Locals are taking advantage of Illinois’ concealed-carry law as more than 300 people have applied for a concealed-carry permit in DeKalb County.

A concealed-carry permit allows a person to conceal a handgun or other weapon in permitted public places. In order to obtain a permit, an Illinois resident must be 21 or older, have a Firearm Owners Identification Card, have passed a background check and undergone a gun-safety course training for 16 hours.

“Obviously, I think it’s going to be a learning curve for both residents and our police department,” said first ward Alderman David Jacobson. “It’s something new, and something that is vastly different than we’ve encountered or dealt with before, and I think it’s going to be very important for people to really understand the requirements for the law.”

Daniel Schroeder, lead instructor for the Metro Training Group, 1500 E. Lincoln Highway, suite 2, said 40,000 to 45,000 people in Illinois have applied for their concealed-carry permits.

“People want to be able to defend themselves, protect themselves,” Schroeder said.

The Metro Training Group is one option Illinois residents have to take the required 16-hour training. Obtaining the permit can take upwards of 120 days after submitting the application.

Schroeder said some people are choosing to wait to apply for their permit.

“There’s some folks who just don’t believe that it’s real yet,” Schroeder said. “They don’t trust our legislators to not try to repeal the law the day before the first permit is issued.”

Residents shouldn’t worry about a repeal of the law, but other restrictions may deter applicants, Schroeder said.

“Part of the problem is there’s too many prohibited areas, the training requirement’s too long, the fees are too high,” Schroeder said. “Then there’s the segment who just doesn’t trust our General Assembly.”

Berna Popenhagen, former Kingston Chief of Police, who was in ZZ Cops, 1210 E. State St. in Sycamore, Saturday, said people should be allowed to carry a concealed gun, but the 16-hour safety training isn’t long enough.

“They should go through 40 hours, just like a police officer does,” Popenhagen said. “They’re not as qualified as police officers to carry a weapon. The civilian population is not qualified to carry a weapon.”