Most Illinois Localities Pass on Opportunity To Ban "Assault Weapons"

The chance to pass bans disappears after this week

With just a few days to go before they'll no longer have the option, suburban leaders have largely declined to enact assault weapons bans, leaving future decisions on the topic in the hands of county or state leaders.

A new law that will eventually allow Illinoisans to carry concealed weapons in public also set midnight Friday as a deadline for suburbs to enact restrictions on so-called assault weapons and define what qualifies.

Existing bans like ones in Cook County and Aurora can remain in place under the law, and the Cook County Board is looking to add dozens of guns to the list it considers assault weapons and therefore banned at a meeting today.

But starting this weekend, any town or county that doesn't have an assault weapons ban can't make a new one.