Executive Directors Message

The failing health of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sending the left-wingers and their fellow travelers, and the media in to a combination of anaphylactic shock and hysteria.   While I wish the Justice no ill will, it is time for her to step down from the United States Supreme Court.  When this does happen it will be Katy Bar The Door in the United States Senate.  While I am not sure what kind of left-wing horse and pony show will be staged for the nominee and the public, I am sure there will be one.

Unshockingly, perennial anti-gun gunners Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Chris Murphy (D-Conn), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) and a host of the usual suspects rolled out the latest version of their so-called assault weapons ban.  While this is going nowhere in Congress, it was meant to push similar bans in the various states, Illinois being a primary target.  A few weeks ago, I did a quick analysis of the Illinois General Assembly.  The final numbers are now in and are below.

Illinois General Assembly by the numbers:

First, there are 177 members of the General Assembly.
The House has 118 members and the Senate has 59.
Each Senate District is divided into two single member House Districts.

Each Senate District is comprised of approximately 217,468 people while each House District is comprised of approximately 108,734 people.  The number of people represented in each legislative district will change when the legislative district maps are redrawn in 2021, after next year’s (2020) statewide census.

The November 6^th 2018 general election dramatically changed the makeup of Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate.

The State House Democratic majority, under Speaker Michael Madigan, increased from 67 members to a veto-proof 74 members.

The Republican ranks dwindle from 51 to 44. 

In the State Senate, Democratic President John Cullerton’s ranks go up from an already veto-proof 37 to 40 while the GOP falls from 22 to 19.

To pass a bill out of the House it takes 60 votes; a super majority is 71 (Veto-Proof)

To pass a bill out of the Senate it takes 30 votes; a super majority is 36 (Veto-Proof)

As of Monday, January 14^th, J.B. Pritzker was sworn in as Governor and every other statewide office holder sworn in was a Democrat.

As far as the Courts are concerned, the Illinois Supreme Court has seven members elected from five different judicial districts.

Cook County alone gets to elect three justices to the Supreme Court and the other four are elected in districts outside of Cook County.

Democrats have a 4-3 majority on the Court because Justice Thomas Kilbride represents the Third Judicial District.  Republican justices represent the 2^nd, 4^th and 5^th districts.

We have a challenging, but not impossible, environment in Illinois.

There were 4.5 million votes cast on Election Day in 2018, but there are about 2 million FOID card holders in Illinois.

If gun owners stand united – we can elect pro-Second Amendment candidates in Illinois.

This is why IGOLD is so important.

The annual Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day (IGOLD) is March 27th, 2019 in Springfield.

Bring your friends and family members and help us take a stand for the Second Amendment in Illinois.

If we stand up and stand together, we can and will be successful.

You can see by the numbers why IGOLD is so important this year.  Our guest speaker is David A. Keene, the Editor at Large of The Washington Times, the nation’s largest conservative daily print newspaper, and past president of the National Rifle Association (NRA).  If you can possibly attend, please make plans to do so.  You can go to the website www.isra.org and click on the link to print the flyer with all the details.

Governor Pritzker has signed SB337.  We are considering challenging this new law in court.

As of 1/15/2019:
FOID - 2,266,389
ICCL - 322,833

Thanks for being a member.

Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org

Saturday, January 19, 2019
New RSO Orientation

Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Air Rifle League & Practice

Saturday, January 26, 2019
The Well Armed Woman

Illinois Concealed Carry Renewal Classes at the ISRA Range:
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Tuesday, February 18, 2019

Illinois Gun & Trade Shows

Champaign Gun Show
Champaign, IL – Hilton Garden Inn
Dates: January 19 & 20, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-4:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00

McHenry County Gun Show
Woodstock, IL – McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: January 20, 2019
Hours: Sunday: 8:00-1:00
Admission: $5.00

Kankakee Gun Show
Kankakee, IL – Kankakee County Fairgrounds
Dates: January 26 & 27, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-4:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00

Sauk Trail Gun Show
Princeton, IL – Bureau County Fairgrounds
Dates: January 26 & 27, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-4:30
             Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $2.00

Crown Point Gun Show
Crown Point, IN – Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: January 26 & 27, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00


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