Concealed carry in Illinois - bipartisan?

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The caption under a photo on the front page of today's Northwest Herald reads, in part, "Democratics made huge gains in the Statehouse, obtaining a veto-proof majority in both houses."

Does this spell doom for concealed carry in Illinois?

What will it mean for the crime rate and the murder rate in Chicago and Cook County?

Concealed carry should not be a partisan issue. Every State Representative should be concerned about the safety and health, not only of his own constituents, but of the safety and health of all citizens and residents in the State of Illinois. While he (or she) is elected by District, the responsibility is for the whole State.

We're sheltered out here in McHenry County. Murders, shootings and assaults in Chicago don't cover the front page of the Northwest Herald or The Woodstock Independent. But the count is certainly important and publicized in Chicago.

Concealed carry almost passed in Illinois in May 2011. HB 0148 was brought for a vote, because the many sponsors must have thought it had a good chance of passing with the 71 votes needed to make it bullet-proof when it hit the Governor's desk.

But some arms must have gotten twisted at the last minute by the Governor and the Mayor of Chicago, and some Cook County Democrats reneged on their promises to vote Yes. The sponsors pulled the bill to avoid recording a losing vote. The Bill has languished in committee since then.

The NRA and the ISRA are failing law-abiding citizens by not doing what is necessary to secure enough votes to pass this bill. Advertising and direct campaigns aimed at constituents in certain Cook County districts are necessary to educate the public, which will then influence their legislators.

We, out here in the boonies in McHenry County, will never persuade a State Rep in Chicago's war zone to change his vote. But his residents, who must already be fed up with the killings and other shootings near their homes, can be educated.

Prof. John Lott, formerly connected with the University of Chicago, wrote More Guns, Less Crime. It's not your easiest-to-read book, but the 243 pages plus extensive footnotes fully support the title. When we law-abiding citizens have and carry concealed weapons, the crime rate will go down.

It makes sense. When the bad guy doesn't know if his potential victim or a bystander is armed, he just may not commit a crime. That's all it takes.