SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ Illinois legislation allowing public possession of
concealed guns has passed the House Judiciary Committee. It was a compromise
backed by Speaker Michael Madigan.
The measure was endorsed Thursday 13-3 and goes to the full House Friday. It
comes two weeks before a June 9 deadline set by a federal appeals court for
Illinois to abandon its prohibition on the public possession of weapons.
The legislation would require the Illinois State Police to issue concealed
carry permits to qualified gun owners. It’s patterned on a bill introduced by
gun-rights advocate Rep. Brandon Phelps, a southern Illinois Democrat.
But Madigan’s version significantly adds places that would be off limits to
guns. Those include mass transit _ a must for violence-weary Chicago Democrats.
