Richard Pearson

The bills are pouring out of the General Assembly.  Presently, we are tracking 175 bills and resolutions.  We will see a lot of movement on bills this week; however, we have learned the Illinois House has cancelled session for next week.  The Illinois Senate will be in.  One of the latest is SB2300.  SB2300 (Ann Gillespie (D-27 Arlington Heights) would put a 10% tax on so-called “assault weapons“ and “high capacity magazines”. This follows the pattern of ‘if you can’t ban them, tax them’ agenda.  Remember, the power to tax is the power to destroy.

Our ISRA attorney will be before the Illinois Supreme Court on March 10, 2021, regarding the FOID Restoration case, Evans v. Illinois State Police and Cook County State’s Attorney.  This is when arguments will be heard.  The decision may take some time.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation reports that President Joe Biden is considering executive orders that could redefine the threshold for unfinished receivers, requiring them to go through background checks by naming them as firearms. 

Finally, warmer weather is here and while we all love it, it also means a rise in all types of crime.  One of those types is carjackings.  In Chicago, carjackings are rising.  I predict that by the end of the year, Chicago could see 2200 carjackings, which averages six per day.  There are several things you can do to make yourself a less conspicuous target.  One of the things I notice is people taking their own sweet time and leaving themselves vulnerable.  People will pull into a store and just sit there, doors unlocked, windows down and their minds are somewhere but not where they are.  They are easy targets to say the least.  The same things happen when they come out of a store, particularly a grocery store.  They never look around when they load their groceries into their vehicle.  When they do get in their vehicle, some just sit there for a while doing whatever with doors unlocked and windows down.  They do everything but send the thugs an engraved invitation.  The same is true at gas stations, except they leave the keys in the car or even worse, running their vehicle while they are pumping gas.  A friend of mine managed a large multi pump gas station.  One day a lady pulled in to fill up.  She had a child in a baby seat in the back.  While she was pumping gas, a guy slipped into the back seat right under her nose.  She never saw him.  Fortunately, one of the inside cashiers saw what happened.  Thinking quickly, he ran out and told the lady there was a problem with her credit card and she would need to come inside.  Another cashier called 911 and police quickly surrounded the car.  The baby was safe, the lady was okay and the thug was surprised, but it did not have to be that way.  If that cashier hadn’t been alert, people would be walking though some field or timber somewhere dreading what they might find.

Parking decks are another area where the unaware are easy pickings.  One day, I pulled into a parking deck in Peoria, Illinois, and there was a woman with her back turned to everyone while changing a baby’s diaper in the trunk of the car.  That parking deck had been the scene of several attacks.  I pulled in down the way a bit and kept an eye on the situation until she left.  She never knew I was there or anyone else, for that matter.   

The short summation is don’t make yourself an easier target than you already are; there are those out there who seem to be asking for it and the sad news, some will get it.  The last thing you want to be is the subject on some true crime television show.

Tidbits:
March 4, 1789 - The United States Constitution takes effect.

March 4, 1918 - The first case of the Spanish Flu is reported at Fort Riley, Kansas.  The Spanish Flu would eventually kill 675,000 Americans and somewhere between 20 and 70 million people around the world.  The Fall and Winter of 1918/1919 were particularly bad.  I knew a woman who was a young girl on a farm in Clinton, Illinois, during that time.  She told me five members of their household died but they were all so sick and the weather was so cold that they could not bury them so they wrapped the bodies in blankets and froze them on the back porch until Spring.  The Spanish Flu is a misnomer.  It apparently started in Kansas and spread around the world from there.  Remember WWI was going on and American troops were going to Europe.  They took the Spanish Flu with them.  It was a terrible time.

March 5, 1770 - The Boston Massacre erupts leaving five Americans dead.  They were Crispus Attucks, James Caldwell, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray and Samuel Maverick.  British soldiers were being pummeled by snowballs, panicked and fired into the crowd.  These were the first deaths of the Revolutionary War.  Crispus Attucks was an African American.  A park is named in his honor in Carbondale, Illinois.

March 6, 1836 - The Alamo is overwhelmed by General Santa Anna and his troops.

March 6, 1899 - The German Company, Bayer, patents acetylsalicylic acid more commonly known as aspirin.  For centuries the bark of willow trees was used to relieve pain and fever.  Bayer employees Felix Hoffmann and Arthur Eichengrun found a way to stabilize the chemical and make it more pleasant to take.  Before that, people actually ate willow tree bark which was really hard on the digestive tract.

March 6, 1932 - John Philip Sousa dies.  Sousa was in charge of the United States Marine Band that played for the President of the United States.  He was also a founding member of the Amateur Trapshooting Association.  He was the “March King” and wrote most of the military marches still in use today.

March 7, 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone.  The American people have been pestered ever since.

March 9, 1916 – Mexico leader Poncho Villa and 1500 guerrillas attack Columbus, New Mexico, killing 19 Americans and burning the town.  In January of 1916, Poncho Villa kidnapped and slaughtered 18 Americans who were on a train in Mexico.  This infuriated President Woodrow Wilson and he ordered General John J. Pershing and 6000 troops to cross into Mexico and find Poncho Villa.  Pershing was never able to catch him but Villa was assassinated in 1923.  One of those who pursued Villa was a young Army Lieutenant by the name of George Patton.  Patton obtained a couple of Dodge Touring Cars to aid in the chase making this the Army’s first mechanized unit.  My father was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and knew some of those soldiers who chased Poncho Villa.  It must have been quite an adventure.

March 9, 1959 - The Barbie Doll makes her debut at the American Toy Show in New York.

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Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org

Tuesday, March 9 & 16, 2021
Tuesday Afternoon Indoor Air Gun Open Practice
ISRA Indoor Air Gun Practice

Saturday, March 6, 2021
Range Work Day
AR-15 Care & Maintenance Class – CLASS IS FULL

Sunday, March 7, 2021
ISRA Black Powder League (Bonfield Muzzle Loaders)
CCL Range Qualification

Wednesday, March 10 & 24, 2021
ISRA International Air Pistol League

Saturday, March 13, 2021
2021 Illinois State Standard Pistol & Air Pistol Championship - Streator, IL
Saturday, March 13 & 27, 2021
NRA Range Safety Officer Course – CLASS IS FULL

Sunday, March 14, 2021
CCW Range Recertification

Monday, March 15, 2021
2021 Illinois State NRA Indoor Pistol Championship – Junior Shooters Only-Plano, IL

Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Glock Armorer Course

Thursday, March 17 & 18, 2021
Glock Operator Course

Saturday, March 20, 2021
Hard Dog Junior Team Kickoff Meeting

Sunday, March 21, 2021
Marksmanship League
CCL Range Qualification
2021 Illinois State NRA Indoor Pistol Championship – Highland, IL

Gun & Trade Shows

Crown Point Gun Show – Crown Point, IN
Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: March 6 & 7, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show – Kankakee, IL
Kankakee County Fairgrounds
Dates: March 6 & 7, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00 
             Sunday: 800-2:00
Admission: $6.00

Davenport Gun & Knife Show – Davenport, IA
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Dates: March 6 & 7, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00

Kane County Sportsman’s Show – St Charles, IL
Kane County Fairgrounds
Date: March 14, 2021
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $7.00

Peoria Gun & Knife Show – Peoria, IL
Exposition Gardens
Dates: March 20 & 21, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00

McHenry County Gun Show – Woodstock, IL
McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: March 21, 2021
Hours: Sunday: 8:00-1:00
Admission: $5.00

Belleville Gun Show – Belleville, IL
St Clair County Event Center
Dates: March 27 & 28, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: 7.00