Illinois in Focus

Greg Bishop reviews the closing arguments from the plaintiffs and defense in the bench trial of Illinois' gun and magazine ban, as well as some of the closing comments from federal Judge Stephen McGlynn about historic riots where Black residents were victimized.

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Attorneys for the state of Illinois called their first witness to the stand in the trial against the state’s gun and magazine ban. Day 3 of the bench trial featured plaintiffs’ final witness Randy Watt. Day 3 of the trial also had the state call its first witness. Retired Col. Craig Tucker, who served overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan and trained other soldiers for combat, testified that semi-automatic fire is preferred in a military setting for accuracy and not wasting ammo. But, he testified he would not recommend getting rid of full auto from military rifles.

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Whether commercially available semi-automatic rifles now banned in Illinois are common or too similar to military grade firearms was the focus of Day 2 of the bench trial of Illinois’ gun and magazine ban. On preliminary grounds, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the state last year, saying commercially available rifles that Illinois banned in January 2023 are too similar to military grade rifles and are able to be regulated. Now up for final judgment in the Southern District of Illinois federal court, day two of the bench trial was dominated by James Ronkainen, a former longtime engineer and director of firearms development and production for Remington. He said there are material differences between modern sporting rifles and military spec firearms.

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Greg Bishop, Illinois editor for The Center Square, hosts Illinois In Focus Daily, a review of some of the top Illinois headlines with timely and relevant news and interviews.

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Greg Bishop, Illinois editor for The Center Square, hosts Illinois In Focus Daily, a review of some of the top Illinois headlines with timely and relevant news and interviews.

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx

Greg Bishop reviews the response from the Illinois State Board of Election to concerns raised by the Illinois Election Integrity Project.

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With the national parties’ conventions over, it’s a mad dash to the general election finish line. Leaders from both of Illinois’ major political parties are laying out their get-out-the-vote efforts. Democrats officially nominated Kamala Harris for president last week in Chicago. Republicans nominated Donald Trump in Milwaukee last month. The Illinois State Board of Elections certified the ballot Friday that included keeping independent candidate Robert Kennedy on. Kennedy has now endorsed Trump, taking his name off battleground states’ ballots while staying on in states like Illinois where it could negatively impact Harris.

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