Illinois (Cook County) firearm owners, help me out

einsteinjon

einsteinjon

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Dec 22, 2008
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1,825
Hey guys,

I seem to remember seeing posts here and there about firearms in the Chicago and/or Illinois. For those of you who live in Cook County (but not necessarily Chicago), or if you have knowledge of Cook County/Illinois gun laws, PLEASE help me out.

Long story short, I am moving to the Cook County area in the next couple months because of a new job. I have tried researching the internet about Cook County gun laws to mixed information. I saw something about a 2006 Cook County Ordinance banning scores of firearm types, magazine capacities, etc., but I do not know if this ever passed...e.g. 10 round magazine limit, no pump shotguns are legal (wtf?), no handguns are legal without a chamber indicator (meaning no revolver is legal....again, wtf?).

I talked to the police dept. down there and they said I will have no problem with anything I own (9mm, .357 mag revolver, 12ga pump), but call me cynical.....

If anyone can give me an opinion, experience, web link, contact phone #, or anything else, that would be awesome!!!

Thanks guys. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
I used to live in Cook County (Evergreen Park.)

In IL, to buy or possess any firearms or ammo, you need something called an F.O.I.D. card.

If memory serves, it costs around $5 to submit the app yourself and the card is good for several years. Any gun shop will handle the photographing/paperwork for you for a small additional fee.

As far as any Cook County specific bans, sorry, no idea. There were no restrictions like you described when I lived there, but that was only up until 2006.

FWIW, there are several firearms laws that affect the city of Chicago, but NOT the suburbs that also happen to lie within Cook County. Also, there are several suburbs that have passed their own restrictions.
 
I live in Will county, 2 miles from the south end of Cook county. The FOID card is good for 5 years, and costs $5. As stated by Tony, most of the county does not have any special restrictions.
 
From Wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_the_United_States_(by_state)#Illinois):

Illinois

Illinois has some of the most restrictive firearm laws in the country.
To possess or purchase firearms or ammunition, Illinois residents must have a Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card, which is issued by the state police.[69] Generally an FOID will be granted unless the applicant has been convicted of a felony or an act of domestic violence, is the subject of an order of protection, has been convicted of assault or battery or been a patient in a mental institution within the last five years, or has been adjudicated as a mental defective.[70] There are additional requirements for applicants under the age of 21.[71]
There is no state preemption of firearm laws. Some municipalities, most notably Chicago, require that all firearms be registered with the local police department.[72] Chicago does not allow the registration of handguns, which has the effect of outlawing their possession, unless they were grandfathered in by being registered before April 16, 1982.[73][74] The Chicago suburb of Oak Park also has banned handguns,[75] and Highland Park bars handgun possession unless the resident has obtained a permit from the police.[76] The status of these various handgun bans has been uncertain since June 26, 2008, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.[77][78] In the months following the Heller decision, handgun bans were repealed in the suburbs of Wilmette,[79] Morton Grove,[80] Evanston,[81] and Winnetka,[82] but Chicago and Oak Park have fought in court to keep their current laws.[83][84][85][86] The Supreme Court has agreed to review the Chicago and Oak Park handgun bans in the case of McDonald v. Chicago.[87]
Cook County has banned assault weapons and magazines that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition.[88] Other municipalities have also enacted various firearm restrictions.[89] Lack of preemption makes it difficult to travel throughout Illinois with a firearm while being sure that no laws are being broken.
Illinois is one of two remaining states that have no provision for the concealed carry of firearms by citizens. (In compliance with the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, retired police officers who qualify annually under state guidelines are allowed to carry concealed.)[90] Open carry is also illegal, except when in unincorporated areas where carrying is not prohibited by county law, a fixed place of business with owner's permission, or in one's abode. When a firearm is being transported, it must be unloaded and enclosed in a case.[91]
When purchasing a handgun in Illinois, there is a 72 hour waiting period after the sale before the buyer can take possession. The waiting period for long guns is 24 hours.[91]
 
BushcraftBrainTrust said:
Another informative link:

http://isra.org/legislation/cook_county_awb.shtml
Click to expand...

This is the link I found and was referring to. The link on this page to the County Clerk's office is dead, so I thought maybe the ordinance was repealed or never passed. The officer with whom I talked said he knew nothing about it.

In talking to the officer from Cook County, he checked for me and said all of the specific guns I own are fine (including my 9mm which I told him has 16 round magazines). I saw the Wikipedia link, as well as the ISRA link regarding the magazine capacity restriction, so again, I didn't know what to think of it.

Thanks so much for the help guys. And if anyone else has more info and insight, I'd appreciate it.

rlarge10 said:
send your guns to me for proper disposal:D
Click to expand...

No such luck. :D:p
 
That sucks ass mangs. Sounds like Illinois is trying to compete with the People's Republic Of Kalifornia. :eek::barf::foot::yawn:

I'm glad I live in a free State. :) For now,,,
 
trukreltrog said:
That sucks ass mangs. Sounds like Illinois is trying to compete with the People's Republic Of Kalifornia. :eek::barf::foot::yawn:

I'm glad I live in a free State. :) For now,,,
Click to expand...

I could live with a smaller magazine size...not happy about it at all, but I could live with it. For what it's worth, Cook County (Kook Kounty??? :D) will be getting another voter who says NO to these crazy ordinance proposals. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
Stomper said:
I live in Will county, 2 miles from the south end of Cook county. The FOID card is good for 5 years, and costs $5. As stated by Tony, most of the county does not have any special restrictions.
Click to expand...

FYI the new FOID cards are good for 10 years.

:thumbup:
 
So if anyone was interested in knowing, this is what I found out........

Called a gun shop, who told me I should try the city/county attorney. I had no luck getting a hold of anyone.

Called the state police, and they told me to call the police department of the city I'd be moving to.

The city police dept. told me my address was an unincorporated part of the township (wtf?), so I should call the Cook County sheriff's office.

I called the sheriff's office and was bounced back and forth between two officers before one of them told me "maybe call back some other time, but you should really talk to the state police."

Called the state police again, told them this chain of calling, and was referred to Major Sergeant Barrera/Parrera (not quite sure of name and rank). Left a voicemail, which he returned. My main concern was dealing with magazine capacity limitations and types of firearms that may be illegal. He told me there are NO restrictions on magazine capacity in Illinois or Cook County. He also said that automatic weapons are illegal (of course), and that semi auto rifles may or may not be legal depending on type and my address. He told me gun shops would be able to tell me the intricacies of these semi auto rifle regulations.

Back to square one...called the same gun shop just for kicks. The employee said the same thing about magazine capacity restrictions - there are none. He said if I lived in an unincorporated portion of the township, Colt semi auto rifles are illegal, whereas Bushmaster (and a couple others I do not recall) are legal. Again, wtf?

Thanks for the input guys. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
lemme guess, the have 0 colts, and an entire wall of bushies.....


I feel for you man, it sucks when no one has any information
 
Stay under the radar. They don't look unless you are at the top of the list
 
RedbeAR15 said:
Stay under the radar. They don't look unless you are at the top of the list
Click to expand...

Wise words, wise words. Part of me wants them to look and see that I'm well within my rights as a citizen (insert smug grin on my face :D), hence my wanting to get informed. But that's probably the really stupid part of me.

blakem said:
lemme guess, the have 0 colts, and an entire wall of bushies.....

I feel for you man, it sucks when no one has any information
Click to expand...

Hahahahaha....that I don't know since I didn't stop in. But it wouldn't surprise me in the least. The guy on the phone said something about Colts being military issue guns, but he said it makes no sense because they're basically the same thing as Bushmasters, etc. I'll be sure to stop at a few shops before buying anything.:D
 
btw
received my FOID card a few days ago.
I sent for it about 2 1/2 weeks ago.
Cost was 10 dollars.
good for 10 years.
download the application here
http://www.isp.state.il.us/FOID/

you need to take a picture of yourself and send it in with a check
for the 10 bucks.
pretty easy.
 
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