Illinois and Wisconsin are the only two states in the country that do not allow citizens to carry concealed firearms.

At least two Winnebago County Board members would like to see that changed in Illinois, starting in Winnebago County.

Randy Olson, R-1, and Doug Aurand, D-3, plan to present a resolution to the County Board this month authorizing concealed carry within the boundaries of the county.

The resolution is a 10-page document that outlines applicant guidelines and procedures before the sheriff issues a permit such as: being at least 21 years of age, a resident of the county for at least six months, passing a criminal-background check, completing a firearm safety training course and not having a history of mental illness or violent behavior.

Rockford, the largest municipality in the county, annually ranks at the top with highest crime rate in the state.

“States with right-to-carry laws have lower overall violent crime rates compared to states without right-to-carry laws,” the resolution states. Citing 1996 crime data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, the resolution went on to say that in states that allow concealed carry, the total crime rate is 13 percent lower, homicides were down 3 percent, robberies were down 26 percent and aggravated assaults were down 7 percent.

There is a County Board sub-committee meeting on June 10th at 5:30 at Memorial Hall in Rockford (211 N. Main St.) We would like to see as many people show up as possible to support this issue. If you can't make it on the 10th there will be meetings every other Tuesday after that. At the end of each meeting the public will be able to speak on the issue. We need people to be at every meeting representing us. I will be at every meeting, I will be handing out buttons that show our support for the issue.

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