See How North Shore Towns Are Voting on Assault Weapons

Many North Shore municipalities have taken up the issue of assault weapons before the concealed carry law passes in Illinois July 9 and prohibits local bans. Here’s a look at each community’s actions so far.

Skokie

After more than an hour and 33 comments, Skokie Village Board passed an assault weapons ban on July 1. The ban includes two parts--banning certain types of semi-automatic rifles and shotguns and requiring safe storage of guns and specific ways that can be done. For the full story, visit: Skokie.Patch.com.

Evanston

Evanston City Council is considering an ordinance that would ban the “possession, transfer, sale or display of assault weapons in the city of Evanston,” and will likely vote on the matter July 8. For the full story, visit: Evanston.Patch.com.

Wilmette

Wilmette Village President Bob Bielinski told Patch that there are currently no plans to discuss regulating guns in Wilmette. For the full story, visit: Wilmette.Patch.com.

Winnetka

Winnetka’s Village President Gene Greable told Patch that the council is “monitoring” the gun issue and has not yet determined if further action will be taken. For the full story, visit: Winnetka.Patch.com.

Northbrook

Northbrook Village President Sandy Frum said Northbrook Police Chief Charles Wernick did not convince her that banning assault weapons would prevent a mass shooting in town, and reiterated that gun policies should be left to state or federal governments. For the full story, visit: Northbrook.Patch.com.

Deerfield

Deerfield’s Board of Trustees voted July 1 to regulate the storage and transportation of assault weapons in the community. “This is not a ban. When the gun is not in the control of the owner it must be locked or in a locked container,” Village Attorney Peter Colbentz said before the vote. For the full story, visit: Northbrook.Patch.com.

Highland Park

After close to two hours of public comments from 53 residents Highland Park City Council voted in favor of a ban on assault weapons on June 24. The vote was nearly unanimous. Councilman David Naftzger was the only one to vote against the ordinance, citing the potential high costs in litigation the ban may cause, For the full story, visit: HighlandPark.Patch.com.

Lake Forest

On July 1, the Lake Forest City Council tabled an ordinance that would make registration of assault weapons mandatory. "This is an important topic," said Lake Forest Mayor Don Schoenheider. "It's important to get feedback from the community." For the full story, visit: LakeForest.Patch.com.

Concealed Carry in Illinois

The Illinois legislature passed a bill May 31 permitting concealed carry of guns, at the behest of a federal appeals court. Gov. Pat Quinn has yet to sign the bill, and if and when he does, that will open a 10-day window in which home rule communities can enact gun-related legislation, as long as it doesn't violate concealed carry.

On July 2,  Quinn sent back with an amendatory veto to the legislature’s concealed-carry bill with tighter gun-control measures and lawmakers will return to Springfield July 8 to take up the measure.