UPDATE x1: HB 183, sponsored by gun rights advocate State Rep Brandon Phelps, passed the House 89 to 28 at 4:20 PM - Roll call below. Now goes to the Governor.
SPRINGFIELD - During the last afternoon of the Spring 2013 session, the Illinois Senate just passed a compromise concealed-carry bill HB 183 with a 45 to 12 vote. The bill now heads back to the House for consensus this evening.
The Illinois Carry group urged a "no" vote on HB 183:
But at Senator Darrin LaHood (R-Dunlap) saw it differently:
“This bill is not perfect, but it is a huge step forward to achieving the right-to-carry for Illinoisans. I have maintained that we must have a concealed-carry bill which, allows for local preemption. It was important that we passed legislation before the June 9th deadline or else we would have faced a patchwork for local ordinances that may have obstructed the most basic right to self defense,” LaHood said. “I am happy that we have made progress and thus we can join the rest of the United States in terms of the right-to-carry. As a former state and federal prosecutor, I believe passage of this legislation will help reduce crime rates in Illinois, as we have seen in other states.”
State Sen. Dave Luechtefeld (R-Okawville) commented, too -
“Today’s Senate passage of the concealed-carry legislation will afford southern Illinoisans a right that all of our neighbors already have. I will admit, some Second Amendment supporters will say that this legislation does not go far enough, however, this may have been our only shot at passing concealed-carry before June 9,” Luechtefeld said. “We make a commitment to our constituents to support initiatives that will benefit them and I believe that this legislation benefits concealed-carry supporters throughout the state. Under the circumstances we face, this might be the best legislation we can pass for Illinois.”
The Senate vote was:
