January 31, 2024
LITIGATION REPORT
The parties in the Schoenthal public transportation Illinois Concealed Carry License (CCL) case have filed the opening Summary Judgment briefs in the case, moving it towards its conclusion and presumably an eventual appeal (hopefully by the State).
Also, Judge McGlynn in our Harrel and related cases has ordered the parties to complete the discovery process and be ready for a trial in the coming months. An upcoming status hearing for February 2, 2024 will provide more information. At the same time, we will soon be petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear our challenge to the Seventh Circuit’s erroneous ruling in the case and the incorrect legal standard it set for evaluating the PICA law.
225,000 PRIORITY 911 CALLS GO UNANSWERED SO FAR IN 2023.
In Chicago, it seems to be business as usual. The stats are in for 2023 on 9-1-1 calls. Last year there were 225,000 priority one 9-1-1 calls that went unanswered because there were no police available. That is 52% of the priority one 9-1-1 calls. If you are in Chicago and you need the police in a life-threatening emergency, you have less than a 50% chance that the police will come. If the police do come, it may take a while.
For example, recently two female tourists were attacked and knocked to the ground by a group of 8 to 10 people in Chicago’s Loop. The women were robbed of their valuables and the criminals fled. The police arrived not so promptly, two hours later. In another example, on that same night, another tourist was attacked and robbed by 5 men. This time it took the police 3 hours to arrive.
You must realize that no one is going to protect you other than yourself. You are your own 1st responder. As an example of being your own 1st responder, a concealed carry holder had his vehicle stolen on a Saturday night and decided to go look for the vehicle himself, although he had reported it to the police. He found his vehicle at 8:50am on Sunday morning in a parking lot. When he approached his vehicle, several men inside the vehicle opened fire on him. The concealed carry holder was able to hit one of the criminals. The men in the vehicle fled the scene and wrecked the vehicle. Anyone who is qualified to get a concealed carry permit and does not at this time, is foolish.
ISRA President Doug Mayhall covers the highlights of ISRA advocacy work in 2023. From Weapons bans to Country Stars, it was a wild year in Illinois 2A advocacy. Join the fight at isra.org.
CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY HELPS REDUCE HOMICIDES.
A new report appearing online at the website of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), confirms that passage of so-called “constitutionally carry” did not have the dramatic negative effect predicted by anti-gunners who opposed the law, and actually helps reduce homicides in some states.
The report looked at other states and found similar results that had institued constitutional carry. Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio, all showed decreases in so-called “gun violence”
DEMOCRATS AIM TO SHUT DOWN SALE OF AMMO TO CIVILIANS.
In the wake of the New York Times hit piece on the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, Democrat congressmen and states attorney generals have called on the Biden administration to take action to disallow the sale of ammunition produced at the facility on the retail market. The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, makes civilian ammunition to help the facility maintain full staffing levels for national security purposes. Military ammunition cannot be sold to civilians.
Now every Republican AG in the country is firing back at the effort to curtail those ammo sales by sending a letter to the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention; calling out the “litany of errors”; and urging the administration to keep the current rules in place.
JOE BIDEN PROPOSES SAFE STORAGE RULES.
Biden is trying to implement his “safe storage” proposal as an executive order. Before I go any further, I believe all firearms should be stored safely, but “stored safely” depends on the person’s situation, and the particular situation they live in. This very thing happened in England many years ago, and has grown to the point where almost no-one can own a firearm in England. Because they’ve squeezed it so tight, it becomes impossible to own handguns.
A friend of mine, owns a single-barrel shotgun that he hunts ducks with, and every year his neighbors have to testify that he is a good, responsible person who can own this shotgun. He has to show the cops the shotgun and the safe that holds the shotgun.
The storage rules that Joe Biden is proposing come straight out of the playbook from Every Town and the Bloomberg campaign. This is a Trojan Horse. What it would actually do is provide a platform that could constantly be expanded until it crushes private ownership of firearms in the United States. Everyone should oppose a national bill that dictates what safe storage is for 330 million americans, who all have different situations.
ILLINOIS TO HOST DUAL CICADA EMERGENCE.
For the first time in 221 years, two different broods of Cicadas – 17-year brood XIII and the 13-year Brood XIX – will simultaneously emerge in Illinois and parts of the Midwest. The result will be billions of Cicadas emitting a noisy, high-pitched buzz, or mating song – roughly equivalent to a motorcycle or jackhammer. They are harmelss to humans, but the spectacle attracts some and repels others, leaving their carcasses covering the ground. I would get out your broom and dustpan!
Volunteering for the ISRA is the best way to make a difference. I know our cause is one you believe in, and one of the best ways to help that cause is to volunteer. Our greatest strength is in our numbers. Little gets done by one or two people acting alone. Coordinated volunteering amplifies the efforts of those banding together and makes volunteering more effective. A side benefit of volunteering gets you involved with like-minded people and builds strong relationships and new friends.
Volunteering for the ISRA provides a resource that money alone cannot buy: The people needed to get the job done to accomplish the goals we set out to achieve. Volunteering provides valuable services so the limited funds that we have available can be spent in the areas where needed.
Below is our volunteer form. There are a variety of essential areas that we need volunteers to fill. They are listed on the form. If you are able to volunteer, please fill out this form and return it to the ISRA office as soon as possible. You may email it to member@isra.org, fax to 815. 635.3723, or you can send it snail-mail to: P.O. Box 637, Chatsworth, IL 60921.
We will be accumulating these forms over the next few months, although we will be utilizing them as soon as we can. When activities are planned in your area that you are interested in, we will notify you prior to the event in plenty of time to prepare. This may not happen perfectly, but we will make every effort to make it happen.
Richard A. Pearson Mike Huber
Executive Director Assistant Executive Director
Click on the Picture to Download a Volunteer Application
Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day (IGOLD) will be on Thursday, April 18th this year. If your gun club, gun shop, hunting group and/or organization is thinking about bringing a bus to IGOLD with your members, NOW is the time to plan it.
If you are bringing a bus, please let us know by April 1st. The ISRA must pay for your bus parking in advance. Please notify the ISRA Office and speak with Shirley at 815.635.3198 Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4pm. You can also email Shirely at shirley@isra.org. Please put BUS NOTIFICATION in the subject line. We will update you on IGOLD as we get closer to the date.
FOR THE FIRST TIME WE WILL BE OFFERING SPONSORSHIPS FOR IGOLD. DETAILS WILL BE COMING NEXT WEEK.
February 2, 1847 – First Donner Party Member Dies. The first person, a woman of the Donner Party dies from starvation. The pioneers were trying to take a shortcut to save time getting to their destination in California but did not realize what they were getting into, when they attempted to travel through the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter.
The pioneers were mostly made up of farmers from Lily France, with little experience in winter wilderness mountain travel, and it was a huge mistake for them. The Donner Party had bought a guidebook that was supposed to show them the shortcut, but the book was erroneous.
With the early onset of a harsh winter, they were forced to set up camp near a small lake now known as Donner Lake, northwest of Lake Tahoe. Two people died, and the survivors had to turn to cannibalism to live through the winter. Before they were rescued, more than half the party died. The final number of deaths was 42.
February 2, 1887 – First Groundhog Day. The groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, becomes the official weathercaster for spring. The tradition began in Europe years ago when people would use a hedgehog behavior as a means of predicting weather. But since there is a severe shortage of hedgehogs in the United States, we use the groundhog, or “woodchuck” for this tradition.
On February 2 in 1887, the local Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania newspaper declared Punxsutawney Phil, the local weather forecasting groundhog, as the official weather forecaster for spring. Phil has not been that accurate, but neither have the weathercasters. I’m definitely going to put my money on Phil!
February 3, 1889 – Belle Starr Murdered in Oklahoma.
Belle Star, famous woman outlaw, known as the “Bandit Queen”, was murdered. She was cut down with two blasts from a shotgun from behind. No one ever knew who shot Bell Starr. Speculations were that it probably was a neighbor of hers she was feuding with.
Feb 3, 1944 – U.S. Troops Capture the Marshall Islands. One of the most famous of these was Kwajalein. This is the island the Japanese used to broadcast their secret codes from in the South Pacific. Their code was broken, and the battle of Midway was planned which devastated the Japanese Navy.
February 4, 1789 – George Washington Unanimously Elected first president of the United States by the Electoral College. John Adams of Massachusetts was elected as his vice president.
February 6, 1917 – U.S. Passenger Ship SS California Sunk. A Ger-man submarine torpedoes and sinks the United States passenger ship SS California. This act by Germany, as well as the “Zimmerman Tele-gram”, which called for the Mexican government to attack the United States in exchange for Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, prompting the United States to declare war on Germany, and escalating the U.S. entry into World War I.
Click here to view the entire calendar. All classes and events are open to the public & all range members, unless otherwise noted. here
We are glad to announce that we will have an M1 Maintenance Class scheduled for Saturday, March 23, 2024, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm at the ISRA Range in Bonfield, IL.
We have a highly qualified instructor, Larry Collinson, who has been with Springfield Armory for a long time. Mr. Collinson is an expert on the M1 Rifle. You will learn to take apart, clean, reassemble, and maintain your M1 Garand Rifle during this class. The class size is limited to 32 people. The cost is $65 (ISRA member) and $110 (non-member). Lunch will be provided. If you have special dietary needs, you will need to provide your own lunch. There will be no walk-ins allowed.
To register, contact the Office at 815.635.3198 and talk to Mel or Shirley. You can also e-mail them at mel.hitchens.isra@gmail.com or shirley@isra.org.
2-03 – Range Workday – 8:00-4:00
2-06 – Air Gun Practice & League – Range 12 (Indoor Range) – 5:00-8:00
2-07 – F-Class Indoor League – Clubhouse/Range 12 – 10:00-2:00
2-07 – Air Rifle Practice & League – Range 12; Clubhouse – 11:00-3:00
The ISRA Range is located at 1589 N 7000w Rd, Bonfield, IL 60913.
The ISRA Range offers great classes and leagues
for shooting enthusiasts!
Interested in joining a league?
Just show up 15 – 30 minutes early.
Range memberships are available.
A day at the ISRA Range is always a great day!
Thank you for being a member!
If you are not an ISRA member, join today
Donate: https://isra.org/support-us/
Visit: www.isra.org
Upcoming Meetings: https://isra.org/isra-activities-and-events/
Upcoming Range Events: https://isra.org/the-range/#range-calendar
While the gun show information shown in this email is believed to be correct – sometimes changes occur. This is provided for informational purposes only.
Feb 3 – 4 Bloomington Gun & Knife Show, Interstate Center, Bloomington
Feb 10 – 11 The Quad Cities Gun Show, QCCA Expo Center, Rock Island
Feb 11 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles
Feb 16 – 18 Tinley Park Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Show, Tinley Park Convention Center, Tinley Park
Feb 17 – 18 Central Illinois Gun Collectors, Sangamon Co Fairgrounds, New Berlin, www.cigca.net
Feb 24 – 25 Decatur Gun & Knife Show, Decatur Conference Center, Decatur
Mar 2 – 3 Belleville Gun & Knife Show, Belle-Clair Fairgrounds, Belleville
Mar 2 – 3 Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show, Kankakee Co. Fairgrounds, Kankakee
Mar 10 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles
Mar 16 – 17 Peoria Gun & Knife Show, Exposition Gardens, Peoria
Mar 23 – 24 Springfield Gun Show, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield
Mar 23 – 24 Sauk Trail Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds, Princeton