Elementary & Secondary Schools

Illinois generally prohibits the knowing possession or carrying of a firearm, stun gun, or taser on or about the person in any public or private elementary or secondary school, on the person or in a vehicle on the real property of any school, in any conveyance owned, leased or contracted by a school to transport students to or from school or a school-related activity, or on the person or in a vehicle on any public way within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising a school.¹

This prohibition is subject to various exceptions, including possession in any vehicle or concealed on or about the person when transported: 1) broken down in a non-functioning state; 2) not immediately accessible; or 3) unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm carrying box, shipping box, or other container by a person who has a valid FOID card.² Nor does this prohibition apply to law enforcement officers or school security officers or to students carrying or possessing firearms for us in training courses, parades, hunting target shooting on school ranges, or otherwise with the consent of school authorities as long as such firearms are transported unloaded enclosed in a suitable case, box, or transportation package.³

Finally, state law prohibits any person age 18 or older from selling, giving, or delivering any firearm to any person under age 18 in any public or private elementary or secondary school, or on the real property comprising any such school.⁴

In Illinois, a school board must expel a student who possessed a firearm or other weapon at school, any school-sponsored activity or event, or any activity or event which bears a reasonable relationship to school, for not less than one year.⁵ The expulsion period may be modified by the superintendent, and the superintendent’s determination may be modified by the board, on a case-by-case basis. A student subject to suspension or expulsion may be eligible for a transfer to an alternative school program.⁶

Illinois law also defines aggravated battery with a firearm to include knowingly or intentionally causing injury with a firearm to a person known to be a teacher, school employee, or student who is on school grounds or adjacent to a school. This is punishable with a minimum prison sentence of 15 years.⁷

Possession of a silencer, machine gun, or short-barreled shotgun in any public or private elementary or secondary school or within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising a school is a Class 2 felony punishable by a prison sentence of 3 to 7 years.⁸ The possession of various other weapons in any such areas, including black-jacks, metal knuckles, dirks, and switchblades is punishable as a Class 4 felony⁹

Colleges & Universities

Illinois prohibits the knowing possession or carrying of any firearm on or about the person in any community college, college, or university, on the person or in a vehicle on the real property comprising any such school, in any conveyance owned, leased or contracted by a school to transport students to or from school or a school-related activity, or on the person or in a vehicle on any public way within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising such a school.¹⁰

This prohibition is subject to several exceptions, including possession for use in training courses, parades, hunting, target shooting on school ranges, or otherwise with the consent of school authorities.¹¹ The possession of a firearm by a FOID card holder is allowed in any vehicle or concealed on or about the person when transported: 1) broken down in a non-functioning state; 2) not immediately accessible; or 3) unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm carrying box, shipping box, or other container.¹²

Illinois prohibits any person age 18 or older from selling, giving or delivering any firearm to any person under age 18 in any community college, college or university, or on the real property comprising any such school.¹³

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1. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-1(a)(4), (10), (c)(1.5), (4).[↩]
2. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-1(a)(4), (10).[↩]
3. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-1 (c)(3).[↩]
4. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-3.3. See also 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-3(A)(a), (b), (i), (C)(4).[↩]
5. 105 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/10-22.6(d).[↩]
6. Id.[↩]
7. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/12-4.2(a)(4), (b).[↩]
8. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-1(a)(6), (7), (c)(1).[↩]
9. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-1 (c)(2).[↩]
10. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-1(a)(4), (10), (c)(1.5), (4).[↩]
11. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-1(a)(4), (10), (c)(3).[↩]
12. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-1(a)(4), (10).[↩]
13. 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-3.3.[↩]