or not or just remain neutral . For me 27 years of work will have to be decided...

As we reported last week, the Illinois legislature has been close to passing a "gay marriage" bill being pushed by a well-funded and well-organized high-pressure homosexual lobbying blitz. But it's been stalled thanks to a great coalition of pro-family and church groups, coordinated by the Illinois Family Association (IFI). The bill sailed through the state Senate in February but it's run into trouble getting through the House, thanks to the coalition's great efforts. The House leadership has indicated that it won't come up for a vote unless the homosexual lobby has enough votes to pass it. This is the last...

This Saturday, in Bloomington, Guns Save Life will be sponsoring an Appleseed shoot at Darnall’s GunWorks and Ranges. It’ll be a great time and you’ll recognize many of the faces there from Guns Save Life! It’s a great time AND there’s about a dozen slots remaining and it’s a family friend event, so sign up your entire family and come out and join us! What is Appleseed? History and Heritage Project Appleseed is an activity of The Revolutionary War Veterans Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to teaching every American our shared heritage and history as well as traditional rifle...

The Illinois General Assembly is playing a game of political chicken over concealed carry with only nine days to go before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals stay on their ruling ends. On one side you have the Illinois State House of Representatives which has passed a shall-issue concealed carry law with limitations but that does mandate state preemption on firearms laws. On the other side you have Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL), State Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D-IL), Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), and others of their gun prohibitionist ilk who want to preserve...

The Illinois Ag Dept. illegally seized privately owned bees from renowned naturalist, Terrence Ingram, without providing him with a search warrant and before the court hearing on the matter, reports Prairie Advocate News. Behind the obvious violations of his Constitutional rights is Monsanto. Ingram was researching Roundup’s effects on bees, which he’s raised for 58 years. “They ruined 15 years of my research,” he told Prairie Advocate, by stealing most of hisstock.

If right-to-carry concealed carry laws are deemed so dangerous by gun control proponents, letting anyone who is not a criminal carry a gun with no other regulations should be really bad, right? Well, on June 9th, if Illinois hasn't adopted a concealed handgun law by that point in time, it will be legal to carry a concealed handgun in Union county and probably effectively in the rest of the state. The problem for gun control advocates is the same as it is each time that states pass right-to-carry laws: they have made predictions about impending disaster that never occur. In...

30 days to go until Illinois gets unregulated carry! It’s not really Constitutional Carry, which four states enjoy and another (Arkansas) will have later this summer, because local home-rule government units can place restrictions (albeit, probably unconstitutional) and may try to make an arrest of an Illinois gun owner carrying concealed – or otherwise.Of course, if they choose to make an arrest based upon a local ordinance that regulates transportation or possession of a firearm that’s contrary to the Seventh Circuit’s Moore decision striking down the Illinois prohibition on carry outside the home as unconstitutional, they will be risking...

It’s not really Constitutional Carry, which four states enjoy and another (Arkansas) will have later this summer, because local home-rule government units can place restrictions (albeit, probably unconstitutional) and may try to make an arrest of an Illinois gun owner carrying concealed – or otherwise. Of course, if they choose to make an arrest based upon a local ordinance that regulates transportation or possession of a firearm that’s contrary to the Seventh Circuit’s Moore decision striking down the Illinois prohibition on carry outside the home as unconstitutional, they will be risking a 1983 lawsuit for damages. Section 1983 suits deal...

The Second Amendment Foundation has won a permanent injunction against the Warren County, Ill. Housing Authority’s ban on the possession of firearms by residents or guests.The case was filed more than a year ago in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Rock Island Division. Ronald G. Winbigler, a resident of Costello Terrace in Monmouth, is a physically disabled former police officer who wanted to keep a handgun in his residence for personal protection.SAF filed the lawsuit on his behalf, and they were represented by attorney David Sigale, who noted, “People do not lose their Second Amendment rights...

An 18-year-old Aurora man was arrested Friday night before he tried making his way to Syria to join a ‘jihadist militant’ group, federal authorities said. Abdella Ahmad Tounisi was taken into custody without incident late Friday at O’Hare Airport by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force as he attempted to board a flight destined for Istanbul, Turkey, according to the FBI’s Chicago office. Tounisi, a U.S. citizen, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel G. Martin Saturday for allegedly attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He appeared on Saturday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tounisi,...

Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take a case challenging New York state's extremely restrictive "may issue" system for designating whose lives are worthy of armed defense. From Fox News: The justices on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a strict New York law that makes it difficult for residents to get a license to carry a concealed handgun in public. The court did not comment in turning away an appeal from five state residents and the Second Amendment Foundation. Their lawsuit also drew support from the National Rifle Association and 20 states. Despite that lack of comment...

OAK PARK, IL, April 17, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dr. Cheryl Chastine hoped to remain anonymous after purchasing George Tiller's former abortion facility in Wichita, Kansas. This morning Eric Scheidler, Jill Stanek, and dozens of pro-life activists assured her quiet Chicago suburb learned about her latest work. “Dr. Chastine's patients have a right to know she has taken on such a significant role in the abortion industry,” say signs erected by the Pro-Life Action League outside her practice, Total Wellness Inc. in Oak Park, Illinois. “I had been hoping not to be mentioned by name,” Chastine told a member of Operation...

Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday that he wants the Illinois attorney general to appeal a federal court ruling that the state's last-in-the-nation concealed carry ban is unconstitutional, a move that would take it before the U.S. Supreme Court. But Attorney General Lisa Madigan said she prefers to wait and see whether lawmakers craft a new law this spring that would allow the concealed carry of weapons, as the federal appeals court ordered them to do.

Illinois gun owners have gotten the shaft for far too long. The Land of Lincoln has long been known as the last state where concealed carry is not allowed, and although that may soon change, it wouldn’t be surprising to see state legislators shuffling their feet. Even though the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals deemed the concealed carry ban unconstitutional, the Illinois House of Representatives continues to push anti-gun legislation. In fact, one bill proposing a ban on semi-automatic firearms was approved by the House just this week. On Wednesday, gun owners from across the state gathered in Springfield,...

Steel plant explosion with injuries

(Newser) – Looks like Jesse Jackson Jr. didn't exactly work out a sweetheart plea deal for himself. Prosecutors intend to recommend 46 to 57 months of prison time for the former congressman, along with a fine of between $10,000 and $100,000, Politico reports. As part of the deal, Jackson admits to having conspired with his wife to illegally spend $750,000 in campaign money on such vagaries as fur coats, airplane tickets, a $43,000 Rolex watch, celebrity memorabilia, booze, cigars, and even groceries. Jackson was formally charged today with felonies including conspiracy, reports the Chicago Tribune. His wife, former Chicago...

HIGHLAND • Debi Keeney says she was only trying to save her sister's life when she shot a man who had forced his way into her apartment. She says her sister, Donna Carlyle, 47, was gasping as the man demanded money and put Carlyle in a choke hold after breaking in early this morning. "All I could see was Donna's face going blue, like her life was being choked out of her," Keeney, 55, said in an interview this afternoon. The alleged intruder, 33, is being treated at a local hospital for multiple gunshot wounds and is listed in critical...