Open Carry in Illinois

Not allowed. The concealed carry license lets a licensee carry a loaded or unloaded handgun 'fully concealed or partially concealed'; the Act defines a concealed firearm as a handgun carried 'completely or mostly concealed from view of the public' (or within a vehicle). Illinois has no license for open carry, and carrying a firearm on public streets or lands within a city, village or town, or in a vehicle or concealed, is unlawful outside the listed exceptions.

Without a concealed carry license, a firearm may be carried in a vehicle only if it is broken down in a non-functioning state, not immediately accessible, or unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm carrying box, shipping box or other container by a person with a valid FOID card. A licensee may keep or carry a loaded or unloaded concealed handgun within a vehicle and may store it in a case in a locked vehicle in most prohibited-area parking lots. A non-resident who is not barred by federal law and is eligible to carry in public under home-state law (with a home-state license, if applicable) may transport a concealed firearm within the vehicle; if the vehicle is left unattended, the firearm must be stored in the locked vehicle or a locked container within it.

A licensee may not knowingly carry a firearm on or into: elementary and secondary schools; pre-schools and child care facilities; buildings and parking areas under the control of an officer of the executive or legislative branch (except Department of Natural Resources parks and hunting areas where allowed); court buildings; buildings of units of local government; jails, prisons and detention centers; hospitals, mental health facilities and nursing homes; publicly funded buses, trains and transit facilities; establishments where more than 50% of gross receipts in the prior 3 months come from alcohol; permitted public gatherings and special events, and premises during special-event liquor licenses; public playgrounds; municipal or park-district parks and athletic facilities; Cook County Forest Preserve property; colleges and universities; casinos, racetracks and off-track wagering sites; stadiums, arenas and collegiate or professional sporting events; public libraries; airports; amusement parks; zoos and museums; nuclear facilities; and areas where federal law bans firearms. Private property owners (other than residences) may ban carry by posting the ISP-approved 4 by 6 inch sign. Except at nuclear sites and federal no-gun areas, a licensee may carry in a vehicle into a prohibited location's parking area and store the firearm in a case in the locked vehicle.