Following Illinois’ passing of the Firearm Concealed Carry Act on July 9, the state’s institutions are preparing to handle the lawful carrying of concealed handguns while Illinois citizens await the opportunity to obtain licenses.

The act grants the Illinois State Police 180 days to make necessary arrangements for the state to properly carry out the new law, which includes establishing a process to provide applications to the public.

Monique Bond, spokeswoman for the ISP, said the enactment of this act places responsibility on the department for many administrative processes, including the creation of a new unit to deal with issues pertaining to concealed carry. Bond said the undertaking will cost about $25 million dollars.

Bond also said the ISP hopes everyone behaves in a law-abiding manner when applications become available.

“What we believe is that people will obtain their licenses and follow the law and understand what the laws and the rules are regarding the license,” she said.

The new law will affect officer training for local police departments more than the ISP, as most of the ISP’s patrol is on the road. For the University’s police department, however, passage of the law has not posed any need for drastic changes.

The law enumerates restrictions regarding where people cannot carry concealed weapons, which include all buildings owned or leased by a college or university, as well as parking areas and sidewalks under a college or university’s control.

University Police Deputy Chief Skip Frost said individuals can legally carry concealed weapons in the campus district once permits are issued. Concealed carry is legal in privately owned businesses unless a sign is posted saying otherwise, and not every street and sidewalk in the campus district is controlled by the University.

“There is no good cookie-cutter approach,” Frost said.

He also said the carrying of concealed firearms will not be a major concern for the department because of the restriction on university property, but the UIPD is preparing as needed.

“We’ve been in very close contact with the state’s attorney’s office and with the ISP and everybody about this,” he said. “We’re on it. We know it’s coming, and we’ll deal with it when it comes about.”

Part of the UIPD’s preparations has included reaching out to peer institutions, such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A concealed carry law took effect in Wisconsin on Nov. 1, 2011.

The concealed carry laws are not identical from state to state, but Sgt. Aaron Chapin, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department, said his campus has not seen any significant change as a result of the law.

The Wisconsin law allows concealed carry on a college or university campus, but the University of Wisconsin-Madison prohibits weapons in its buildings. Chapin said the law required procedural changes for how officers react to people carrying a weapon, which can now be done in a legal fashion. The law also created concern that people may be carrying illegal weapons in a manner that looks consistent with the law, for the purpose of doing harm later.

While Chapin said he could not comment specifically on what the University can expect with concealed carry, he said a good safety practice is to alert authorities if a situation doesn’t seem right.

“If somebody is acting suspiciously and then you see a weapon, or you know somebody who has got a weapon and then starts talking about doing harm to somebody else, those are things that need to be brought to the attention of authorities,” Chapin said.

He said this practice could potentially save lives, recalling shootings on college campuses such as those at Virginia Tech in 2007 and at Northern Illinois University in 2008.

The ISP must make a concealed carry permit available by Jan. 5 – in the meantime, University students interested in a license continue their wait. Aleksander Dapkus, president of the Illini on Target registered student organization and a senior in LAS, recently purchased a Glock 19 and said he looks forward to applying for a license.

“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do,” he said. “We just haven’t been able to do it in this state.”

Dapkus said he’d like to be able to obtain a license without an application, but that he understands the practical reasons behind background checks. Because the state is completing these background checks, though, Dapkus said he opposes the law’s restrictions. He said a person who is legally carrying a concealed weapon will not change as a person after stepping onto a college campus, yet the action is a crime under Illinois law.

Maikel Fresco, junior in LAS, also owns a firearm and has concealed carry licenses in Utah and Florida. Fresco will be applying for a license when the application is available, and he said the restrictions are offensive. He said the background check process is rigorous, and he has already legally obtained a Firearm Owner Identification card.

“If the federal government is trusting me to carry a firearm around anywhere in the country, why am I not allowed to carry on campus?” he said. “That just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”

Fresco added that he doesn’t believe everyone should be allowed to own a firearm, and that those who are interested should educate themselves on the issue.

“It is a powerful defense tool, so it’s only meant for those who are willing to be responsible and practice their right safely,” he said.

The restrictions are not being disputed legally, but other components of the law are. Mary Shepard and the Illinois State Rifle Association brought legal action against the state of Illinois regarding the constitutionality of the 180-day waiting period for an application to be made available and the 90-day allowance for the ISP to complete a background check.

On July 26, a US district court denied the request for immediate injunctive relief, and the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal with the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals on July 29.

Unless the court rules in the plaintiffs’ favor, Illinois citizens will have to wait to take advantage of their state-granted right. For Dapkus, this means continuing the wait for self-defense by means of carrying a concealed weapon. He said he hopes that the eventual issuing of permits will yield better results for campus crime.

“Instead of (someone) getting an arm broken and a wallet taken, hopefully we’ll see someone held at gunpoint until the police come and arrest them,” he said.

Sari can be reached at [email protected] and @Sari_Lesk.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that as of Aug. 21, the Illinois State Police had 136 more days to make a concealed carry application available. The Illinois State Police has until Jan. 5, 2014 to make an application available.