The new Illinois law allowing citizens to carry a concealed handgun won’t have much effect on campus.
Jeff Christensen
Jeff Christensen, the campus police chief and executive director of public safety, said all of the rules and regulations governing the possession of weapons on campus will continue to apply.
The only difference will be the new exception for those with a concealed-carry permit, which still restricts the actual carrying of a firearm on campus (outside of storing the weapon in a vehicle) – a provision that was pushed by university and state law enforcement officials during legislative discussions in Springfield.
Statewide, those with a permit can carry a handgun as long as it is hidden. If a weapon is being stored in a vehicle, it must be concealed within a case in a locked vehicle or in a locked container that is not in plain view.
“It really doesn’t change the unlawful use of weapons statute,” Christensen said. “We’re the last state in the nation to adopt a concealed-carry law, but it’s still the same rules; there’s just been an exception added.”
Christensen said the university formed a working group to address how the change would affect the campus after state officials were ordered this year to put in place a system allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons.
The system requires applicants to have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card, a background check and 16 hours of training.
“You can secure the weapon in your vehicle, but you can’t carry it in prohibited areas such as a college campus,” he said.
Christensen said the law allows the university to designate specific parking lots for those with a concealed-carry permit, but officials decided doing so would be counterproductive.
There is a provision in the existing law that gives individuals the opportunity to request an exemption allowing them to store a weapon on campus; the police chief is the only one with the power to grant those exemptions.
“Those exemptions have been rare and are handed out very infrequently,” he said, though exceptions such as ROTC training will be honored.
One of the biggest impacts to campus will be adding the signs the law requires. Instead of limiting signs to a main building entrance, the law calls for signs to be added at every entrance.
Christensen said the university sign shop has started making the signs. The “no guns” signs are being made along with the smoke-free campus signs (which will be used for a campus smoking ban that starts in January), as a way to reduce costs.
He said the committee will continue to meet to discuss and update campus policies relating to weapons as needed.
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