ISRA Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Illinois’ 72-Hour Firearm Waiting Period CHATSWORTH, IL — The Illinois State Rifle Association has joined a federal lawsuit challenging Illinois’ mandatory 72-hour waiting
period for firearm purchases, arguing that the law unlawfully delays the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Illinois gun owners.
The case, Pearlstein v. Raoul, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. ISRA is joined by individual plaintiffs, federally licensed firearm dealers, and the National Rifle Association in challenging the waiting period. The lawsuit was filed by
ISRA counsel David G. Sigale, who will work with the legal team as the case moves forward.
Illinois is one of a small minority of states that still force firearm buyers to wait three days before taking possession of a firearm. In most states, once a law-abiding buyer passes the required background check, the firearm transfer may move forward without an extra state-imposed waiting period.
The complaint argues that Illinois forces law-abiding adults to wait 72 hours before taking possession of a firearm, even when they pass a background check in minutes. It also argues that the waiting period is not tied to the time needed to complete a background check or any investigation into whether a person may lawfully possess a firearm.
“This lawsuit is about standing up for
law-abiding Illinois gun owners who are tired of being treated like the problem,” said ISRA President Doug Mayhall. “When a citizen passes the required background check, the state should not impose an arbitrary delay on a constitutional right. Most of the country understands that. Illinois should too.”
The lawsuit also details how the waiting period affects both individual firearm owners and local firearm
dealers. According to the complaint, plaintiffs who passed background checks were still forced to wait before taking possession of lawfully purchased firearms. Dealer plaintiffs also face serious penalties if they transfer a firearm before the state-mandated waiting period expires.
“This law does not stop criminals,” said ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. “It burdens the people who follow the law. In
most states, once you pass the background check, you’re good to go. Illinois gun owners should not be treated as second-class citizens.”
ISRA thanks the individual plaintiffs and federally licensed firearm dealers who are standing up on behalf of all law-abiding Illinois firearm owners. The lawsuit is part of ISRA’s continued work to defend Second Amendment rights in the courts, in Springfield, and across Illinois.
“ISRA has always been on the front lines for Illinois gun owners,” Mayhall said. “This case is another reminder that we will not sit back while the state delays, restricts, or burdens the rights of peaceful citizens.”
Illinois gun owners are encouraged to support ISRA’s legal and legislative efforts by joining, renewing their membership, donating, and sharing this news with fellow Second Amendment
supporters.
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We will keep you apprised of any other movement on litigation as we become aware of it. To donate to the ISRA Legislative Fund to help us continue the fight for Second Amendment rights, CLICK HERE. Thank you for standing with the ISRA as we defend
the rights of law-abiding Illinois gun owners!
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Legislative Update
Veto session is on the way and we are waiting. We will keep you apprised of any news on legislation as we become aware of it
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The up-coming 2026 veto session dates for the Illinois Senate are:
November 17th, 18th, 19th and December 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
You can find downloadable PDF versions of the House calendar HERE and the Senate
calendar HERE to view all the legislative session deadlines.
The ISRA maintains a list of the most important bills under consideration in the Illinois State Legislature; the most current list is always the ISRA Legislation Page. Click and follow along!
Thank you for standing with the ISRA and for defending the rights of law-abiding Illinois gun owners.
Not an ISRA member? Join the ISRA and support 2A rights in Illinois - CLICK HERE.
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Volunteers Needed For The 2026 Academics Integrity Marksmanship Program
Dear ISRA Member,
The Illinois State Rifle Association is one of the proud sponsors of the Academics Integrity Marksmanship ( AIM ) program youth shoot at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta,
Illinois. This is one of the premier youth shooting events in the United States.
To make this program work, the ISRA needs 20 volunteers a day to help at this event. The volunteers will be helping load magazines, assist the kids shooting and, of course, making sure everyone is safe. The dates of the event are Friday, July 24th, and Saturday the 25th. The times are from 8:30am to 5:00pm on Friday and 9:30am to 5:00pm on Saturday.
Lunches and refreshments will be provided but, if you have special dietary needs, you should bring your own special items. You will receive a workday card which will be entered into a drawing for a new Ruger 10-22. If you work both days, you will receive two chances to win the Ruger 10-22.
Please call the office at 815-635-3198 and ask for Laura or Tricia as soon as possible. You can also send an e-mail to [email protected] with your information (name, address, phone number, e-mail address and availability). We will need to have the final roster completed by July 18th.
This is one of those events that helps Pass the Torch of Freedom to the next generation. I look forward to seeing you there.
Thank you,
Richard A. Pearson
Executive Director
Illinois State Rifle Association
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My Two Cents
July 4th, 2026, has
passed and what a great celebration it was. Every town and organization that had parades, fireworks displays and other events put forth their best efforts and it showed. My wife and I joined millions of Americans watching the fireworks display on the National Mall. It was beyond belief. I am told it took 64 semi-truck loads of fireworks to create the record-setting display. Whether you like President Trump or not, you have to admit he knows how to throw a
party.
Some people gripe continually about how much money is being spent on the White House Ballroom, parades and flyovers. I want my money spent on such things. I am proud to be an American and I treasure my county. I want to show the world what a great county we are. America is too often looked down upon with the long nose of snobbery by the rest of the world. To those I say - take that! If
you think you can do better, go for it. You should be able to do it. After all, you have had at least a 1,000-year head start!
The ISRA Range Has Classes, Leagues, Special Events And More!
From now until July 30th, we will be giving $50 off new member initiation fees when one joins the ISRA Range. We offer 18 different shooting leagues. Some are weekly and some are monthly, and all of them are fun. There is no better place to learn new things and for camaraderie while you
improve on your marksmanship skills. It's a great place for you to shoot!
For more info on Classes, Leagues, Special Events and more, go to the ISRA Range Calendar - CLICK HERE.
ISRA Town Hall
Monthly Meetings
Come and meet fellow activists and learn the latest on protecting our Second Amendment Rights!
Livingston County – 4th Tuesday of the month – South Post Guns, 104 Livingston Rd., Streator, IL; Summer meetings are postponed until August.
Madison County – 1st Wednesday of the month – Piasa Armory, 625 Lewis and Clark Blvd., East Alton, IL; Doors open at 6:15pm; Meeting starts at 6:30pm
Northwest Suburban - 3rd Tuesday of the month – Algonquin/Dundee area - New Location - GAT Guns, 970 Dundee Ave, East Dundee, IL - Discounted Pistol Range from 4pm
to 6pm, Social starts at 5:30pm, Meeting 7pm – 8pm, Catering fee $20
South Suburban/Cook County - 2nd Thursday of the month – New Location: Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant, 14459 LaGrange Rd, Orland Park, IL; Doors open 6:00pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
Will County - 3rd Wednesday of the month – Silver Dollar Restaurant, 422 E. Mississippi Ave., Elwood, IL; Doors
open 6pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
Warning!!! Tick Season Is Here!
These nasty little guys are not only irritating when they bite, but they can transfer some nasty illnesses to their hosts! This year, they are supposed to be especially numerous and cases of tick-borne illness are up considerably nationwide. Be
sure to take precautions when out in wooded or grassy areas. Use sprays with DEET in them on exposed skin, clothing and equipment to keep the biting critters at bay.
We recommend this OFF Tick spray from Amazon: CLICK HERE
Be safe and
bite-free out there!
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“Money can only buy happiness if you spend it on freedom. Join the ISRA today.” ~ Richard Pearson
“I am frequently asked if the ISRA sells our membership list. The answer is absolutely not.” ~ Richard
Pearson
This year is the 250th Anniversary of the good old USA and the 123rd Anniversary of the Illinois State Rifle Association. Our Anniversary coin raffle is one of our major fundraisers. This
year’s coin depicts a Revolutionary War battle and celebrates our hard-won freedom, a freedom we must keep fighting for.
When you purchase this year’s challenge coin you are helping fund our side of the battle that we are in. You will also be entered into a drawing for 123 great prizes. There is one prize for every year of our existence. A list of these prizes is on the enclosed order form mailed directly to you. The more tickets you purchase gives you additional
chances to win a prize and help us fight on to victory.
The winning tickets will be drawn August 5th, 2026, at the Illinois State Rifle Association headquarters. All entries must be postmarked by July 25, 2026.
The Illinois State Rifle Association is a 501(c)4 non-profit organization, donations to Illinois State Rifle Association are not tax-deductible. Prize must be claimed within 90 days of drawing.
Ticket
Donations:
1 ticket & One coin for $30 3 tickets & One coin for $50 7 tickets & One coin for $100 20 tickets & One coin for $250 45 tickets & One coin for $500 100 tickets & One coin for $1000 600 tickets & One coin for $5000
For more raffle info or to order tickets online, CLICK HERE.
For a Complete List of All Prizes, click here! Please Read The Fine print:
Official Rules
Contest is open to all legal
Illinois residents 18 years of age or older. ISRA reserves the right to make final determination as to a contestant’s eligibility to win a prize.
Date of Drawing: Drawing will be held August 5, 2026.
By entering, each entrant accepts and agrees to be bound by these rules and decisions of the ISRA which shall be final and binding. By accepting the prize, the winner agrees that the ISRA accepts no responsibility or liability in connection
with injuries, losses, or damages of any kind caused by, or resulting from the acceptance, possession or usage of the prize(s) awarded hereunder.
Prize Claim(s). Arrangement must be made with an FFL to claim a firearm prize in accordance with Illinois and Federal law concerning firearms transfers. Note that firearms transfers require an FOID card and background check, and there are additional Illinois laws in place for FOID cards for those under the age of
21.
Offer Void Where Prohibited. This offer is void where prohibited or restricted by law. All federal, state, and local laws apply.
For other questions or information on this raffle, contact: ISRA – PO Box 637 – Chatsworth, IL 60921 (815)635-3198 or E-Mail: [email protected]
Please CLICK HERE for information on the rest of our RAFFLES.
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Education & Training @ ISRA Range, Bonfield, IL.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to start
time.
*Every Thursday (unless otherwise noted) ISRA Precision Air Pistol Training – Range 12 & Clubhouse – 5:30pm – 7:00pm
July 12 (Sun) CCL Renewal & Qualification – Range 11 & Clubhouse – 1:00pm – 4:30pm
July 19 (Sun) NRA Range Safety Officer – Clubhouse – 8:30am – 6:00pm
July 28 (Tues) NRA Range Safety Officer –
Sparta, IL – 8:30am – 6:00pm
August 1 (Sat) NRA Range Safety Officer – Sparta, IL – 8:30am – 6:00pm
August 1 (Sat) Defensive Tactics for Concealed Carry Level 1 – Range 8 – 8:00am – 5:00pm
August 8 (Sat) CCL Renewal – Clubhouse – 9:00am –12:00pm
September 5 - 6 (Sat, Sun) IL Concealed Carry – Clubhouse – 9:00am – 5:30pm
*** Please contact [email protected] for any training or class questions and check the ISRA Range for links to dates, times, descriptions of ISRA activities and events.
"The Illinois State Rifle Association is the home of marksmanship in Illinois"
ISRA Members: To view the Illinois Shooter - Spring2026, click HERE.
Super Tidbit
We celebrate the 4th of July as the date the Declaration of
Independence was adopted but we often overlook other events that happened on July 4, 1776. On July 4th, the Continental Congress appointed a committee to design and propose a "seal for the United States of America". The seal was to be an official expression of the sovereign authority of Americans and what they fought for in the Revolutionary War. The committee members were Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams who were considered to be the most able men of the
time.
The Continental Congress was serious. The problem was that the committee members had a Revolutionary war to fight, so they did not get to it right away. The committee's proposal was sent to the Continental Congress but was tabled. In 1782, a second committee was appointed and its proposal was also tabled. That same year a third committee was appointed with the same results.
Frustrated, Congress turned the design and
proposal for the seal over to the Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson. Thomson enlisted the help of a student of Heraldry named William Barton. Heraldry had its beginnings in the 12th century and is the discipline of designing coats of arms and family crests. It is important to note that coats of arms have a right and left side. The right side carries more importance than the left side. When looking at a coat of arms, the right side is on the left side
of the viewer. Thomson and Barton took parts from all three of the proposals, added more features and submitted a “Blazon”, or written description to Congress which was approved on June 20, 1782.
Charles Thomson selected the colors which became those for the Great Seal of the United States and were already in the flag. On the front, or obverse side, White stands for purity and innocence, Red for hardness and valor, and blue for vigilance, perseverance and
justice. The number 13 is present throughout the Great Seal representing the 13 colonies. On the front side ( known as the obverse ), the American Eagle is facing right and holding itself with a shield over its breast, upright, signifying Independence and relying on its own virtue. In the eagles right talon it holds an olive branch with 13 leaves and 13 olives which signifies favoring peace. In the eagles left talon it holds 13 arrows signifying war. Above the
eagle's head is a constellation, or glory, with 13 stars signifying a new country is rising ( In 1776, there had not been a new country for hundreds of years ). The eagle is holding a banner in its beak inscribed with the Latin phrase E Pluribus Unum or “out of many, one”. On the reverse side of the Great Seal is an unfinished pyramid with 13 levels representing the 13 colonies, signifying the country is strong, enduring but not completed. Above the pyramid is the
Eye of Providence, which is the all-seeing eye of God watching over the United States. Above the Eye of Providence are the words Annuit Cœptis meaning “He has Favored our undertaking”. The bottom of the pyramid has the Roman Numerals MDCCXXVI, meaning 1776. On a banner below the pyramid in Latin is the phrase NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM meaning “ A new order for the ages”.
The Great Seal is actually the coat of arms for the United States. As
previously mentioned, the “Blazon” is a written description of what is required on the Great Seal and not the exact design. The design has changed over the years. The actual Great Seal of the United States was first designed in 1885. Today's version of the Great Seal, which is currently used to emboss official United States documents such as treaties and agreements, was updated in 1903. The State Department of the United States is the keeper of the Great Seal.
Copies of the Great Seal are everywhere because it is on the back of the one dollar bill.
Happy anniversary USA and happy birthday to the Great Seal of the United States!
USA! USA! USA!
Tidbits
July 9, 1856– Nikola Tesla, a Serbian American inventor and researcher who discovered the rotating magnetic field, the basis of most alternating-current machinery, was born this day (or the next) in Smiljan, Croatia.
July 9, 1960– The Thesher, the first of a class of U.S. nuclear-powered
attack submarines, was launched; it sank in 1963 in the worst submarine accident in history.
July 10, 1943– The Allied invasion of Europe begins with the invasion of Sicily. American General George Patton invaded the south coast of Sicily and British General Bernard Montgomery invaded the southeast coast of Sicily.
July 11, 1804 – Aaron Burr kills Alexander
Hamilton in a duel. Hamilton and Burr were political rivals. Alexander Hamilton constantly attacked the character of Aaron Burr. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. However, Hamilton was against dueling, thinking it was morally wrong, and so deliberately fired his shot high. Burr did not, shooting Hamilton in the stomach. Hamilton died the next day.
Hamilton was probably right in criticizing Aaron Burr. In 1806, Burr, along with
General Wilkinson who was in charge of the Louisiana Territory, tried to seize the Territory and break away from the United States. Burr was arrested and tried for treason but was released on a technicality.
July 12, 1861– Wild Bill Hickok established his reputation as a gunfighter in a shoot-out with three men in Nebraska. James Butler Hickok had moved to Kansas in 1855 at the age of 18. He
took a job to make ends meet and became a skilled marksman. While Bill was not looking for trouble, he was always ready to defend himself.
In July 1861, he was working at a stage depot in Nebraska called Rock Creek Station. Near Rock Creek Station, a fellow by the name of David McCanles, who disliked Wild Bill for some reason and often called him “Duck Bill” to harass him, had a mind to get even with Hickok for dating his girlfriend. So, on July 12, McCanles
and two of his buddies set out to teach Wild Bill a lesson. Their plan did not work out the way they had planned. Wild Bill shot McCanles in the chest, killing him, then shot one of his buddies twice and wounded the third man. Wild Bill's friends, who also worked at the Rock Creek Station, finished them off. Another happy ending.....
July 12, 1862– Abraham Lincoln signs into law a resolution
calling for the awarding of the United States Army Medal of Honor in the name of Congress. In 1863, the Medal of Honor became a permanent military decoration available to all members of the United States military.
July 13, 1787– Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance. The Northwest Ordinance was a plan to develop 3 to 5 states northeast of the Mississippi River. One of those states was
Illinois.
July 14, 1789– The French Revolution begins when the people storm the Bastille, a famous French prison.
July 15, 1903 – Ford Motor Company takes its first sales order from Chicago dentist, Dr. Ernest Pfennig. The cost for the two-seater “Model A” with a back seat was $850. The car was delivered one week
later.
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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.
If your club or organization is holding a
gun show, event or class, let us know the details, and we’d be happy to post it in our Weekly Range Schedule.
Sept. 19 – Sept. 20, 2026 Chillicothe Sportsmen's Club Gun & Knife Show, Chillicothe Sportsmen's Club House, Chillicothe, IL.
Sept. 19, 2026 National Civil War, Military, and Collector Arms Show, DuPage County Fairgrounds, Wheaton, IL.
Oct. 3 - 4, 2026
Central Illinois Gun Collectors Association - New Berlin Gun Show, Sangamon County Fairgrounds, New Berlin, IL.
Nov. 28 - 29, 2026 Central Illinois Gun Collectors Association - New Berlin Gun Show, Sangamon County Fairgrounds, New Berlin, IL.
Nov. 28 - 29, 2026 Sauk Trail Gun Collectors Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds, Princeton, IL.
Dec. 6 – Dec. 7, 2026 Chillicothe Sportsmen's Club Gun & Knife Show, Chillicothe Sportsmen's Club House, Chillicothe, IL.
Feb. 13 - 14,
2027 Central Illinois Gun Collectors Association - New Berlin Gun Show, Sangamon County Fairgrounds, New Berlin, IL.
ISRA Town Hall Monthly Meetings
Come and meet fellow activists and learn the latest on protecting our Second Amendment Rights!
Livingston
County – 4th Tuesday of the month – South Post Guns, 104 Livingston Rd., Streator, IL; Summer meetings are postponed until August.
Madison County – 1st Wednesday of the month – Piasa Armory, 625 Lewis and Clark Blvd., East Alton, IL; Doors open at 6:15pm; Meeting starts at 6:30pm
Northwest Suburban - 3rd Tuesday of the month
– Algonquin/Dundee area - New Location - GAT Guns, 970 Dundee Ave, East Dundee, IL - Discounted Pistol Range from 4pm to 6pm, Social starts at 5:30pm, Meeting 7pm – 8pm, Catering fee $20
South Suburban/Cook County - 2nd Thursday of the month – New Location: Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant, 14459 LaGrange Rd, Orland Park, IL; Doors open 6:00pm;
Meeting 7pm – 8pm
Will County - 3rd Wednesday of the month – Silver Dollar Restaurant, 422 E. Mississippi Ave., Elwood, IL; Doors open 6pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
“Money can only buy happiness if you spend it on freedom. Join the ISRA today.” ~ Richard Pearson
