by TGM staff
![By Yumi Kimura from Yokohama, JAPAN [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.thegunmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/300px-crime-scene-tape.jpg)
By Yumi Kimura from Yokohama, JAPAN [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Illinois lawmakers were forced by the courts to adopt a concealed carry law thanks to a pair of lawsuits that included the Second Amendment Foundation’s Moore v. Madigan. The other lawsuit was Shepherd v. Madigan, filed by the National Rifle Association. The US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling applied to both cases.
However, it is doubtful that either SAF or the NRA will be credited with forcing the state to adopt a law that appears to be contributing to a decline in Windy City crime.
“The number of robberies that have led to arrests in Chicago has declined 20% from last year, according to police department statistics,” the Washington Times reported. “Reports of burglary and motor vehicle theft are down 20% and 26%, respectively. In the first quarter, the city’s homicide rate was at a 56-year low.”
Meanwhile, Politico quoted anti-gun Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who insisted that the Windy City is not the nation’s “murder capital.” That report cited Chicago Police Department statistics showing homicides down 7% from last year at this time and 20% from the same period in 2010.
Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), told TGM that the decline in crime actually started when lawmakers began discussing concealed carry. In the Washington Times piece, he said, “It isn’t any coincidence crime rates started to go down when concealed carry was permitted. Just the idea that the criminals don’t know who’s armed and who isn’t has a deterrence effect.”
