In December, the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the State of Illinois' ban on carrying a weapon in public as unconstitutional. The court gave the state 180 days to pass a new law imposing "reasonable limitations." If the General Assembly does not pass legislation within this timeframe, the lower courts will be mandated to implement concealed carry in Illinois.
Speaker Madigan has put a new process in place this session in the form of the Weekly Order of Business where he has allowed members to add amendment after amendment to the court-mandated legislation concerning concealed carry. These amendments have been introduced without a public hearing that would typically occur in committee. The result of this approach is a bill that both supports and severally restricts concealed carry, essentially a bill destined to fail.
House Republicans continue to object to this process.
