Archive for Concealed Carry

Chicagoland Apartment Association’s Concealed Carry Panel Recap

The Chicagoland Apartment Association (CAA) hosted a panel on Friday, February 28th regarding “The Effect of Concealed Carry on Rental Property Policies”. The panelists discussed the statute and broke it down as it applies to apartment properties, tenants, and employees.

The panelist included:

Senator Kwame Raoul, Illinois Senate, 13th District and Partner, Quarles & Brady
Jessica Ryan, Principal Attorney, Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit, P.C
Mark Kexel, Vice President of Operations, Titan Security Services, Inc.
Nicole Upano, Manager of State & Local Government Affairs, National Apartment Association

Some of the key topics were:

Prior to determining your policy you should consider:

Consulting with legal counsel to assess liability
Consulting with risk management regarding any impact on coverage and premiums
Consulting with your marketing/leasing team to understand any implications to your target residences
Consulting with your security services provider regarding the enforcement of the policy and procedures you may adopt
The implications on the culture of the building and the lobby experience

What to do once a policy is identified:

Communication should be made in writing to inform all residents, staff, vendors, and contractors of the property policy
All staff should be trained in what Concealed Carry means and its limitations
Training and policies should be property specific and will not all be the same

For more information from the Illinois State Police, please click here.

For a recap of the panel from the Chicago Sun-Times, please click here.

Concealed Carry Application Process Open

With the start of the new year residents of Illinois can now officially apply for Concealed Carry permits. The process started Sunday, January 5, 2014.

Illinois State Police will have 90 days to approve or deny an applicant as long as the application is complete and fingerprints are submitted electronically. If the applicant does not submit fingerprints along with the application the Illinois State Police will have an additional 30 days to review the application.

As of Tuesday, January 8th, more than 13,000 applications had been approved and 105 applications had been rejected according to the Chicago Tribune. The Illinois State Police has 120 days from the time they receive the application to issue the licenses for the approved applications.

In order to apply, interested residents can go to the Illinois State Police Concealed Carry Licensing website: https://ccl4illinois.com/ccw/public/home.aspx

Paper applications will be available beginning July 1, 2014.

For more information on Concealed Carry, please click here.

For the full article from the Chicago Tribune, please click here.

What Mass Killers Want – And How to Stop Them

On November 8, 2013 the Wall Street Journal ran an article titled “What Mass Killers Want – And How to Stop Them” by Ari N. Schulman.

The first part of the article describes an overview of massacre killers. The article references that unlike serial killers who are driven by inflicting pain over and over that massacre killers generally do not have a history of violence and commit a single act of violence. This single act of violence is seen by the killers as a theater and that once the massacre is over the media will publicize the motives behind the killings.

The article also describes how journalist and the police can assist in preventing an increase in massacre killings. In 2001 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health and the surgeon general jointly released a set of reporting guidelines for journalists. In addition to the guidelines the article talks about other ways that journalists and police can help including:

Do more to deprive the killer of an audience
- Never publish a shooter’s propaganda
- Hide their names and faces
- Don’t report their biography or speculate motive
Withhold or embargo details
- Minimize specifics and gory details
- No photos or videos of the event
Remove the dark aura of mystery
- Talk to the victims but minimize images of grieving families
- Decrease the saturation
- Tell a different story

For the full article, please click here.

Greater North Michigan Avenue Security & Safety Meeting Recap

On Thursday, October 10th, the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association (“GNMAA”) hosted their annual Security and Safety Information Meeting. This meeting included presentations from John Chikow, the GNMAA President, Commander Alfred Nagode with the 1st District and Sgt. Ray Palczynski with the 18th District. Titan attended the meeting as well as several of our clients. A summary of the topics discussed is as follows:

Concealed Carry Law

The concealed carry law only applies to private citizens
Vehicle Safe Harbor
- Can carry a loaded handgun in plain view while driving
- Unattended vehicles: handgun must be out of view or placed in a trunk
Licensing Criteria
- Must be 21 years of age
- No prior domestic violence convictions
- No felony convictions
- No more than two (2) DUIs within a five (5) year period
- No misdemeanors within the last five (5) years
- No misdemeanors of a controlled substance or cannabis within the past year
- No intellectual, developmental, or mental disabilities
- No diagnosis that poses a “clear and present danger” result
Nuclear facilities is the only place that can restrict safe harbor in a vehicle
If a company allows concealed carry they need to provide their own proper background checks on employees
If a company does not allow concealed carry they need to have employees report anyone they see doing so in order to enforce the rules
Applications will become available on January 5, 2014 with the licenses being approved by late February or early March
Only Illinois concealed carry licenses will be valid at this time

When to call 311 vs. 911

911 – There is an emergency in progress and having a police on site will solve the problem
311 – A crime happened but having a police officer on site right away won’t solve the issue

Retail Theft and Security

Retail theft has been reduced significantly so far this year
Most retail theft offenders are repeat offenders
Stores should have employee theft and prosecution policies in place that state what the employer expects from employees
Store managers should be aware of blind spots in the store
Security cameras should not be a secret to shoppers
Employees should be repeatedly background checked every two (2) years
When calling the police and fire department to a scene the person who is calling should be as descriptive as possible as to which doors to enter

Credit Card Theft and Security

Skimming is a current trend that involves the thief using a device on an ATM to capture credit card data
Thieves are re-encoding credit cards with the stolen data to cards with their names on them
Most of the money is being taken out at currency exchanges

BOMA/Chicago Concealed Carry Meeting Recap

On September 17, 2013, BOMA/Chicago’s Security Committee hosted an open meeting to discuss the Illinois Firearms Concealed Carry Act. The presentation was given by Richard Devine, Partner at Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson, and Brandon Nemec, Assistant State’s Attorney, Legislative Unit of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. They discussed issuance of concealed carry permits, prohibited areas, vehicle safe harbor, and criminal penalties. The following is an overview of the topics discussed.

Concealed carry permits will be prohibited in the following areas:

School
Private property – If the owner elects to prohibit concealed carry they must:
- Post a 4”x 6” uniform sign that meets requirements at the entrance
- Property owner’s interest controls over tenant/leaseholder
Child care facility
Playground
Municipal public park (excludes bike paths)
Cook County Forest Preserve District
Unit of state or local government
Library
Bars – if more than 50% of revenue comes from the sale of alcohol
Hospital, mental health facility, or nursing home
Stadium, arena, or sporting event
Riverboat, racetrack, or off-track betting site
Airport
Amusement park, zoo, or museum
Public transportation property – includes train, bus, platform, or station property
Public gathering or special event, where a permit is required
Colleges and Universities – unless authorized by school authorities
Nuclear facilities – includes parking lots

A person may still carry a gun in their car in the parking lot of a prohibited area if they follow these guidelines:

The permit holder may only exit the vehicle while carrying to place an unloaded handgun in the trunk for safe storage
If leaving the vehicle unattended, the permit holder must place the handgun out of plain sight in a locked vehicle or in the trunk

Criminal penalties will include:

Carrying in a prohibited area = Class B misdemeanor, or Class A misdemeanor for repeat offense
Carrying while intoxicated = Class A misdemeanor, or Class 4 felony for 3rd or greater offense

In order to obtain a concealed carry permit a person must meet the following qualifications from the State Police:

21 years old
Passes criminal background check
Passes mental health background check
16 hours of training
$150 fee
Subject to additional objection by law enforcement entity and review by licensing board

How the Concealed Carry Gun Law Affects Building Owners & Property Management

The State of Illinois recently passed the Firearm Concealed Carry Act on July 9, 2013. This allows citizens to carry concealed firearms. The Act will go into effect in 2014. Illinois State Police is now in the process of setting up rules in accordance with the act.

Crain’s Chicago Business has posted an article regarding what this new act means for building owners, landlords, and tenants. Below is a summary of the points described in the article.

Building Owners

Have the authority to prohibit people from entering their property with a concealed firearm
In order to prohibit people, a sign must be posted at the entrance of the building indicating that firearms are prohibited
The language for the signage is still to be determined

Landlords and Tenants

If landlords would like to prohibit firearms to be carried on their property, they should review lease rules and regulations to ensure that they implement the concealed carry policies properly
Landlords should look at other states lease policies regarding prohibiting firearms to be carried at a property
Tenants should review their leases to know their obligations to the property

Property Managers

If you are a property manager for an out-of-state owner you should talk with the building owner to confirm that they understand their rights and obligations with this act
Internal policies should be reviewed in order to properly implement them to clients

Businesses Serving Alcohol

If more than 50% of revenue is derived from alcohol sales, the law prohibits the carrying of a firearm in such establishment
If an owner of an establishment that does have 50% of revenue from alcohol sales does not prohibit the carrying of a firearm they can face a penalty of $5,000
Restaurant and bar owners should also think about the implications on their liability insurance

For the full article, please click here.