The Illinois General Assembly approved by a 42-1 vote a bill that would prohibit the names of Firearm Owner's Identification Card owners to be released. If Gov. Quinn signs the bill into law, it would reverse a ruling by State Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who ordered the Illinois State Police to release the names of FOID owners under the Freedom of Information Act. more ›

To own a firearm in Illinois, you have to have a Firearm Owner's Identification Card (FOID). According to the Illinois State Police, "the FOID card is required for any resident of Illinois to possess or purchase firearms. During the FOID application process, the applicant’s identification and background information is checked. Individuals with prohibiting factors are disallowed from obtaining a FOID card." Last year the Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information Act requesting the names of all FOID card holders in the state, and their expiration dates. The state police, however, don't want to release the information. more ›

Chicago's gun buy back program is missing one key thing: the cash. more ›

It's that time of year again (and not a moment too soon): the Chicago Police are prepping for their annual gun buy-back on May 8. According to the Associated Press, "Police will give a prepaid credit card for each weapon that's turned in. They're giving $100 for each assault weapon, $75 for guns and $10 for BB guns, air guns and replica guns." An FAQ and complete list of locations can be found here [PDF]. Skepticism has always surrounded the buy-backs and their effect on reducing crime and if recent events are any indication, it's a big uphill battle to fight to begin with. more ›

Remember that map comparing bars versus grocery stores across the United States? Well, the folks at FloatingSheep are back with a new one comparing pizza, guns, and strip clubs. The data is taken from Google Map references for particular addresses. The red means pizza, green means guns, and yellow means strip clubs. Not surprisingly, the Chicagoland area is dominated by pizza, though the further down-state you go, the more guns you find. As for strip clubs, while the hot spot is certainly Las Vegas, it seems there are a few places in the northwest quadrant of Illinois where boobs trump everything else. Road trip, anyone? [via Consumerist] more ›

An Antioch man - 24-year-old John Thomas - was arrested Wednesday after police raided his home he shares with his father. Police were then looking for drugs but they also found what amounted to a small army's arsenal: "two dozen guns, TNT, a detonator cord, blasting caps and a military-issue AT-4 anti-tank launcher and rocket," according to a Sun-Times report. Cocaine and marijuana were also found. So why was Thomas released to begin with? The S-T explains: more ›

The Illinois Sheriff's Association seems to be an unlikely supporter of what would be a controversial public law: the right to carry a concealed weapon. The group is taking a stand in favor of the Family and Personal Protection Act, introduced on January 20 by Democratic State Rep. John Bradley of Marion. HB 245, (can read the bill here), would permit citizens to carry concealed firearms if they have the proper training. "I believe to be successful the key to concealed carry is training," St. Clair County Sheriff Mearl Justus said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "If we allow concealed carry, we must make sure only the right people have the guns. This is best done by requiring training, proper identification, and a thorough background check — including a mental evaluation.... If this is done, our citizens will have the right to concealed carry, but those who can't pass a background check or cannot successfully complete a training program will not be legally able to obtain a permit." more ›

An off-duty Chicago police officer appears to have shot his two young children and then killed himself this morning. The 9-year-old boy is currently in critical condition, but the 7-year-old girl died from her injuries. (Earlier reports put the children at 6 and 8, then at 8 and 12, but the most current says 7 and 9.) [S-T, Trib]
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A Department of Revenue employee was shot and wounded this morning while booting a car on the 8400 block of South Dante Ave. It's not clear if the shooter was also the car owner. The city employee was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition. [WBBM]
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According to CBS 2's records, 123 people were shot and killed in Chicago between Memorial and Labor Day, and another 245 were shot and wounded. Over the same time period, 65 American soldiers were killed in Iraq. The most dangerous police district this summer was District 7, which includes Englewood and West Englewood, where gunfire killed 14 people and wounded 48. [CBS 2] more ›

A garbage collector discovered a handgun in an alley near where off-duty police officer Robert Soto and his companion Kathryn Romberg were killed. A ballistics investigation is underway to determine if the weapon was used in those or any other recent murders. more ›

The Sun-Times interviewed hundreds of first-through-eighth graders and found that "half of all fifth- through eighth-graders said their 'greatest fear' was gun- or shooting-related." According to the report, "nearly three-quarters" of fifth-through-eighth graders said they heard gun shots in their neighborhood, and nearly two-thirds of fifth-graders "specifically listed guns or a shooting as their biggest fear." more ›

While the city was preparing to buyback nearly 6,000 guns this weekend, some Chicago suburbs are repealing their handgun bans. Morton Grove, who was sued by the National Rifle Association along with Chicago, repealed its handgun ban, and Wilmette has followed suit as well. Daley, however, remained adamant that Chicago would not be next. “I don’t look at this lightly—that, ‘Oh, because the Supreme Court’s done it we’re just gonna dismiss it and all of a sudden people can arm themselves,'" he said. "Morton Grove can do anything that it wants." more ›

Mayor Daley announced that the city will try to repeat its successful gun buyback campaign this Saturday, with citizens bringing firearms into 25 participating churches between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in exchange for a $100 prepaid MasterCard. BB, replica, and air guns will also be accepted in exchange for $10 prepaid cards. But the programs effectiveness, which brought in a record 6,700 guns last year (Daley and Chief of Police Jody Weis hope to double that number this year), and the city's ability to finance it is being called into question this year. That's because corporate sponsors, who have increasingly been asked to finance a number of high-price Daley initiatives, aren't handing over the loot quick enough. more ›

Josue Torres's mother wants an apology from police superintendent Jody Weis--and she's is threatening to sue if she doesn't get one. Recall Weis blamed the 8-year-old's parents for the child being shot. more ›

An adorable monkey puppet who talks with a British accent tours Chicago and finds the Bean "quite filthy" up close? Amazing. more ›

The film Wanted starring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and a lot of guns opens tomorrow. If you recall from your wasted time navigating around closed streets, many scenes were shot in Chicago. The movie has been getting mixed reviews but we'll go for the Chicago shots, Jolie one-liners, and "full-on pornography when it comes to the bullet's-eye-view-effects shots," as Michael Phillips so gunporn-ly put it. more ›

Police Superintendent Jody Weis said yesterday that the parents of 8-year-old shooting victim Josue Torres Jr. are at fault. more ›

Other kids identified the thieves, who live a couple of blocks away. Some of Ulysses' buddies went and demanded the bikes back from the teens who allegedly stole them, friends and family said. more ›

At least eight men were killed in the city this weekend, and there have been five police-involved shootings since Wednesday, including one fatal one early Saturday morning. more ›

Keating approached the man outside, who first said he was a cop, then said he needed the gun for protection, and then said he also had a 12-gauge shotgun in his truck. Kucia has been charged with unlawful use of a weapon. [S-T, S-T] more ›

R Kelly's defense called private investigator Jack Palladino today, who said one of the prosecution's star witnesses once attempted to extort Kelly. [Trib] more ›

Woodstock's Kirk M. Locher was released form jail this morning after posting $750 bail. Locher was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after he fired shots in his home over the weekend, allegedly shooting and killing his yellow Labrador retriever. more ›

Erika Prince, 32, was shot and killed yesterday near 87th and Euclid. Prince was a special education teacher at Arthur Dixon elementary school, where she'd taught for the last six years, and she herself was an alumn. Her nine-year-old daughter is an honor student there, too. more ›

The Drew Peterson Saga took yet another turn into the surreal yesterday when D-Pete's attorney named a new key witness in his felony gun case: John Travolta. Yes, that John Travolta. more ›

Mayor Daley announced yesterday that he is behind Dick Mell's proposed ordinance to reopen gun registration in Chicago, creating a one-month amnesty for gun owners who forgot to re-register. The mayor says he's doing it for hunters with summer homes out of state, not the alderman. "A lot of people go back and forth to their summer homes ... A lot of people move their shotguns. A lot of 'em are bird hunters, gun collectors. ... They move 'em back from Wisconsin, Michigan, [other] parts of Illinois," the mayor told the Sun-Times. "It's one time [for] one month ... You want to have 'em register. There's nothing wrong with that ... People want to just register. A lot of 'em bring 'em back from hunting trips. So, why not?" more ›

More aldermanic shenanigans today: Dick Mell (33rd) is re-writing a law he accidentally broke. Apparently, Mell forgot to register his arsenal of guns last year, and when he realized he was going to lose his appeal, he decided to change the law. more ›

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has launched a new campaign specifically aimed at physicians, who have a higher suicide rate than people in other professions. [NYT] more ›

Today's long read: Chicagoist fave Alex Kotlowitz's captivating portrait of CeaseFire, the anti-gun violence organization whose founder, epidemiologist Gary Slutkin, believes violence should be treated like an infectious disease. more ›

That new Ernie Banks statue? It's missing an apostrophe. D'oh. "Lets" vs. "let's." [Trib] more ›