I had sorta realised this, but not just how bad it is.
That's exactly why I wrote that--I think that's pretty common. It's staggering when you look at the hard numbers, and too many downstate still think we can just cut Chicago off. I enjoy a good "trading Chicago to Wisconsin for cheese" joke as much as the next guy, but since we know none of that is going to happen, we have to deal with Chicago or we just aren't serious.
I'm glad you like the posts. I want to put together a primer so people will have a basic grounding in what Illinois gun politics are really like. I'm not really an expert, but I know enough to help people from outside Illinois understand what's going on, and of course, my own biases slip in there, too.
I know it looks long-winded, but that really is only Part I. I want to do the thing in several parts, with each one being a longer summary of one particular topic. So far, I plan on having these topics:
1 and 1.1 were quick skims of the influence of Chicago on the rest of the state. If you read a lot on THR, it probably sounds trite, but I meet people who don't understand it every day.
2. What the FOID is, how it works, what is to be done about it.
3. Prohibited weapons in Illinois (full auto, suppressors, AOW's, "switchblades")
4. Concealed Carry in Illinois
5. "Fanny pack carry"/"Six Seconds to Safety
6. Illinois Pro-gun groups--infighting, cannibalism, and the major changes happening right now.
7. Illinois anti-gun groups--bluffin' like blowfish, yo.
8. Illinois grassroots action you can take, broken down by time/money required. I.E. what you can do in ten minutes per week, what you can do in a few hours per month, one Saturday per month, or one day per week.
9. Great places to shoot in Illinois.
I'm sure some things will be added over time, and the order will probably change, but this is the basic outline of what I want to do.
But for now, I think I'll just go post my favorite Chicago-is-the-capital story.
