Two weeks and one day remain until a federal court deadline for Illinois to enact a law allowing people to carry guns in public. IPR'S Brian Mackey has more.
Lawmakers approved concealed-carry legislation on the last day of their regular session in May, but Gov. Pat Quinn has refused to say what he plans to do with it. Asked about it last week, after his special session on pensions, Quinn was typically non-committal.
"That bill is a complex one, and it deserves full and complete review -- deals with public safety -- and that's going on as we speak."
Lawmakers are getting impatient. Nearly two-dozen Democratic senators have written the governor urging him to act -- saying they would need time to respond in case he vetoes or changes the bill.
Normally Quinn would have 60 days to sign or veto legislation -- which would leave him until early August. But the Chicago federal court deadline of July 9 still stands -- it's already been extended once, and the judges have said that date is final.
Regardless of what Quinn does, the concealed carry bill passed with large majorities, and backers predict they'll be able to easily override his veto.