Gun rights bill’s failure could spell trouble for conceal carry push

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SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House rejected efforts Wednesday by gun-rights supporters to give the state sole authority over how guns should be stored in what amounted to a test vote for legislation to allow gun owners to carry their concealed weapons in public.

The gun-storage legislation pushed by Rep. Wayne Rosenthal (R-Morrisonville) would have blocked cities in Illinois with home-rule powers, such as Chicago, from establishing a patchwork of laws governing the way gun-owners store their weapons and instead give that authority to the state.

But on a 61-48 roll call, Rosenthal’s measure fell 10 votes shy of the threshold it needed to pass the House. Seventy-one votes are necessary when legislation pre-empts cities’ home-rule authorities.

With a statewide standard, opponents argued the legislation could have left Chicago with a weaker gun-storage law than what it now has on the books.

A more controversial vote on guns is expected later this month when Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) is expected to seek passage of his legislation allowing gun-owners to carry their weapons in public. Since it too would pre-empt home rule authority, Phelps legislation is expected to need 71 votes to pass the House.

On other legislative fronts, a bill that would allow billboards to sprout up in new locations along Chicago-area tollways faced a major setback when the House Tollway Oversight Committee voted down an effort to add Hickory Hills to the list of five suburbs targeted for more signs by a major billboard operator, CBS Outdoor.