Three Illinois Counties to vote on Concealed handguns

The Peoria Journal Star has the full story here:

Voters in three central Illinois counties will have the chance Nov. 4 to let Springfield know what they think about the rights of citizens to carry concealed firearms.

Ballots in Woodford, LaSalle and McDonough counties will feature a referendum that asks whether the state should enact so-called "concealed-carry" legislation.

The referendum, however, is advisory only. Voters will not be deciding whether individual counties should adopt those rights, but whether state legislators should bring the issue to a vote.

Advocates of the legislation say such a law is long overdue in Illinois, one of only two states that haven't passed some form of the statute.

"The purpose of the referendum is to send a message to legislators in Springfield that they need to get this passed in Illinois and join all the other states," said Valinda Rowe, a southern Illinois resident who is spokeswoman for www.IllinoisCarry.com, a Web site dedicated to advancing the issue.

"What is completely legal and normal in 48 other states is a felony in Illinois," she said. . . .