Thursday Bulletin – February 1, 2024
Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson |
LITIGATION REPORT The parties in the Schoenthal public transportation Illinois Concealed Carry License (CCL) case have filed the opening Summary Judgment briefs in the case, moving it towards its conclusion and presumably an eventual appeal (hopefully by the State). Also, Judge McGlynn in our Harrel and related cases has ordered the parties to
complete the discovery process and be ready for a trial in the coming months. An upcoming status hearing for February 2, 2024 will provide more information. At the same time, we will soon be petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear our challenge to the Seventh Circuit's erroneous ruling in the case and the incorrect legal standard it set for evaluating the PICA law. 225,000
PRIORITY 911 CALLS GO UNANSWERED SO FAR IN 2023. In Chicago, it seems to be business as usual. The stats are in for 2023 on 9-1-1 calls. Last year there were 225,000 priority one 9-1-1 calls that went unanswered because there were no police available. That is 52% of the priority one 9-1-1 calls. If you are in Chicago and you need the police in a life-threatening emergency, you have less than a 50%
chance that the police will come. If the police do come, it may take a while. For example, recently two female tourists were attacked and knocked to the ground by a group of 8 to 10 people in Chicago’s Loop. The women were robbed of their valuables and the criminals fled. The police arrived not so promptly, two hours later. In another example, on that same night, another
tourist was attacked and robbed by 5 men. This time it took the police 3 hours to arrive. You must realize that no one is going to protect you other than yourself. You are your own 1st responder. As an example of being your own 1st responder, a concealed carry holder had his vehicle stolen on a Saturday night and decided to go look for the vehicle himself, although he had
reported it to the police. He found his vehicle at 8:50am on Sunday morning in a parking lot. When he approached his vehicle, several men inside the vehicle opened fire on him. The concealed carry holder was able to hit one of the criminals. The men in the vehicle fled the scene and wrecked the vehicle. Anyone who is qualified to get a concealed carry permit and does not at this time, is foolish. WHAT DID THE ISRA DO IN 2023? ISRA President Doug Mayhall covers the highlights of ISRA advocacy work in 2023. From Weapons bans to Country Stars, it was a wild year in Illinois 2A advocacy. Join the fight at
isra.org. Please subscribe to our social media and YouTube content to stay up to date on the latest developments. Just click the logos below. CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY HELPS REDUCE HOMICIDES. A new report appearing online at the website of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), confirms that passage of so-called “constitutionally carry” did not have the
dramatic negative effect predicted by anti-gunners who opposed the law, and actually helps reduce homicides in some states. The report looked at other states and found similar results that had institued constitutional carry. Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio, all showed decreases in so-called “gun violence” DEMOCRATS AIM TO SHUT DOWN SALE OF AMMO TO CIVILIANS. In the wake of the New York Times hit piece on the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, Democrat congressmen and states attorney generals have called on the Biden administration to take action to disallow the sale of ammunition produced at the facility on the retail market. The Lake City Army Ammunition
Plant, makes civilian ammunition to help the facility maintain full staffing levels for national security purposes. Military ammunition cannot be sold to civilians. Now every Republican AG in the country is firing back at the effort to curtail those ammo sales by sending a letter to the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention; calling out the “litany of errors”; and urging
the administration to keep the current rules in place. JOE BIDEN PROPOSES SAFE STORAGE RULES. Biden is trying to implement his “safe storage” proposal as an executive order. Before I go any further, I believe all firearms should be stored safely, but “stored safely” depends on the person’s
situation, and the particular situation they live in. This very thing happened in England many years ago, and has grown to the point where almost no-one can own a firearm in England. Because they’ve squeezed it so tight, it becomes impossible to own handguns. A friend of mine, owns a single-barrel shotgun that he hunts ducks with, and every year his neighbors have to testify that he
is a good, responsible person who can own this shotgun. He has to show the cops the shotgun and the safe that holds the shotgun. The storage rules that Joe Biden is proposing come straight out of the playbook from Every Town and the Bloomberg campaign. This is a Trojan Horse. What it would actually do is provide a platform that could constantly be expanded until it crushes private
ownership of firearms in the United States. Everyone should oppose a national bill that dictates what safe storage is for 330 million americans, who all have different situations. ILLINOIS TO HOST DUAL CICADA EMERGENCE. For the first time in 221 years, two different broods of Cicadas – 17-year brood XIII
and the 13-year Brood XIX – will simultaneously emerge in Illinois and parts of the Midwest. The result will be billions of Cicadas emitting a noisy, high-pitched buzz, or mating song – roughly equivalent to a motorcycle or jackhammer. They are harmelss to humans, but the spectacle attracts some and repels others, leaving their carcasses covering the ground. I would get out your broom and dustpan! Volunteers Are Needed for the ISRA Volunteering for the ISRA is the best way to make a difference. I know our cause is one you believe in, and one of the best ways to help that
cause is to volunteer. Our greatest strength is in our numbers. Little gets done by one or two people acting alone. Coordinated volunteering amplifies the efforts of those banding together and makes volunteering more effective. A side benefit of volunteering gets you involved with like-minded people and builds strong relationships and new friends. Volunteering for the ISRA provides a
resource that money alone cannot buy: The people needed to get the job done to accomplish the goals we set out to achieve. Volunteering provides valuable services so the limited funds that we have available can be spent in the areas where needed. Below is our volunteer form. There are a variety of essential areas that we need volunteers to fill. They are listed on the form. If you are able to volunteer, please fill out this form and return it to the ISRA office as soon as possible. You may email it to member@isra.org, fax to 815. 635.3723, or you can send it snail-mail to: P.O. Box 637, Chatsworth, IL 60921. We will be accumulating these forms over the next few months, although we will be utilizing them as soon as we can. When activities are planned in your area that you are interested in, we will notify you prior
to the event in plenty of time to prepare. This may not happen perfectly, but we will make every effort to make it happen. Richard A. Pearson, Executive Director Mike Huber, Assistant Executive Director Click here to download & print this application. Or go to: https://isra.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ISRA-VolunteerApplication_FINAL.pdf Come to IGOLD!
Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day
– Private Bus Scheduling – Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day (IGOLD) will be on Thursday,
April 18th this year. If your gun club, gun shop, hunting group and/or organization is thinking about bringing a bus to IGOLD with your members, NOW is the time to plan it. If you are bringing a bus, please let us know by April 1st. The ISRA must pay for your bus parking in advance. Please
notify the ISRA Office and speak with Shirley at 815.635.3198 Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4pm. You can also email Shirely at shirley@isra.org. Please put BUS NOTIFICATION in the subject line. We will update you on IGOLD as we get closer to the date. FOR THE FIRST TIME WE WILL BE OFFERING SPONSORSHIPS FOR IGOLD. DETAILS WILL BE COMING NEXT WEEK. Tidbits
February 2, 1847 – First Donner Party Member
Dies. The first person, a woman of the Donner Party dies from starvation. The pioneers were trying to take a shortcut to save time getting to their destination in California but did not realize what they were getting into, when they attempted to travel through the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter. The pioneers were mostly made up of farmers from Lily France,
with little experience in winter wilderness mountain travel, and it was a huge mistake for them. The Donner Party had bought a guidebook that was supposed to show them the shortcut, but the book was erroneous. With the early onset of a harsh winter, they were forced to set up camp near a small lake now known as Donner Lake, northwest of Lake Tahoe. Two people died, and the survivors
had to turn to cannibalism to live through the winter. Before they were rescued, more than half the party died. The final number of deaths was 42. February 2, 1887 – First Groundhog Day. The groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, becomes the official weathercaster for spring. The tradition began in Europe years ago when people would use a hedgehog behavior as a means of
predicting weather. But since there is a severe shortage of hedgehogs in the United States, we use the groundhog, or “woodchuck” for this tradition. On February 2 in 1887, the local Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania newspaper declared Punxsutawney Phil, the local weather forecasting groundhog, as the official weather forecaster for spring. Phil has not been that accurate, but neither have the
weathercasters. I’m definitely going to put my money on Phil! February 3, 1889 – Belle Starr Murdered in Oklahoma. Belle Star, famous woman outlaw, known as the “Bandit Queen”, was murdered. She was cut down with two blasts from a shotgun from behind. No one ever knew who shot Bell Starr.
Speculations were that it probably was a neighbor of hers she was feuding with. Feb 3, 1944 – U.S. Troops Capture the Marshall Islands. One of the most famous of these was Kwajalein. This is the island the Japanese used to broadcast their secret codes from in the South Pacific. Their code was broken, and the battle of Midway was planned which devastated the Japanese
Navy. February 4, 1789 – George Washington Unanimously Elected first president of the United States by the Electoral College. John Adams of Massachusetts was elected as his vice president. February 6, 1917 – U.S. Passenger
Ship SS California Sunk. A Ger-man submarine torpedoes and sinks the United States passenger ship SS California. This act by Germany, as well as the “Zimmerman Tele-gram”, which called for the Mexican government to attack the United States in exchange for Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, prompting the United States to declare war on Germany, and escalating the U.S. entry into World War I. The Illinois State Rifle Association is the home of marksmanship in Illinois At the Range
Click here to view the entire calendar. All
classes and events are open to the public & all range members, unless otherwise noted. We are glad to announce that we will have an M1 Maintenance Class scheduled for Saturday, March 23, 2024, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm at the ISRA Range in Bonfield, IL. We have a highly qualified
instructor, Larry Collinson, who has been with Springfield Armory for a long time. Mr. Collinson is an expert on the M1 Rifle. You will learn to take apart, clean, reassemble, and maintain your M1 Garand Rifle during this class. The class size is limited to 32 people. The cost is $65 (ISRA member) and $110 (non-member). Lunch will be provided. If you have special dietary needs, you will need to provide your own lunch. There will be no walk-ins allowed. To register, contact the Office at 815.635.3198 and talk to Mel or Shirley. You can also e-mail them at mel.hitchens.isra@gmail.com or shirley@isra.org. The ISRA Range is located at 1589 N 7000w Rd, Bonfield, IL 60913. The ISRA Range offers great classes and leagues for shooting enthusiasts! Interested in joining a league? Just show up 15 - 30 minutes early. Range memberships are available. A day at the ISRA Range is
always a great day! Thank you
for being a member! Upcoming Gun Shows While the gun show
information shown in this email is believed to be accurate –
sometimes changes occur. This is provided for informational purposes only. Feb 3 – 4 Bloomington Gun & Knife Show, Interstate Center, Bloomington Feb 10 – 11 The Quad Cities Gun Show, QCCA Expo Center, Rock Island Feb 11 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County
Fairgrounds, St. Charles Feb 16 – 18 Tinley Park Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Show, Tinley Park Convention Center, Tinley Park Feb 17 – 18 Central Illinois Gun Collectors, Sangamon Co Fairgrounds, New Berlin, www.cigca.net Feb 24 – 25 Decatur Gun & Knife Show, Decatur Conference Center, Decatur Mar 2 – 3 Belleville Gun &
Knife Show, Belle-Clair Fairgrounds, Belleville Mar 2 – 3 Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show, Kankakee Co. Fairgrounds, Kankakee Mar 10 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles Mar 16 – 17 Peoria Gun & Knife Show, Exposition Gardens, Peoria Mar 23 – 24 Springfield Gun Show, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield Mar 23 – 24 Sauk Trail Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds,
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