BUSINESS
Page D2 • Thursday, May 2, 2013
Northwest Herald / NWHerald.com
How concealed gun law may impact businesses The Illinois House and Senate have been working on several versions of what would become state law regarding the carrying of handguns in public as well as on privately owned property. Businesses and landlords will need to understand the legislation to ensure they are aware of their rights to permit or restrict firearms on their premises, as well as to ensure they do not violate Conceal & Carry (C&C) gun law. The recent C&C legislative effort arose from the federal appellate court’s ruling in Moore v. Madigan. The court in Moore invalidated Illinois’ general prohibition on carrying handguns in public but afforded the state legislature 180 days to enact an appropriate law to permit some form of C&C. Illinois is the only state that does not currently have a C&C law. If the Illinois General Assembly fails to enact C&C legislation by June 9, then Illinois would revert to what is deemed “Constitutional Carry,” meaning there would be no law prohibiting the carriage of otherwise legal hand-
guns. Attorney General Madigan is appealing to the Supreme Court for more time to enact legislation, but there is no guarantee the Supreme Court will hear the issue, much less grant an extension. While two legislative efforts have already been voted down, the House was only seven votes short of approving a C&C bill in recent weeks so there is good reason to believe that the General Assembly is narrowing in on a passable version of C&C legislation. Recent discussions have primarily involved whether Cook County would have separate, more restrictive C&C licensing procedures from the rest of the state. One area of concern for business owners is whether employees or customers will be able to bring firearms onto business property. The versions proposed so far would allow a business owner to restrict firearms from being brought into a place of business. However, the question remains whether the presumption will be that a licensee can
BUSINESS LAW Brad Stewart bring a firearm onto private property without express permission, or whether it will be presumed that a licensee can only bring a firearm onto private property with express permission. If it’s the former, which was the language proposed in the nearly successful House bill, any business that does not want firearms on its property would have to post “conspicuous notice,” such as signs, so a licensee knows that firearms are not allowed, or else the licensee would not break any law by carrying a handgun onto the business property. According to the same proposed language, even if the business restricts firearms on its premises, licensees would still be allowed to bring handguns in vehicles onto the business premises, such as to a parking lot, although they would
8CALENDAR Today, May 2 • 7:45 a.m.: Power Partners of Cary Grove, Century 21/ Sketchbook 20 Northwest Hwy., Cary. Information: Ryan Fain, 815-353-8600. • 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.: McHenry chamber “Shop In” at Alexander’s Jewelry & Loan 2, Ltd., 4300 W. Elm St., McHenry. • 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: Young Professionals meeting, Marzano’s Wood Fired Italian, 1501 S. Route 31, McHenry.
Friday, May 3 • 7:30 to 8:45 a.m.: Discover the chamber orientation, McHenry chamber office, 1257 N. Green St.
Monday, May 6 • 7 to 8 p.m.: McHenry chamber SOHO meeting, Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois, 2006 N. Richmond Road, McHenry.
Tuesday, May 7 • 7:30 a.m.: Crystal Lake Business Network, Algonquin Bank & Trust, 4049 W. Algonquin Road, Algonquin. Information: Laura Sinnaeve, 847-204-4899. • 7:30 a.m.: Crystal Lake chamber’s Referral Exchange Network, Exemplar Financial Network, 413 E. Terra Cotta Ave., Crystal Lake. Information: Kevin Bruning, 815-4553000. • 7:30 a.m.: Crystal Lake chamber’s Business 2 Business Network, Benedict’s La Strata,
have to secure firearms in their vehicles out of plain sight. As it pertains to employees of a business, the same rules generally apply. The best practice would be to implement or review a written policy that specifically addresses the business’s desired policy regarding guns in the workplace, although employees would still be able to bring and store firearms in their vehicles, if the recently proposed language prevails. It must be separately noted that all proposed legislation seeks to restrict firearms from being brought to certain locations. For example, the bills proposed thus far agree that firearms cannot be brought to an establishment that derives the majority of its income from alcohol sales, even if left secured in parked vehicles. Another area of concern is for commercial and residential landlords. Depending on the final language adopted, a land owner or landlord may not be permitted to restrict a tenant from utilizing a valid
• CAR SALES Continued from page D1 40 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Information: Mike Daniele, 815356-2126. • 5 to 7 p.m.: Raue Center for the Arts multi-chamber mixer, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake.
Your Lunch N’ Learn, McHenry chamber office, 1257 N. Green St. Free. • 5 to 7 p.m.: Paxem 10th anniversary multi-chamber mixer, the Garlands of Barrington, 1000 Garlands Ln., Barrington.
Wednesday, May 8 • 7 to 8:30 a.m.: Woodstock LeTip, Vaughan’s Restaurant, 790 S. Eastwood Drive, Woodstock. Information: Richard Toepper, 815-338-9900. • 7 a.m.: McHenry County LeTip, Brunch Café, 414 S. Rt. 31, McHenry. Information: David Lammers, 815-344-2925. • 7:30 a.m.: Crystal Lake Referral Network, Colonial Café, 5689 Northwest Hwy., Crystal Lake. Information: Holly Emrich, 815-382-1899. • 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.: Forum for Business Support, Crystal Lake chamber, 427 W. Virginia St. • 8 a.m.: Cary Grove Referral Network, Cary Bank & Trust, 60 E. Main St., Cary. Information: Shirley Rochford, 847-3414104. • 8 a.m.: Lighthouse Business Networking, St. Barnabas Lutheran Church, 8901 Cary-Algonquin Road, Cary. Information: Richard Sansone, 847-516-0433; Steve Randahl, 847-769-6285. • 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Business Builders Workshop: “You Shouldn’t Bring a Tuba to a Party,” Crystal Lake chamber, 427 W. Virginia St. • Noon to 1 p.m.: “7 Secrets to Fabulous Follow Up & Appreciation Marketing,” Bring
Thursday, May 9 • 7:45 a.m.: Power Partners of Cary Grove, Century 21/ Sketchbook 20 Northwest Hwy., Cary. Information: Ryan Fain, 815-353-8600.
Friday, May 10 • 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.: “Never Eat Alone” lunch, Corkscrew Pointe, 1402 N. Riverside Drive, McHenry. Call 815-385-4300.
Tuesday, May 14 • 7:30 a.m.: Crystal Lake Business Network, Algonquin Bank & Trust, 4049 W. Algonquin Road, Algonquin. Information: Laura Sinnaeve, 847-204-4899. • 7:30 a.m.: Crystal Lake chamber’s Referral Exchange Network, Exemplar Financial Network, 413 E. Terra Cotta Ave., Crystal Lake. Information: Kevin Bruning, 815-4553000. • 7:30 a.m.: Crystal Lake chamber’s Business 2 Business Network, Benedict’s La Strata, 40 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Information: Mike Daniele, 815356-2126. • 5 to 7 p.m.: Multi-chamber mixer at The Barn Nursey & Landscape, 8109 S. Route 31, Cary.
Even with gas prices on the decline, compact cars remain popular. Sales of the Chevy Cruze rose 21 percent. Nissan saw demand for the recently redesigned Altima midsize car and Sentra compact. The company also took a step toward boosting future sales. It announced price cuts on seven models that make up 65 percent of its U.S. sales. The cuts, effective on Friday, run from $580 on the top-selling Altima to $4,400, on the Armada big SUV. VW’s sales drop was led by its top-seller, the Passat midsize car, which fell 10 percent. Despite a slight drop, Toyota was optimistic about the rest of the year. Sales chief Bill Fay said the overall market increase is a good sign for all automakers, “especially with new products, low inter-
C&C license on the leased property. Under the language of the proposal that nearly passed, lease language would have to be updated to make sure the landlord is not unlawfully prohibiting possession of firearms as a condition of the lease agreement. There are, of course, several other considerations that will accompany whatever is ultimately contained in an Illinois concealed firearm law. Because new legislation is imminent, however, businesses are well-advised to review policies in anticipation of the forthcoming changes, contemplate desired restrictive signage, and seek legal advice to ensure compliance with the law.
• Brad Stewart is an attorney with Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle in Crystal Lake. Stewart was valedictorian of his law school class and devotes most of his practice to corporate and local government law. He can be reached at bstewart@zrfmlaw.com.
est rates and plenty of pentup demand.” Chrysler predicted that total U.S. sales will hit an annual rate of 15.4 million in April. That’s a little higher than most analysts’ predictions. April is likely to be the sixth straight month of sales above a 15 million yearly pace. Barring an unexpected event that causes a real estate price collapse or rapidly rising job losses, there’s little to stop sales from growing further in the next few years, industry analysts say. “I don’t see any significant hurdles on the horizon,” said Alec Gutierrez, a senior market analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “I don’t see us taking a step back, provided the unemployment rate at least holds steady.” He expects U.S. auto sales to end the year around 15.3 million cars and trucks, up 5.5 percent from last year’s 14.5 million.
Facebook revenue up 38 pct. in 1Q The Associated Press MENLO PARK, Calif. – Facebook says its net income and revenue grew in the first quarter of the year, helped by an increase in mobile ad revenue. Facebook Inc. said Wednesday that its net income was $219 million, or 9 cents per share, in the January-March period. That’s up from $205 million, or 9 cents per share, in the same period a year ago when the company was still private. Revenue grew 38 percent to $1.46 billion from $1.06 billion. Facebook said its mobile advertising revenue represented 30 percent of the total at $375 million.
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