Madison County Chairman Kurt Prenzler is urging Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly to hold another public hearing on the registration rules in the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA Rules) after Monday’s hearing in Caseyville was held without sufficient public notice.
“Given the importance of our second amendment rights, I am requesting that another public hearing be scheduled in Madison County,” Prenzler wrote in a letter to Kelly.
“At this morning’s meeting, there was no PA system, which made it impossible for some to hear the three-person panel and public speakers,” he added. “I found out about the hearing Sunday night from a resident, and many said that if there had been more notice/advertising, there would have been more people than the hundred or so who attended.”
The hearing held in Caseyville on Monday morning was the third and final public hearing addressing gun ban registration rules amid the Jan. 1, 2024, deadline.
The controversial “assault weapons” ban was signed into law on Jan. 10 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Several state and federal constitutional challenges followed, including four consolidated cases pending in the Southern District of Illinois.
Monday’s meeting was held on the heels of the Seventh Circuit’s delayed order vacating preliminary injunction on 2nd Amendment claims in the Southern District of Illinois cases. U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn is now addressing vagueness claims in those same cases.
Most recently an amended complaint was filed in one of the consolidated cases, arguing that the registration deadline should be extended to allow for sufficient notice.
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) addressed the mandatory registration during its Oct. 17 meeting, resulting in a 5-5 vote to stop the implementation of the PICA Rules. Because the vote was tied, the rules were left in place.
However, JCAR instructed the Illinois State Police to hold public hearings on the PICA Rules. Hearings were held in Springfield on Nov. 2, Chicago on Nov. 3 and Caseyville on Nov. 6.
Valina Rowe of IllinoisCarry.com spoke during the Caseyville meeting, urging legislators to focus their efforts on mental illness “instead of making ineffective rules and rules that put our law enforcement at risk of violating our Constitutional rights of law abiding citizens and do nothing to make us safer.”
IllinoisCarry holds discussion forums for firearm owners to ask questions and share opinions in an appropriate manner.
“Our purpose is to provide Illinois firearm owners with a central location to communicate ideas and information regarding 2nd Amendment issues in Illinois,” the website states.
Kelly was not present at the meeting.