Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns transporting handguns in Illinois

I will soon be traveling through Illinois on vacation. I have my carry permit. I know that they have a handgun issue up there but im not from there and ill be darned if i leave it at home. All i can find on their state police website is some kind of FOID card that residents have to have. Does anyone know what the law actually says about traveling and having one in the car up there?

I am closely acquainted with a fellow on a local SWAT team. They passed through Chicago on their way to a SWAT competition.

He told me that Chicago is the only city in America where he, as a visiting police officer, could not carry a weapon.

I would not go within 100 miles of Chicago with a weapon in the car, and I sure as HE77 would not go there without one.

Case it unloaded in the trunk or an area immediately inaccessible to the driver.

I put mine in a case and stick it in the trunk right up against the back so if I need it quickly while driving, I can have my kid in the back seat reach through a hatch under the arm rest and grab it. As there's no prohibition on carrying ammo in my pocket, it's a quick load and we're in business.

There are other ways that involve breaking the law and relying on the inability of the police to have probably cause to discover it. This involves a lockable box that the police cannot open because neither it or the contents can be considered a cause of danger to the officer during a stop and therefore no subject to a search.

Dan

This should provide everything you need to know to survive your transit through this hell-hole.

Illinois Carry

Note that a big problem here is the uninformed LEO. By carrying a copy of the law and abiding by the state requirements, you should be able to pass OK. Lots of misinformation out there. Good luck.

That website only addresses residents of Illonois who have valid FOID. It does not address non residents traveling through the state.
From the research I did few months ago,as I had to travel through the state, there is no lawful way to transport a firearm through Illonios by a non resident.
I locked it up in a box I keep in the bed of the pick up.
coming back,I said the hell with it and kept it with me on the seat

It is BS that the LEOs cannot open a locked firearm box.If they say they have reasonable suspicion that the box cntains a bomb, explosive or bio hazard, they can open it

Saddlesore

They cannot legally open a locked box that is not positioned to suggest a danger to the officer stopping the vehicle. The whole reason behind "immediate area" searches of vehicles during a stop, is to identify and neutralize any danger to the officer. That's why they can search the immediate area of the driver and passengers, such as under the seats and in the glove compartment. If the glove compartment is locked, they cannot search it without a warrant and it poses no threat to the officer.

If it is a "firearms" box, then that in itself implies that there is a good possibility it contains a firearm. But, unless it's illegal to possess a firearm, then the possibility the box contains a firearm isn't a violation of a law. If the box is locked, it poses no immediate threat to the officer

Illinois does not restrict non-residents with regards to the FOID requirement. Out of state hunters can bring firearms into the state without undue restriction. Out of state participants in gun shows are not restricted from bringing guns into the state. Traveling on the interstate highway system is the same. Travellers cannot carry concealed, but they are not forbidden from legally transporting guns.

I did this for a living for 30 years. Please don't spread more misinformation.

Dan

Drove through Illinois three times in the last couple years.

My policy was "Gas up in St. Louie, don't stop till Terre Haute"

F'em.

Im sure calling their state police wouldnt do me any good either. guess ill have t figure something out

It's very simple. You cannot use your carry permit in Illinois. Your firearm must be locked in a lockable case if in the passenger compartment, unloaded, or in a firearms case locked in the trunk unloaded. Plain and simple.

If you stop for the night at a hotel, you take it in with you and load it up for the night.

Or, just cross the state as quickly as you can coz there's nothin here worth seeing anyway.

You don't need a FOID card.

Dan

Read the "safe passage" section.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm_Owners_Protection_Act

The only stipulation unique to Illinois residents is the requirement for a FOID card. Transport procedures are the same for all ... Unloaded, cased (locked not necessary for the law). I've lived here ten years and researched it extensively. That website captures court-tested law better than any other regarding this issue.

Or Evansville, in my case. down along I-64. The only thing I leave in Illinois, is my urine. If I can hold it longer, I'll whizz after crossing the state line. I used to stop in Mt. Vernon, for a break and to get a bite to eat. No longer. Now I only stop to relieve myself, I don't buy gas, food, or anyotherdamnthing in that state.

the foid card only applies to residents... all other laws are the same...

if you unload your guns, of any type, and keep them enclosed in a guncase, you will be legal anywhere in the state of illinois... you do not need to have the guncase locked in a separate compartment... you may carry an unloaded, cased firearm on the front seat beside you...

for a while, some states attorneys prosecuted for having ammunition in detachable mags, while in a vehicle... i have not heard of it lately but i would keep all mags unloaded in the car if i were unsure...
there was no law that barred such... various S.A.s simply decided to consider magazines to be "guns"... ergo, if the mag was loaded, you had a loaded "gun"...

avoid chicago, and the entire 5 county area around chicago....
Lake, Cook, Will, DuPage, and Kane....
as far as i know, there's only a few communities that have anti gun laws, but the area is like one big city... a good many of the police have chicago attitudes....

excepting medical treatment, i can't think of a reason to go to chicago... for anything.....

and, oh yeah...
most airguns are considered to be firearms by the state of illinois.....

I'd lock it up in the back of the vehicle and if stopped, I'd give no consent to search.

Illinois' gun laws are [bleep]. I was raised there.


Travis

A good resource: NrRA-ILA Guide to the Interstate Transportation of Firearms

Also: NRA-ILA State and Federal Firearms Laws