McLean County Times

Illinois state Rep. Jason Bunting (R-Dwight) took to social media this week to share the decision of a Southern Illinois judge regarding the State's ban on automatic weapons.

“Southern Illinois judge temporarily blocks assault weapons ban,” the representative said in a May 1 Facebook post. The post also included a link to a story from the Rockford Register Star on the 29-page opinion by Judge Stephen P. McGlynn, who said the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) is likely to be found unconstitutional when the case goes to trial.

In McGlynn’s opinion, the law should not be changed due to “senseless crimes of a relative few,” and a preliminary injunction to block the ban’s enforcement is necessary to prevent plaintiffs in the consolidated cases from suffering; the Sun report said.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the bill creating the assault weapon and high-capacity magazine ban on Jan. 10, a CBS News report said. It went into effect immediately upon the governor's signature. The state House of Representatives had passed a slightly different version of the bill the week before. The legislation was passed following last year's mass shooting in Highland Park during that city's Fourth of July parade.

ABC 7 Chicago also reported on the judge's ruling.

“McGlynn's decision came less than a week after another federal judge, Lindsay Jenkins, of the Northern District of Illinois, reached an opposite conclusion and denied a motion to halt enforcement of the law,” ABC 7 said. “Plaintiffs in that case have indicated they intend to appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.”

Bunting was selected to represent the people of Illinois' 106th House District, which spans parts of Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, LaSalle, Livingston, McLean and Will counties; his website biography said. His previous experience as an elected official consists of a seat on the Livingston County Board and as highway commissioner of Broughton Township. Until 2023, Bunting served as president of the Livingston County Farm Bureau. He is currently a director for the Illinois Corn Growers Association.