Chicago and Cook County strengthened their assault weapons bans earlier this week, and at least another 12 Illinois communities are rushing to ban assault weapons by Friday's deadline.
The Chicago Tribune reports that a dozen or so municipalities are set to take 11th hour action, while 30 others consider rejecting the restriction. A new state law that makes it legal to carry concealed weapons in public set the stage for the illegal weapons ban. The legislation, according to the Tribune, included a provision that gave local governments 10 days from its passage to enact local weapons regulations.
The deadline on that was set when Gov. Pat Quinn's veto of the concealed carry law was overridden by the General Assembly last week.
This legislation, as expected, has been contentious. A challenge against Cook County's law is already pending. According to the state rifle association's tracking, most of the state's 1,200 municipalites have taken no action to ban assault weapons.
