Jeff_Chicago

Hello Molly, this is my first post, as i'm a newly approved member of this site. Thank you for allowing me to join.

I live downtown Chicago, just minutes away from the Chicago Theater (landmark, so you all know the general area if you're not from here). I've never owned a gun but have a healthy respect for them and have shot a wide variety of sidearms and rifles. I'm considering getting a FOID card and possibly my CCL. I have a few questions if you (and others please) would be so kind to assist.

Last summer was certainly an eye-opener for me. I live within walking distance to the scene in the attached picture. So close, I had CS gas wafting thru my apartment three times- and dozens of openly armed gangbangers, Antifa and BLM running under my 1st story balcony. My block was burned and completely looted. I was hunkered down in my car last summer caught in the middle of a rolling shootout on the expressway, and have had drive-by shootings and carjackings along my street (Lake Street). In Chicago, we literally have over 100 shootings, with 12-25 dead every weekend, just miles away from my home.

My previous experiences have been where I have been literally attacked by crazed methheads with kitchen knives and metal poles walking to and from work. I'm an ex-bouncer and pretty bad-a** with an ASP collapsable baton (thank god), but see our society devolving ever-more precariously towards open civil conflict- I'd rather not wait until that time and then begin to think about self defense of myself and loved-ones in my home and as I navigate through my day-to-day existence.

These are the questions I immediately have, as a new member of the site and open group discussion page:

- I have a low-class felony marijuana arrest (Kansas, 1993, no prison time, 1 year write-in probation, no troubles since then) which i'm soon to enlist an attorney in Kansas to expunge. How long before this is finalized before I can initiate my request for a FOID card?

- Will I run into problems getting a FOID card even if I have a successful expungement?

- Do I need (should I try) to further clean-away this infraction by petitioning the Chicago PD/ISP to wipe it completely off their records? I hear I can go to the main CPD headquarters and request a record of my "history" and have it eliminated.

- I have had a Medical Marijuana Card since 12/19/2018 (set for expiry within 4 weeks from todays date), for a sleep disorder and low-level general anxiety, of which I've cured myself from since then. I haven't bought from a dispensary for over a year, and haven't smoked for well over one year (I quit due to a pre-stage one lung cancer diagnosis and left lung removal, for which I'm now cancer-free). Will my MML prohibit me from a successful FOID application? I have read it will not, but I want to confirm, and possibly only request a FOID until after its expiry.

- I own a Byrna HD (https://byrna.com) and PepperBall TCP (https://shop.pepperball.com/products/tcp-launcher) CS gas projectile launchers. I bought then as my above history and felony infraction do not come into play...but, Illinois laws regarding the carrying of such self-defense tools are murky at best. Could you elaborate, if you have any information regarding the possession and usage (in purely self-defense situations) of CS gas projectile launchers.

Thanks so much for your advise and council in the above matters. I'd really appreciate any and all insight and recommendations from you, and like-minded people within this group.

Jeff Engel

Chicago, Illinois