Illinois prohibits open carry of firearms statewide under 720 ILCS 5/24-1 and the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, which authorized only concealed carry. Cook County follows state law; there is no local open-carry exception in unincorporated areas or suburbs.
When Illinois passed the Firearm Concealed Carry Act in 2013, the legislature explicitly authorized only concealed carry, leaving the existing prohibition on open carry under 720 ILCS 5/24-1 in force. A handgun must be concealed on the person or carried in a case, unloaded, when in public. Cook County has no local rule loosening this. The only narrow exceptions are at one's own dwelling, fixed place of business, or while hunting on permitted lands. Plainclothes and off-duty law enforcement are also exempt.
Open carry of a handgun is Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon, a Class 4 felony first offense; second offense is Class 2 with three to seven years prison.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines City Code 6-2-7(E) applies its dBA limits to vehicles and equipment on the public right of way (excessive at 65 dBA daytime / 50 dBA quiet hours ...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines City Code 6-2-7(D) makes it unlawful to make or continue any sound determined to be excessive. Outside quiet hours, 6-2-7(E)(5) sets the threshol...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines City Code 6-2-7(F) makes it unlawful to operate any sound-production or amplification device whose sound crosses a property line and raises total...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines City Code Section 7-3-8 prohibits parking on designated streets during declared snow removal operations so that plows can clear the roadway; viol...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines requires fences and the full lot to be properly maintained, including portions of a lot where a fence is not on the property line, and limits fen...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines prohibits barbed-wire and electrically charged fences in residential areas; they are allowed only in nonresidential districts where the Zoning Ad...
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