traveling to Chicago area question.

[Bracketbomber]

I will be traveling from Mich to the Chicago area soon. I have a Mich CCW and want to take the gun on the trip. My question is, can I take it in a locked box in the trunk? I will be going through Indiana and would put it in the trunk at the Ill border. Thanks in advance.

 

[Raider-3]

Best advice is contact the authority on this in Chicago via email. Lay out what u just described. My experience is they will link you to the laws on this topic and explain then out for you a bit. Then save the email on your phone or print it.
I traveled to Iowa this year and was contacted by a sheriff. I have a Colorado CCW, we do share reciprocity with Iowa. The deputy wasn't convinced. So I showed him a email from the office of the state manager of safety. That prompted him to contact his superiors and I was then sent on my way.

 

[CharonPDX]

By most interpretations (I am not a lawyer, consult a lawyer, etc, etc, etc,) if you are travelling through an area with restrictive gun laws, you're fine. But if you stop in that area, you can run in to trouble.

Generally, if you're travelling through a restrictive area, you lock everything in the trunk, weapons separate from ammunition, in individually-locked containers, and go straight through the restrictive area. The only stops you should make along the way are for gas and bathroom. (And you should consolidate those two into a single stop.)

 

[saferebel]

I can tell you from experience, if you are in the City limits of Chicago and are in possession of a handgun no matter where the gun is located or what shape it is in, you have committed a Class 3 Felony! Welcome to the most corrupt city in the country in the only state with no "Right to Carry" law!

 

[saferebel]

that is what the Illinois State Police told me when I called and asked them.

 

[Bracketbomber]

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just have to carry the old Louisville slugger along with me on this trip, you know, who knows when a Baseball game might break out.

 

[Ruger0626]

I live about 20 miles away from the Chicago border. Since the Supreme court overturn, you can, in fact bring your gun into city limits. I have a brochure from the Chicago PD about how to transport a firearm. Unlike most of the state, you can bring it in, but the firearm, as long as it is in a case, and ammunition is kept seperaretly, you can bring it in. As with any traffic stop, if you are stopped, inform the LEO. Whenever I drive into city limits, I always leave the magazine out (in the glove box) and my semi-auto with the action open. The more steps you take to make the firearm attainable and usable while driving, the better off you are.

 

[Ruger0626]

Oops! I meant un-attainable!

 

[Rayb]

Having lived in the suburbs of Chicago, and worked in the city my advise is DON'T GO!!!! :laugh:

 

[Bracketbomber]

I'm actually going to be in the St. Charles area but will travel through Chicago.

 

[MikeHRuger]

Having just moved to AZ from Il I can tell you that owning and transporting a firearm in IL (anywhere) is a huge pain. The advice of locking it separately from the ammunition in the trunk of your vehicle is good. IL is the only state in the US that has no provision for either open or concealed carry. There is also no reciprocity for other states' CCW permits. When I got back home to visit it's going to be a pain cause I'm so used to the Ruger being on my hip now. Best advice from a gun owner that used to live in IL, not far from Chicago. If you're going to travel into IL with it, lock it up, unloaded, separate from the ammo until you leave the state.

 

[NavyLCDR]

As with any traffic stop, if you are stopped, inform the LEO.

So let me get this straight. I am driving through Chicago with an unloaded handgun in a locked container and ammunition in a separate locked container, I am stopped for speeding, and you are advising me to tell the LEO about the unloaded handgun and ammunition in locked containers?!? ARE YOU CRAZY?!? Why in hell would I tell them about the unloaded gun and ammunition in locked containers and extend an invitation for the LEO to dish out all sorts of harrasment upon me and charge me with a felony which will cost me whole bunches of $$$$ and time to defend in court? REALLY?!!

 

[SmithKoWitz]

Stomping on our rights

Why in hell would I tell them about the unloaded gun and ammunition in locked containers and extend an invitation for the LEO to dish out all sorts of harrasment upon me and charge me with a felony which will cost me whole bunches of $$$$ and time to defend in court? REALLY?!!

I agree with you 100%. Do not open yourself up to further investigation, unless you feel the need to do so is necessary. The sad part of this whole situation is: By the Constitution and Civil Rights of this nation, we as citizens have the right to carry a weapon and the state of Illinois and the majority of states violate our rights. Done much research in this area while discussing "Our Rights" with friends, relatives and on-line.

Here's a report from the United States Senate 97th Congress:
"The conclusion is thus inescapable that the history, concept, and wording of the second amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as well as its interpretation by every major commentator and court in the first half century after its ratification, indicates that what is protected is an individual right of a private citizen to own and carry firearms in a peaceful manner."

 

[leadsender]

I was in Chicago three weeks ago. I carried my weapon but, it was packed for travel. The gun was unloaded, locked in its case and not readily available.

 

[bikerbill]

Just did this a month ago ... traveling from Texas, where I have a CHL, to WI, which honors my Texas plastic ... I disassembled the gun I was carrying at the IL state line, locked in a hard case in the trunk, ammo separate and also in the trunk ... you're traveling under federal law which allows you to pass through IL from a place where the gun is legal to a place where the gun is legal. You can't stop except for gas, lunch, whatever ... blv overnight stays are verboten too ... lock it up, do the speed limit and get in and out as fast as you can ...

 

[croute]

I'm from Michigan and have driven through Chicago hundreds of times. It's true that if you are traveling through a state that isn't your destination, that you may carry. However, Illinois does NOT allow it. You need to have the gun locked in your trunk or back of a hatchback and the ammunition must be separate. I usually carry until the first toll, get out and lock the gun in the trunk. Then carry again after exiting the state.

 

[Mark(IL/NM)]

State law: http://www.isp.state.il.us/docs/1-154.pdf
See also: http://www.isp.state.il.us/docs/ptfire.pdf

Chicago law (since Supreme Court): Link Removed

Follow these and legally you're good (but IANAL). Note that a stay of over 24 hours in the City of Chicago is regarded as no longer passing through; a shorter stay following all the rules in theory is safe. Some will tell you nothing is safe in IL, you'll have to be your own judge of that. Personally I follow the laws and expect the law to as well.

There are other IL towns with restrictive laws, most of which can be found at: Link Removed

Of course you are on your own to interpret!

Travel safely--

 

[ssiperko]

I'm actually going to be in the St. Charles area but will travel through Chicago.

Don't go through the city just take 80W to 355N and you bypass it.

Keep it in a secure (I prefer locked) case unloaded with the mag(s) seperate and you will be fine with "the law".

SS

 

[warcraftjs]

Here you go.

Link Removed

If a non-resident is coming to Illinois to hunt and would like to bring their firearm, how do they legally transport it?
Non- residents must be legally eligible to possess or acquire firearms and ammunition in their state of residence. It is recommended that, in order to be in compliance with all statutes, non-residents transport all firearms:
Unloaded, and
Enclosed in a case, and
Not immediately accessible or broken down in a nonfunctioning state.

Best to do is at border take firearm out of your holster, remove mag and remove loaded round from the chamber, Lock the firearm in a "container" (Can be a case, the shipping container, etc.) this "container" must zip up, or lock up someway that the firearm can't fall out. And it must be kept in the trunk of the vehicle. (or the farthest point in the vehicle from anyone.)

Is it legal to have ammunition in the case with the firearm?
Yes, so long as the firearm is unloaded and properly enclosed in a case.

I have a friend/relative who has a "conceal and carry" permit issued in the state in which they reside. Is the permit recognized in Illinois?
No. Non-residents are subject to Illinois law, restrictions, and penalties, and should be familiar with them if the non-resident plans to bring a firearm into the state of Illinois.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I'm from Michigan and have driven through Chicago hundreds of times. It's true that if you are traveling through a state that isn't your destination, that you may carry.

That is not true at all. "Carrying" a firearm depends entirely upon state law, whether you are just passing through that state or staying there as a destination. There is a very large difference between "carrying" a firearm and "transporting" a firearm.