A new Illinois State Police website launched Thursday that lays out what gun-owners need to do if they want to carry a gun in public.
The state police will begin accepting applications for a concealed carry permit on Jan. 5, 2014. Anyone looking to save time can get started now. There’s an online checklist that explains where gun-owners who want to speed up processing can go for fingerprinting. But National Rifle Association lobbyist Todd Vandermyde says he’s anxious the concealed carry rollout will mirror the Affordable Care Act signup mess. He's pressing the state police to accept paper, as well as online, applications: "There are people in this state who don't have the ability to scan documents, who are over 55 and don't live on a computer every day like the tech generation does. We're trying to make this reasonably accessible for everybody. But, the state police seem to be in a very narrow mindset about that, and are trying to force everything in a digital model, which they don't even seem to be able to get right."
Vandermyde says an example is that a key part of the signup doesn't work on many common web browsers. A state police spokesperson says the online route is less expensive and more efficient. The information is online at www.ccl4illinois.com
