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| When Tom Dart speaks ... |
It’s
because of all the hot air that our political people bloviate every time they
open their mouths and spew forth any types of rhetoric.
ANYBODY
WHO THINKS that viewpoint is an exaggeration is missing the point, because I’d
say that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart gave us the latest example of a political
person feeling compelled to speak for no real reason.
Dart
recently made a point of saying that he’s coming up with a “concealed carry” ordinance
that would dictate under what conditions people living in Illinois’
most-populous (by far) county could actually carry a pistol on their person for
their protection.
Of
course, if the Illinois General Assembly actually succeeds in coming up with something
by month’s end (as a federal Court of Appeals has ordered them to), then
anything that Dart or the Cook County Board chose to do would be a moot point.
But
there are times when Dart is exactly the kind of political person who likes to
hear himself talk. And I’m sure that in his own way, the former member of the
Illinois Legislature was also interested in trying to influence the thoughts of
those people in the General Assembly who are working on this issue.
AS
ENVISIONED BY Dart, people interested in having a permit to carry a pistol on
them legally would have to pay a $300 fee. But they also would have to provide
justification for why they NEED to have a firearm.
The
sheriff also pointed out that someone like a business owner who thinks they may
be robbed doesn’t necessarily need a firearm – they could hire a security firm
and have guards who are trained in firearm use, rather than having to hold the
pistol themselves.
Perhaps
that is something along the lines of what Dart would like to see the
Legislature pass into law. Which means we ought to take Dart’s talk about “concealed
carry” as more of an endorsement of a policy – rather than any kind of
legitimate attempt at creating county government policy.
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| ... does anyone in Legislature listen? |
And
I’m also sure that there are those elements of the Legislature who will hear
what Dart has to say, then instantly do the exact opposite.
HECK,
HE DOESN’T even have strong support within the metropolitan area.
Because
the newspaper accounts about Dart’s pronouncement made a point of stating that
a county policy would apply to Chicago, since the city would not have a
specific policy concerning the “concealed carry” issue.
That
is unique, since city officials usually go out of their way to state that
county government is JUST the suburban parts of Cook County with no authority
over Chicago proper.
Which
is why Chicago police had their PR types tell reporter-type people that city
officials will enact their own “concealed carry” policy if the state
Legislature fails to act. The city doesn’t want the county to think any
precedent is being set for who governs what!
WHICH
MEANS EVEN city officials aren’t fully behind Tom Dart getting involved with
this issue.
In
fact, there’s only one reason that we ought to take anything Dart says the
least bit seriously. It’s the fact that he’s absolutely correct when he says
the General Assembly isn’t all that reliable when it comes to meeting
deadlines.
So
June 9 being the absolute limit for the Legislature to act on “concealed carry?”
As Dart put it, “Deadlines sometimes don’t mean anything. We have to be
prepared in the event something does not get done.”
How
many years in a row have we had “absolute” deadlines for pension funding
reform? How many decades have we seen a Legislature contemplate casinos or new
airports? Doing nothing is something our state’s Legislature is good at.
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