January 16, 2025
Legislative Update
On the ISRA website, we have a legislation page on which we track bills in the state legislature. We have updated that page to make it more concise and we have prioritized the bills as to the ones which are most likely to move. We are still tracking all bills, of course, but by the end of the session, we may follow 100 or 200 bills. This should make it easier for all of our members to keep up with the legislative activity in Springfield.
To view the ISRA Legislation Page, click HERE.
Litigation Update
ISRA AS PLAINTIFF
Meyer v. Raoul (18-20 yr CCL cases) (S.D. Ill.) – Summary judgment filings are filed and awaiting a ruling. A trial may be rescheduled if necessary depending on the outcome of the summary judgment motions. Hopefully recent favorable rulings on this issue in other courts will have a positive effect on the rulings in our case.
Miller v. Smith (foster care/home day care firearm prohibitions) (C.D. Ill.) – Discovery proceeding in District Court after reversal by Seventh Circuit for further briefing in light of Bruen standard.
ISRA SUPPORTING
Schoenthal v. Raoul (public transportation CCL case) (N.D. Ill.) – Judgment in Plaintiffs’ favor; currently on appeal in a briefing schedule. No hearing date scheduled.
Harrel v. Raoul (AWB/LCM case) (7th Cir.) – Judgment in Plaintiffs’ favor; currently on appeal in a briefing schedule. In the meantime, the District Court’s injunction has been stayed. No hearing date scheduled.
Atkinson v. Garland (federal felon restoration) (N.D.Ill.) – Awaiting ruling on Motion to Dismiss in District Court after remand by Seventh Circuit to interpret law in light of Bruen. Court may be waiting to see if SCOTUS takes similar issue case (Range) out of Third Circuit, which ruled in petitioner’s favor.
People v. Brown (in-home FOID card requirement for firearm possession) (White County) – Motion to Dismiss (third) pending in circuit court after remand by Fifth Appellate District. If it is granted, the case almost certainly will go back to the Illinois Supreme Court for a third time, where the Court will hopefully have to confront the issue presented.
Brunke v. Kelly (N.D. Ill.) – This is a clear and present danger case which involves a procedure of a FOID revocation. Initial status will be on 1-30-25. Discovery schedule to be set.
Win For Youth Open Carry
In a case known as Madison Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police, the Second Amendment Foundation has won a victory for young adults in Pennsylvania. An injunction, which forbids the state police from arresting law-abiding 18 – 20 year olds who openly carry firearms during a declared state of emergency, has been entered, as the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2 – 1 to remand the case back to the District Court.
This is the second time the Third Circuit has ruled in SAF’s favor in this case. The Third Circuit had determined that the recent ruling in United States v. Rahimi changed nothing about their analysis and once again ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The Circuit Court then ordered the District Court to enter an injunction in SAF’s favor.
In a statement following the judgement, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb noted – “There is no language in the Second Amendment that applies only to some age-exclusive subset of the people. We’re delighted the Third Circuit once again has ruled in our favor, and we will continue defending that position.”
In Illinois, we have a similar lawsuit pending, Meyer v. Raoul. Thanks to SAF’s hard work in this Pennsylvania case, their efforts will go far in aiding in our continuing litigation here in Illinois.
Cold Weather Coyotes
I will tell you, up front, that coyotes are not my favorite creatures. And, right now, while the weather is coldest, the coyotes are especially hungry. They are an invasive species that devastate deer, pheasants, water fowl and other wildlife populations.
Coyotes will also attack your pets! They are opportunistic hunters. Dogs, cats, chickens, and other young farm animals are fair game and easy pickings for them. And yes, they do run the streets of town when it gets quiet at night or the early morning. You might have even heard the pack baying at the outskirts of town at night after they have brought a kill back to their den.
I know several people who lost their pets to coyotes and it was devastating for them. Please be sure you are very careful about letting your pets outside. I would stand guard over them as they can be snatched up and gone in a second and you will never see them again.
Organizations like Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Delta Waterfowl and others have done a great job restoring habitat for native species. But, without predator control, wildlife species are always going to be on the ropes. One figure I saw recently stated that a coyote will kill between 12 and 20 whitetail fawns a year. That being said, if you are a deer hunter, I would certainly spend some time coyote hunting in the spring.
NOTICE to all ISRA Members
PLEASE CHECK YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARDS!
We have had tremendous problems with the mail in recent months, not being delivered. There are those that we have mailed Membership Renewal notices and they never received them. If your membership has expired or is close to expiring, please go online to our website, www.isra.org , or call the ISRA offices at 815-635-3198 to renew. Thank you!
Use Caution When Purchasing Ammo Online!
One should always use caution when shopping online, but the cyber-criminals have upped their game since December in targeting law-abiding gun owners. They have targeted the firearms industry with a new wave of legitimate-looking website clones of established, highly-regarded brand names, such as Remington, Federal Premium Ammunition, Hornady, Sierra Bullets and others. The cloned sites will have a slightly different URL than the official sites, such as “www.remington.shop” or “store.hornady.com”. They illegally duplicate and use official logos and site layout to confuse the viewer into giving up their private info.
These four companies, and others, have sent out alerts informing their customers of scammers who have created fake websites impersonating their brands. They are also warning of fraudulent Facebook advertisements for warehouse or special sales which send folks to these fake sites. In an attempt to remedy any headaches incurred from all this, Hornady, on December 30, announced it would be releasing a statement that could be presented to a bank or payment processor if a customer had fallen victim to one of these scams. But, as these often pop up as fast as they are shut down, it is best to always be leery of things that look “too good to be true”.
The official URL of Remington is www.remington.com , Federal is www.federalpremium.com , Hornady is www.hornady.com and Sierra Bullets is www.sierrabullets.com .
The above listed URLs are the only legitimate URLs for these companies. Please be vigilant when shopping online!
Read the article on these online scams HERE in NRA Shooting Illustrated online by Guy J. Sagi, January 2, 2025.
Henry 1000 Man Shoot Rifle Raffle
Help us fund our youth shooting programs by purchasing tickets for our Henry 1000-Man Shoot Silver Boy rifles! ISRA will be raffling off rifle #873 out of 1000, which comes in its original case, on March 31, 2025. Don’t miss this opportunity to not only win a beautiful and rare firearm but also to support and encourage our young marksmen!
If you prefer to call the office and purchase tickets, you may do so between 8am and 4pm, Monday through Friday. You can also mail a check to the ISRA at P.O.Box 637, Chatsworth, IL. 60921. Be sure to include a note stating it is for the Henry Rifle Raffle.
Ticket prices are 1 for $25, 5 for $100 and 15 for $250.
Purchase Tickets for the Henry 1000 HERE
The New ISRA Online Store
The ISRA Store is constantly being updated. We have new merchandise every week. If you have something particular you would like to see available, let us know – we would love to hear your ideas and appreciate your input! Email them to us at: member@isra.org
Visit the ISRA Online Store HERE
Education & Training @ ISRA Range, Bonfield, IL.
ISRA Academy is continuing to offer CCL renewals each month –
1/30/2025 (Thursday) 1:00pm – 4:00pm / Range 11 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
2/1/2025 (Saturday) 9:00am – 12:00pm / Range 11 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
2/20/2025 (Thursday) 1:00pm – 4:00pm / Range 11 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
CCL Class –
1/18/2025 (Saturday) 8:30am – 5:00pm / Range 11 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
1/19/2025 (Sunday) 8:30pm – 5:00pm / Range 11 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
Glock Armorer Course –
2/11/2025 (Tuesday) 8:00am – 5:00pm / Clubhouse – Register HERE
Glock Operator Course –
2/12/2025 (Wednesday) 8:00am – 5:00pm / Range 11 – Register HERE
2/13/2025 (Thursday) 8:00am – 5:00pm / Range 11 – Register HERE
Pistol Coaching Class / Level 1 –
3/22/2025 (Saturday) 8:30am – 4:30pm / Range 1 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
3/23/2025 (Sunday) 8:30am – 4:30pm / Range 1 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
Pistol Optics Principles with Brian Hill of “The Complete Combatant” –
4/12/2025 (Saturday) 9:00am – 6:00pm / Range 11 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
4/13/2025 (Sunday) 9:00am – 6:00pm / Range 11 & Clubhouse – Register HERE
*** Please contact academy@isra.org for any training or class questions and check the ISRA Range Calendar HERE for links to dates, times, descriptions of ISRA activities and events.
Important Announcement – IGOLD
The 2025 IGOLD date has been moved to May 14, 2025. This is due to a change in the legislative calendar. I am looking forward to seeing you there.
GET IN THE FIGHT, STAY IN THE FIGHT, JOIN THE ISRA
To Join the ISRA, Go To: https://isra.org/join-us/
January 16, 1942 – Actress Carole Lombard is killed in a plane crash at the end of a war bond tour. Lombard, who was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, had returned to her home state to raise money for World War II. Most of the trip had been traveled by train, but once she got to Las Vegas, she became impatient and decided to fly back to Los Angeles.
She and her mother bought tickets on a DC3 for the final leg of the trip. Because of the fear of Japanese bombers, the warning beacons aboard the plane had been turned off causing Lombard’s plane hit the side of a mountain. Everyone aboard was killed. Her husband, Clark Gable, was devastated. Later that year, he joined the Army Air Corps. He was stationed in the United Kingdom where he flew bombing missions over Europe. Clark Gable never got over the loss of his wife, Carole Lombard. Although he was married twice more, when he died, he was buried next to her in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
January 17, 1781 – The Battle of Cowpens – Cowpens, South Carolina. This battle is the one featured in the move “The Patriot”. The British had scorned American riflemen, but they were about to be taught a lesson.
Brigadier General Nathanael Greene had decided to divide the patriot forces in the Carolinas. The idea was to induce British General Cornwallis to fight in several battles spread out along the frontier. Brigadier General Daniel Morgan took 300 Continental riflemen and 740 militia with the intention of attacking the British forces. General Cornwallis dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and 1100 British troops to attack the colonial forces. As the movie showed, Morgan instructed the militia to scrimmage with the British. After two shots, they were to run back to the front lines where the riflemen waited. The American rifle fire decimated the British troops. Over 700 British were killed, wounded or captured. This battle became a turning point in the American Revolution.
January 18, 1803 – President Thomas Jefferson requested funding for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The request was for $2500 but the cost ended up being around $50,000. Along the way, Lewis and Clark added a young Lemhi Shoshone girl, by the name of Sacajawea, who served as an interpreter for the expedition. The expedition was a success and helped open up the western part of the United States. Sadly, Sacajawea died in 1812, after which William Clark adopted her children as his own.
While the gun show information shown in this email is believed to be accurate, sometimes changes occur. This is provided for informational purposes only.
If your club or organization is holding a gun show, event or class, let us know the details, and we’d be happy to post it in our Weekly Range Schedule.
Jan 18 – Jan 19, 2025 Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show, Kankakee Co. Fairgrounds, Kankakee, IL.
Jan 25 – Jan 26, 2025 Sauk Trail Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds, Princeton, IL.
Feb 1 – Feb 2, 2025 Bloomington Gun & Knife Show, Interstate Center, Bloomington, IL.
Feb 8 – Feb 9, 2025 Quad Cities Gun Show, QCCA Expo Center, Rock Island, IL.
Feb 9, 2025 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles, IL.
Feb 15 – Feb 16, 2025 Central Illinois Gun Collectors New Berlin Gun Show, Sangamon County Fairgrounds, New Berlin, IL.
Mar 1 – Mar 2, 2025 Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show, Kankakee Co. Fairgrounds, Kankakee, IL.
Mar 7 – Mar 8, 2025 Prairieland Frontiersman Show, Sullivan American Legion, Sullivan, IL.
Mar 9, 2025 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles, IL.
Mar 29 – Mar 30, 2025 Sauk Trail Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds, Princeton, IL.
April 13, 2025 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles, IL.
ISRA Grassroots Monthly Meetings
Come and meet fellow activists and learn the latest on protecting our Second Amendment Rights!
Northwest Suburban – 3rd Tues – Golden Corral, 1591 S. Randall Rd., Algonquin, IL; Doors open 6pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
South Suburban/Cook County – 2nd Thurs – Kenootz Pizza, 4659 147th St., Midlothian, IL; Doors open 6:30pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
Will County – 3rd Wed – Silver Dollar Restaurant, 422 E. Mississippi Ave., Elwood, IL; Doors open 6pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
Stand Strong &
Thank you for being a member!
If you are not an ISRA member, join today
Donate: https://isra.org/support-us/
Upcoming Meetings: https://isra.org/isra-activities-and-events/
Upcoming Range Events: https://isra.org/the-range/#range-calendar