Chicago Personal Protection Options?

[Ryno12]

My wife and I will be traveling to Chicago in the near future & I'm researching what I can bring for personal protection while we're out & about the city. I know I can't CCW there so I'm wondering what other options I have for SD.
I've found laws pertaining to the state of Illinois but I believe Chicago has its own ordinances, correct?

Can I still bring a firearm with me to my hotel room in Chicago, provided the firearm is unloaded, broken down, cased, etc.?

Can I conceal carry a knife? Pepper spray?

Any info and/or official links to Chicago specific laws is appreciated.

[SomeOtherGuy]

A lot of your questions are answered here:

http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/illinois.pdf

also by Illinois State Police at:

https://ispfsb.com/

It appears that statewide preemption is now law, but don't be surprised if some number of Chicago police "didn't get the memo."

Having lived in downtown Chicago for several years and still visiting occasionally, I can offer some advice:
1) Don't visit Chicago. Other than restaurants and two of the museums, you can find better anything somewhere else that isn't Chicago.
2) Crime in Chicago is extremely dependent on both location and time of day. This is true of most cities, but Chicago is probably at the extreme end. Stay out of bad areas, and stay off the streets from roughly 11pm-5am, and you should be fine.
3) If you are white, and reasonably dressed, and not in a traffic stop, Chicago police are generally pretty friendly. I have no experience outside of those limitations.

Personally, I hate going unarmed, but in Chicago I do. Their knife laws are oppressive and it doesn't look like I can legally CCW on my Michigan CPL. I limit where I go and when, and I don't have problems. Be aware of your surroundings, and if you don't already know the city well, let me know your proposed visits (PM is fine) and I can advise whether they come close to bad areas.

[Ryno12]

Thanks for links. I usually refer to the handgunlaw.us site for info whenever I travel but I hate relying solely on it without double checking the info.

We always stay downtown on, or just off of, Michigan Ave. We've gone down there for several years, a few times each year, so we know the area fairly well. There's never been an issue so far (knock on wood) but the older & wiser I get, the less I care to be in places where I can't carry.
We don't stray off the beaten path much and pretty much hang out in the "touristy" areas.

Eventually, I'd like to get an IL CCW permit but I just haven't yet.

[cbx]

I say CMFM. Been about 13 years since I've been there. Down town is a bit sketchy at night. In the there are mutli ethnic dudes standing by themselves mean mugging kind of way.

ETA: not advocating breaking laws. But, I assume being dead sucks also.

[SomeOtherGuy]

We always stay downtown on, or just off of, Michigan Ave. We've gone down there for several years, a few times each year, so we know the area fairly well. There's never been an issue so far (knock on wood) but the older & wiser I get, the less I care to be in places where I can't carry.
We don't stray off the beaten path much and pretty much hang out in the "touristy" areas.

I know that area very, very well. Generally fine. The last couple of years have seen some issues with teen mobs ransacking stores and sometimes beating tourists/shoppers. I think that has mostly happened on weekends during the peak Christmas shopping season (which starts pretty soon). Be on the lookout for any mobs or large groups of people that don't fit into the main shopping groups there.

East of Michigan Ave., north of Randolph is mostly very safe unless you are out very late and look like prey. West of Michigan Ave. varies from quite safe to not so much, but it should be fairly obvious if you have any sort of urban sense.

If there's any chance of rain during your visit, I would consider a long, sturdy umbrella. If you have any sort of walking issues, I would consider a good cane. If neither of those apply, maybe consider a really strong flashlight, like the Elzetta 2 or 3 cell options. Although I've never been stopped in Chicago, much less searched, in this age of " 'terrorism' " I think searches are increasingly likely and I wouldn't carry anything that isn't legit if searched.

[Ryno12]

We usually hit a few expensive restaurants, pop in a few stores along the Mich Ave strip, hit Navy Pier (not sure why) and maybe go to a museum.
The majority of traversing is via foot but we'll occasionally take a cab.

How about my trusty Leatherman? It has an external, manually operated blade that's <2.5"?
I also wasn't able to decipher from the pdf if pepper spray was GTG.

[SomeOtherGuy]

In that area you are perfectly safe on foot, and if it were me I'd much rather walk that whole thing vs. take my chances with the insane Chicago cabbies. Most of the troubles (relatively minor) that I've had in Chicago involved taxis.

I'm not sure if a 2.5" knife blade is OK. Check out the link in the handgunlaw.us PDF if you haven't already. I'm not sure how much benefit such a small and hard to access knife would give you anyway. The quality flashlight is my personal fallback in extremely restrictive environments.

[Ryno12]

In that area you are perfectly safe on foot, and if it were me I'd much rather walk that whole thing vs. take my chances with the insane Chicago cabbies. Most of the troubles (relatively minor) that I've had in Chicago involved taxis.

I'm not sure if a 2.5" knife blade is OK. Check out the link in the handgunlaw.us PDF if you haven't already. I'm not sure how much benefit such a small and hard to access knife would give you anyway. The quality flashlight is my personal fallback in extremely restrictive environments.

I did check the link & it seemed to read that 2.5" & under was acceptable but I was seeking clarification as the laws stated were abbreviated.
It may not be of any benefit other than a glimmer of piece of mind. :)