http://www.sierratimes.com/aril080100.htm

Limited Conceal Carry Now Legal in Illinois
Edited for Publication By Sierra Times – Posted: 08.01.00
“A consequence of Governor Ryan’s Safe Neighborhoods Act is to redefine the
transportation of handguns in such a way as to allow de facto concealed
carry by law-abiding Illinois citizens,” announced Concealed Carry, Inc.
President John Birch in a press release today.

The Safe Neighborhoods Act did make the possession of a loaded “uncased”
handgun a felony, however an unloaded handgun, encased in a fanny pack with
loaded magazines, is perfectly legal to carry in Illinois. This means any
law-abiding citizen is just six seconds away from a fully loaded handgun
should a situation requiring the use of lethal force develop.

Concealed Carry, Inc. is calling this provision in law: “Six Seconds to
Safety.” To avail themselves of this protection, citizens should do the
following:

1. Obtain a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card and carry it.
2. Obtain a fanny pack designed for concealed carry of a weapon at any gun
store.
3. Put your UNLOADED gun in the fanny pack along with loaded magazines
4. A copy of the Safe Neighborhoods Act is suggested to be carried in the
fanny pack in case one runs across a law
enforcement person who is not aware of the new law. A copy of the act can be
found at: http://www.concealcarry.org

Concealed Carry, Inc., President John Birch stated, “This is a small, but
significant step forward in getting the right to self-defense back in
Illinois. Citizen safety has been significantly enhanced. Now instead of
waiting precious minutes or even hours for 911 to respond, citizens can
defend themselves in just six seconds.”

“We were surprised that Safe Neighborhoods Act sponsor Senator Tom Dart
would allow even this limited form of concealed carry, so maybe he’s not as
anti-gun as his public statements would lead us to believe. We are
contacting all Illinois law enforcement agencies and State’s Attorney’s
offices with this information to insure they know not to arrest much less
prosecute Illinois citizens for carrying unloaded guns,” added Birch.