Luigi Cabantog, 23, rises in the National Guard Page 7
What to know about Illinois’ assault weapons ban
DECEMBER 13, 2023
Vol. VIII No. 49
vfpress.news
Proviso commission gives $20K to agency helping those in need Page 4
Which guns are banned, how to file disclosures and what happens next By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois
Gun owners face a Jan. 1 deadline to register their assault weapons with the state under Illinois’ assault weapons law. But between lawsuits and ongoing policymaking, the exact guns, accessories and ammunition covered under the Protect Illinois Communities Act remain unclear to many gun rights advocates, who point out that the ban includes some of the most popular models in the country. The assault weapons ban went into effect when Gov. JB Pritzker signed it in January 2023, immediately prohibiting the sale in Illinois of a long list of weapons and attachments. But Illinoisans who own assault weapons – a term that is itself contentious among gun advocates – can keep them, so long as they purchased them before the law went into effect and register them with the Illinois State Police (ISP) before the end of this year. At the end of November, with four weeks before the deadline, nearly 4,900 individuals had filed disclosures with ISP. Owners of nowbanned firearms, accessories and ammunition face criminal penalties if they fail to file that disclosure paperwork. See ASSAULT WEAPONS on page 3
COURTESY VILLAGE OF HILLSIDE
Mr. and Mrs. Clause pay a visit to Hillside during the village’s annual tree lighting held Dec. 7 outside of Village Hall. On Dec. 9, senior citizens in Hillside were treated to lunch by Mayor Joe Tamburino. See more photos on page 6.
Pritzker signs measure allowing new small-scale nuclear technology in Illinois It takes effect in June 2024, but any new construction would take several years
By JERRY NOWICKI & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois
Gov. JB Pritzker on Dec. 8 signed into law a measure that will allow for the limited development of new nuclear power generation technology in the state.
The measure, House Bill 2473, does not allow new large-scale power generation facilities like the six plants that are already operational in the state, but rather allows for new smaller-scale emergent technology. Since 1987, the state has had a moratorium on any new nuclear power con-
struction until the federal government designates a long-term disposal site for nuclear waste — something that has never occurred. The new law will take effect on June 1, 2024, but because permitting nucleSee NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY on page 8