Potential move to IL - what happens to my collection?

[jmace57]

It is possible that I might be moving from Texas to IL in the next couple of years (long story) when I retire. I would not be moving to Chicago, but just North of there outside (barely) of Cook County.

I have a gun collection of about 80 or 90 items - mostly S&W revolvers, but also have an AR15, M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, Winchester 94, etc, and a dozen other semi-auto handguns.

So, is there anything I should be concerned with if this should come to pass? Do I have to get a FOID to keep the things I have?

Is trying to move/keep a gun collection like this do-able without too much hassle?

Thanks for your insights and comments.

Jim

 

[ljnowell]

Nothing happens to them. There is no statewide AWB in IL. No state mag restrictions. That's cook county and a few collar communities that had then in place before our CCW law preempted them. No new ones can be passed.

As long as you aren't in cook co, you are good. You can possess them in IL for a period of time before you get your FOID card, I don't remember the exact amount of time, you will need to go to the Illinois state police website and it's there.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

As you described your gear, not an issue at all. Once you establish a residence and update your DL, simply apply for the FOID. They will use your DL photo so do it first. FOID info is here: https://www.ispfsb.com/Public/FOID.aspx .

10 bucks for 10 years. The CCW permit is a bit more trouble and that info is also on the above ISP site--16 hr class and (easy) shooting course unless otherwise exempted--150 bucks for 5 years.

Contrary to horror stories, IL restrictions on normal title 1 non-NFA firearms are non-existent. No mag restrictions, no AW ban statewide (does exist in a few cities and chicago/cook co.--shouldn't touch you).

Some ammo, dragon's breath shotshell, bolo shotshell, and AP ammo are (pistol and rifle) are illegal. SS 109 5.56 green tip is exempt along with m2 AP "black tip" for the M-1 owing to an exemption in IL law that meshes with the 'sporting' classification of these rounds by ATF.

Some NFA is allowed with certain restrictions; SBR with membership in re-enactor group or C&R License is allowed with federal tax stamp. AOW and non-explosive destructive device (ie. m-79) could be done. NO silencers, machineguns or Short barrel shotgun is allowed.

That's it friend. The tide has really turned in Illinois for us gun nuts over the last few years. The Illinois State Rifle Association (isra.org) is a great org and fights the good fight along with other allied groups. They also keep a careful watch on state gun legislation.

 

[plodder]

If you are going to be north of Chicago anyway, you might as well move a couple miles further north & reside in WI, a free state.

All NFA is legal
No silly FOID card
No waiting period
Concealed carry (that you can actually use, as opposed to IL)
Deer hunt with rifle

I escaped IL years ago and it would take a ton of $ for me to consider moving back. I am nearing retirement and one of the states on my list of potential residences is TX. IL would rank between 40 and 50, but I presume you have family connections that dictate the move. That I can understand.

 

[rodinal220]

The Cook County AWB/Mag restriction only applies to un-incorporated Cook County or non-home rule communities.Its largely a farce,I do not know of any cases of it being used on legit folks,just some banger types that got extra special attention.

IL isn't as bad as some other states,it has the reputation due to Chicago.I would rather live in IL as a gun owner than say CA,NY or NJ.

24hrs on long gun and 72 hours on handguns.

Study the ISP firearms section:

http://www.isp.state.il.us/

 

[Edarnold]

There is currently a case in the courts that could change all this sunshine and roses for Illinois gun owners. Highland Park, a suburb North of Chicago, in Lake county, has their own AWB. This is a deep Blue Democratic stronghold. They are the last holdouts of a number of Chicago suburbs with strong gun bans: most of them gave up when challenged.in the courts. If the courts decide that the Highland Park restrictions can stand as 'reasonable' 'public safety' measures, expect the assault-weapons bans to come roaring back in many suburbs, and if you bought a home in one of these areas, it's bye-bye guns. There are many rabidly anti-gun activists in Northern Illinois, and Bloomberg and company would be more than glad to finance a jihad against gun-owners, city by city.

Another bit of bad news is the lack of outdoor ranges, if you actually plan on shooting your rifles. The nearest ranges to North Chicagoland are in Bristol and Racine Wisconsin, a bit of a trek. The Illinois State Association range, paid access for members, is in Kankakee, way South of Chicago. There is another (expensive) club range in Aurora, West of Chicago.. That's it for outdoor ranges.

Given the political climate and the lack of places to shoot, I'm afraid your planned move is going to be a disappointment regarding gun ownership. I live in the Northside of Chicago, so I see the situation from a more closeup vantage point than many of the other responders. If you want to be reasonably close to Chicago, I'd suggest Wisconsin. Also, unlike Illinois, their state government is not bankrupt!

 

[ljnowell]

There is currently a case in the courts that could change all this sunshine and roses for Illinois gun owners. Highland Park, a suburb North of Chicago, in Lake county, has their own AWB. This is a deep Blue Democratic stronghold. They are the last holdouts of a number of Chicago suburbs with strong gun bans: most of them gave up when challenged.in the courts. If the courts decide that the Highland Park restrictions can stand as 'reasonable' 'public safety' measures, expect the assault-weapons bans to come roaring back in many suburbs, and if you bought a home in one of these areas, it's bye-bye guns. There are many rabidly anti-gun activists in Northern Illinois, and Bloomberg and company would be more than glad to finance a jihad against gun-owners, city by city.

Another bit of bad news is the lack of outdoor ranges, if you actually plan on shooting your rifles. The nearest ranges to North Chicagoland are in Bristol and Racine Wisconsin, a bit of a trek. The Illinois State Association range, paid access for members, is in Kankakee, way South of Chicago. There is another (expensive) club range in Aurora, West of Chicago.. That's it for outdoor ranges.

Given the political climate and the lack of places to shoot, I'm afraid your planned move is going to be a disappointment regarding gun ownership. I live in the Northside of Chicago, so I see the situation from a more closeup vantage point than many of the other responders. If you want to be reasonably close to Chicago, I'd suggest Wisconsin. Also, unlike Illinois, their state government is not bankrupt!

You are wrong about that. The sunshine and roses stay as our CCL law preempted ALL gun laws. There can no longer be ANY new local gun ordinances passes, period. When the FCCL passed it gave all home rule communities a set amount of time to pass new restrictions. That has long expired.

No matter what happens in that court case they still cannot pass any new local ordinances affecting firearms of any kind.

 

[Edarnold]

Ljnowell:
There are modifications being made to the CCL in the current Legislature, mostly pro-gun. Nothing says this could not be reversed in the next session. Betting your 2nd Amendment rights on your State representatives is wishful thinking: anything written into state law can be reversed when the wind of public opinion changes direction. If I could afford to leave Illinois, I'd be off to a free state in a heartbeat.

 

[ljnowell]

Ljnowell:
There are modifications being made to the CCL in the current Legislature, mostly pro-gun. Nothing says this could not be reversed in the next session. Betting your 2nd Amendment rights on your State representatives is wishful thinking: anything written into state law can be reversed when the wind of public opinion changes direction. If I could afford to leave Illinois, I'd be off to a free state in a heartbeat.

Yes and that same thing can happen in ANY state, see Colorado.

Illinois has one thing that other liberal states don't have, pro-gun Democrats downstate. The guy that worked the hardest for gun rights in the house is a Democrat, Brandon Phelps.

It should also be mentioned that anything that touches that preempted law will require a supermajority, something the Democrats only have on paper. Phelps and his crew will not side with it.

Have a defeatist attitude does nothing to help our state.

 

[JTHunter]

jmace57 - Plodder's post (#4) is correct. There was a news story recently in the local paper that Illinois was at #14 for the highest taxes in the country and #3 for the most regressive property (land) taxes.
To add insult to injury, in the recent "energy auctions" that set rates for power generation, the states around Illinois whose auctions were run by the same organization, had rate increases of ~3-5%.

Illinois' rate went up 150%!!

Move to Wisconsin or Indiana!!

 

[ljnowell]

jmace57 - Plodder's post (#4) is correct. There was a news story recently in the local paper that Illinois was at #14 for the highest taxes in the country and #3 for the most regressive property (land) taxes.

To add insult to injury, in the recent "energy auctions" that set rates for power generation, the states around Illinois whose auctions were run by the same organization, had rate increases of ~3-5%.



Illinois' rate went up 150%!!



Move to Wisconsin or Indiana!!

I can't help but agree with that. When my parents are both gone my family will be leaving.

 

[ilbob]

IL has a bit of a bad rap firearms wise because of some onerous restrictions that no longer exist in Chicago. These days, with a few exceptions, there are not many really horrible restriction on firearms in IL. There are none state wide at all other than for automatic weapons, silencers, etc. But, you should not have much trouble with your collection if you are outside of Cook County. Cook County and some municipalities inside Cook County still have some restrictions here and there.

The IL concealed carry law is a mess. It is better than nothing, but has a lot of less than desirable features. The gun groups are trying to chip away at the worst of the issues, but so far nothing substantive has changed, and it may have actually gotten slightly worse, especially for non-residents.

I suggested a few years ago when the CC law went into effect that it would take several decades of litigation and tweaking of the law to get it to a more useful thing, and I see nothing so far that would change my opinion on that.

However, the really bad part of IL is that IL is near bankruptcy, largely due to the crooks in government using state funds to buy votes via state employee unions. I don't see that there is a good out there for us residents. Tax increases just make the already dismal business climate worse, and even talking about reducing the rate of growth of government spending sends the unions into spasms of pain for the Democrats who have run the state into the ground, but retain veto proof majorities in the legislature.

A lot of local units of government owe more to their public employee pension plans than they can ever pay, yet the state supreme court has ruled they have to pay. The court might as well have ruled that pigs are required to fly.

I suspect the financial mess will get much worse before it gets any better. If you can avoid it, don't move to IL. Forget the gun issue for now. The financial mess is what will get you in the long run. If there is some reason you "have" to move to IL, don't buy property, especially in Cook County. The RE taxes are already crazy and they are going to get crazier. BTW, Cook County also has a very high sales tax.

Lake County is a much better place to be than Cook County, but it has many of the same issues that plague Cook County, although to a somewhat lesser degree.

 

[Midwest]

However, the really bad part of IL is that IL is near bankruptcy, largely due to the crooks in government using state funds to buy votes via state employee unions. I don't see that there is a good out there for us residents. ....

I suspect the financial mess will get much worse before it gets any better. If you can avoid it, don't move to IL.

I read that Illinois is also delaying lottery winnings for some time due to the financial crisis. So if the OP is going to Illinois, don't play the lottery in that state.
.

 

[ljnowell]

I read that Illinois is also delaying lottery winnings for some time due to the financial crisis. So if the OP is going to Illinois, don't play the lottery in that state.
.

Anyone winning more than $600 is getting an IOU from the state. It's not that the money for lottery isn't there, it's that it can't be paid due to shutdown

 

[PapaG]

Why in the hell would anyone want to move here? The only reason we stay is seven grandkids, 45 acres of timber free and clear and a home we'd never get our money out of. Wife has all her quarters in but since she is on TRS she can't draw social security, municipal retirements are going broke and our legislators can't find their arses with one hand. If it weren't for the Isra, we would be disarmed. Business leaving at an alarming rate, Chicago crime through the roof, and the child of Chicago won't even acknowledge facts.
End of rant. It is guns fault.

 

[joem1945]

Do you have any other options besides IL? If you do I'd move there.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Family and work keeps me here--I'd be in the Southwest otherwise. Still, my family has resided here since before the Civil War so IL is home. I'm one of those over-paid dastardly Union-Proud State Employees whose vote has been bought--funny how many NRA and ISRA stickers there are on vehicles in our lot at work...

 

[jmace57]

The issue is that I have a 30 year old daughter who recently married and lives in Chicago (Roscoe Village). She has MS. We are sort of expecting that she has children soon. At that time, they are thinking they may move to Evanston.

It is quite possible that she will need help with the kids, especially if and when she has a "flare". My wife wants to be available for that...and also just to be around the grandkids.

Our latest thought is that our daughter may end up buying a house with a garage apartment, that we could use and "rent" from them...or perhaps we could help them build a garage apartment. If we do that, we would likely retain our main residence in Texas. Then, the wife can spend the time she wants up there (and me too occasionally).

Anyway, that's what has been causing me to ask this question.

Thanks to all for your replies.

Jim

 

[Spats McGee]

Maybe I just missed in the thread, and I apologize if that's the case. Unless I'm mistaken, the OP has to get his FOID before he can possess any firearms in IL, right? So he has to move, establish residence, get his FOID, and then he can bring his guns along, right?

 

[illinoisburt]

Maybe I just missed in the thread, and I apologize if that's the case. Unless I'm mistaken, the OP has to get his FOID before he can possess any firearms in IL, right? So he has to move, establish residence, get his FOID, and then he can bring his guns along, right?

Not exactly. As a non-resident he can have his firearms in Illinois so long as they are transported unloaded and cased. FOID cards are only issued to Illinois residents so until he establishes residency it does not apply. However as a non-resident he can apply for an Illinois CCL (last I had heard the state did not recognize non-IL permits).

Once (if) he decides to establish residency there is a 60 calendar day grace period to obtain a FOID card.

Source:
(430 ILCS 65/2) (from Ch. 38, par. 83-2)
Sec. 2. Firearm Owner's Identification Card required; exceptions.
(d) Any person who becomes a resident of this State, who is not otherwise prohibited from obtaining, possessing, or using a firearm or firearm ammunition, shall not be required to have a Firearm Owner's Identification Card to possess firearms or firearms ammunition until 60 calendar days after he or she obtains an Illinois driver's license or Illinois Identification Card.

 

[Spats McGee]

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[ilbob]

Not exactly. As a non-resident he can have his firearms in Illinois so long as they are transported unloaded and cased. FOID cards are only issued to Illinois residents so until he establishes residency it does not apply. However as a non-resident he can apply for an Illinois CCL (last I had heard the state did not recognize non-IL permits).

There is a goofy rule that more or less recognizes out of state permits but only while you are in your vehicle. Otherwise, out of state permits are not recognized.

The non-resident permit is only available to residents of Hawaii, New Mexico, South Carolina and Virginia.

 

[tark]

PapaG you are wrong! It's not the guns fault it's that damn George Bush!!! Everything it his fault, just ask any Democrat!

Do you find it entirely appropriate, as I do, that the Mascot of the Democratic party is a jackass?

 

[Red Wind]

Why in the hell would anyone want to move here? The only reason we stay is seven grandkids, 45 acres of timber free and clear and a home we'd never get our money out of. Wife has all her quarters in but since she is on TRS she can't draw social security, municipal retirements are going broke and our legislators can't find their arses with one hand. If it weren't for the Isra, we would be disarmed. Business leaving at an alarming rate, Chicago crime through the roof, and the child of Chicago won't even acknowledge facts.
End of rant. It is guns fault.

PapaG, great rant, I loved it, blame the inanimate guns! and sorry for the Cubs pitiful, but expected, collapse.

 

[Old Dog]

Even I thought this was gonna be the year of the Cubs ...

For the OP, if you're going to maintain a residence in another state, and you absolutely have to spend time in Illinois to be with family (a non-negotiable reason and perfectly understandable), you're going to be just fine. Illinois is a wonderful state populated by mostly wonderful people.

I have a sister (love her dearly) in the Chicago 'burbs ... her husband is a pitiful, liberal anti-gun whiner who adores that area's heinous gun laws (and apparently continues to ignore the astounding crime and homicide rate there, but he's not yet become a crime victim, so there's still hope) ... Love visiting the area, and I will submit that Chicago is an awesome sports town (the Cubs notwithstanding) with equally awesome dining opportunities.

The upside to living slightly north of Chicago is the fishing and recreation opportunities that abound in Wisconsin (simply a beautiful state, ignore the mosquitos) ...

And of course, I have nothing to offer in the way of knowledge about the gun laws. Love the area, hate the politics and the politicians, just be with family and do the best you can.