Illinois Politics

01 Apr 08

Illinois Politics, from a friend there:

"Here in IL, we have legendary anti-gun politicians, particularly in Chicago and Cook County. The rest of the State is relatively conservative and pro-2nd Amendment. As with the State of NY, one metro area dominates politics state-wide. In fact, when you live in IL, but don't live in Chicago, you are essentially unrepresented!

We've started a state-wide movement, The Pro-Second-Amendment Resolution, _www.pro2aresolution.com_ (http://www.pro2aresolution.com) Since 2003, it has passed unanimously in 71 IL counties. It will likely pass with some work in the balance. Cook County, and maybe a few others in the Chicago area, represent the tough fight!

In those recalcitrant counties, we have active petition drives. If you can help, get hold of me directly at _jsei@att.net_ (mailto:jsei@att.net)

Jim Stewart"

/John

ILEETA 2008

01 Apr 08

2008 ILEETA (International Law Enforcement Educators' and Trainers' Association) Conference, Wheeling, IL

Today was the first day of our 2008 Conference. It was Vendors' Day. Here are some of the products of note:

The "Rapid Rotation Baton" is an interesting integration ofthe straight and side-handle batons. It permits a host of effective close-in control and protective moves, and it is light and compact. Innovative!

Crown Gym Mats, known for padded mats and training pads, is now making "nerf" furniture! They had an entire office, complete with realistic-looking desks, computers, file cabinets, chairs, lamps, et al- all made of nerf material! They even had nerf airline seats, chunks of concrete, bricks, broken bottles, etc. One can conduct force-on-force, contact drills in the "nerf " room with little danger of injuring anyone. Clever!

Lasermax is now producing an attachable rifle forend, with built-in laser! The whole thing is self-contained! Called the CGL, this device offers a quick-attach Laser capability to nearly any rifle.

My old friend, Bill Mathes, of 21st Tactical, famous for air-soft equipment, is now making wonderful trauma kits, along the lines of what we recommend in our Tactical Treatment of Gunshot Wounds Course. Small and well-organized, they are ideal for range bags and briefcases!

Taser's new self-contained shotgun round, effective out to 20m, andpriced at around $100.00/copy, will finally hit the market in early 2009. Launchable from any 12ga shotgun, this innovative device provides considerable stand-off capability, with all the stopping effect for which Tasers are currently famous!

SIG's new P250 ships with a "medium" frame. "Small" or "large" frames can be ordered from SIG for $30.00/copy. I really like the "small" frame, and that is the one I would use. Swapping the trigger/firing module consume all of thirty seconds!

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, once again, put on their wonderful program wherein various video simulators, including CAPS, Milo, and Laser Shot, are integrated with hands-on scenarios. This innovative Program allows us to get the most out of laser simulators. The whole thing is accessible on-line. Highly recommended!

All police trainers need to be members of ILEETA.

More tomorrow!

/John