INSIDE
SPORTS Nojiri tabbed Athlete of the Year
www.buglenewspapers.com
PAGE 11
NEWS Westmont detectives catch shooting suspect
PAGE 2
Our Community, Our News
A Hello to Arms With new concealed carry law on the books, western suburbs pass on assault weapons ban By Jonathan Samples Staff Reporter
N
ow that the Illinois legislature has voted to override Gov. Pat Quinn’s amended concealed carry bill, municipalities across the state have are running out of time to pass an assault weapons ban of their own. House Bill 183 was signed into law on July 9, and many local governments -- including Downers Grove,Westmont and Woodridge -- are passing on the opportunity to enact a local assault weapons ordinance.They had 10 days from the day the bill was signed to do so. “We do not have plans to seek an assault weapons ban,” Downers Grove Communications Director Doug Kozlowski said. “We feel the laws on concealed
carry are best determined by our representatives in Springfield.” During the June 28 Westmont Village Board’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Westmont Police Chief Tom Mulhearn outlined a similar point of view. “This is a matter and issue best left to the state and federal legislatures to address and not local governments such as ours,” Mulhearn said. “On this issue, there needs to be u n i f o r m i t y,
JULY 17, 2013
Vol. 5 No. 33
“This is a matter and issue best left to the state and federal legislatures to address and not local governments such as ours.” Tom Mulhearn, Westmont Police Chief
which is best addressed at the state and federal level.” The Village Board agreed with Mulhearn’s recommendation and decided not to take any further action regarding an assault weapons ordinance. The new law will allow Illinois residents to carry a concealed firearm at the cost of $150 for a fiveyear license. Gun owners also would have to pass a background check and complete 16 hours of training. The Illinois State Police will have 180 days to make a concealed carry application available to the public. Those applications will take 90 days to process. That timetable means residents are still months away from legally being allowed to carry a weapon. Gun owners without a license would still be prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm. Illinois lawmakers initially approved a concealed carry bill in May, five months after the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals mandated the state develop regulations for carrying concealed firearms. Up until the court’s July 9 deadline, Illinois was the last state in the U.S. to prohibit concealed guns. Earlier this month, Quinn used his amendatory See CONCEALED, page 4