Understanding Knife Laws in Illinois

Youth Guidance, a program for underserved youth, is located at the corner of Armitage and Kedzie in Chicago, Illinois. As everyone knows, Chicago is a beautiful city, and it has a lot to offer young adults. It’s a great place to hang out, a great place to learn and a great place to meet new people. Youth Guidance offers great programs to ensure that students all get equal access to the same opportunities. The organization also believes in empowering students to speak their minds and express their creativity in a positive, meaningful way.

Needless to say, as a young adult, it’s important to know the rules and how to stay out of legal trouble as much as possible. In Chicago, knife laws are more extensive than you may realize. If you’re not from Chicago or Illinois, it’s important to look up knife carrying laws in Illinois. Likewise, if you’re from a different area of Illinois, Chicago’s knife laws could be a little different than what you’re used to.

To give you an idea of the range of knives that are illegal to carry in the Chicago area, consider this example: Emerson knives – these are pocket-sized knives designed for everyday carrying. Commonly carried by EDC enthusiasts, a regular pocket Emerson, such as an Emerson CQC-7, folds for easy carrying and comes with a pocket clip, which makes it easy to clip onto the pocket of your pants.

However, in Chicago, you’re not allowed to carry Emerson knives with two-inch blades; only three-inch blades are legal. After researching knife carrying laws in Illinois, you may learn that kitchen knives longer than three inches are also illegal to carry. If you’re in the Greater Chicago area, you could be arrested for carrying a three-inch Emerson knife.

Although you let your friends borrow your pocket Emerson, above, for culinary-related activities, you probably don’t believe that any of these knives should be illegal to carry in Illinois.

Carrying a knife can lead to serious legal consequences. Under Illinois Criminal Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1(a)(4), “carrying” a knife means: In other words, you must voluntarily possess knives while you are on your person. You can’t pretend to not have the knife when police stop you, nor can you claim that you had no idea that you had a knife on you. Don’t pocket a knife simply because you may be able to keep it. Concealing a knife is still considered carrying and is punishable under the law, regardless of what type of knife you’re carrying – pocket, kitchen or otherwise.

So, as you can see from the above information, carrying knives can also lead to severe criminal penalties. Depending on what type of knife you’re carrying and whether the knife is concealed, knife carrying laws in Illinois can produce either a felony or misdemeanor conviction. Each offense is punishable by fine or imprisonment.

For example, carrying a concealed knife with a blade length over three inches is a Class 3 felony, which is punishable by 2-5 years in prison. On the other hand, carrying a pocket knife is a Class B misdemeanor, which is only punishable by 180 days in jail. Likewise, carrying knives that fall under the category of “dirks, daggers and stiletto knives” is a Class 4 felony. A Class 4 felony is punishable by 1-3 years in prison.

Regardless of whether the knife is legal to carry or not, you could suffer severe legal repercussions. Therefore, it’s always best to leave your knife at home or in your dorm so that you don’t risk carrying an illegal blade.

I’m certain that knife laws in Illinois may seem like the most boring topic in the entire world; however, to prevent getting arrested and facing felony charges, you should take a couple of minutes to learn the rules. Even if you don’t care about the legal ramifications, think about your future. If you have dreams of going to college or moving out of Chicago, having a felony conviction on your record looks pretty bad when applying for school or jobs.

In addition to learning about knife carrying laws in Illinois, it’s also a good idea to learn about other knife laws, such as those that apply to the types of knives that you aren’t allowed to carry. For instance, in Illinois, you can’t carry “ballistic knives,” “belt buckle knives” and “blow dart guns.” Yes, even dart guns, which are made from toy darts and are only ever used in times of play, are outlawed.

Ballistic knives and belt buckle knives are surprisingly also illegal to carry. Ballistic knives can be composed of a number of different types of materials, but they all have the same basic function. These knives have a spring-loaded blade that ejects when the button is pressed. For example, here is a picture of a ballistic knife:

Likewise, belt buckle knives are similar in appearance to standard belt buckles. However, this type of knife has a hidden blade that can be launched with a quick pull of the belt.

Some types of knives are exceptions to the above restrictions. These knives are legal to carry. Common exceptions include the following: Naturally, you should use your head regarding the use and carry of knives. There is no need to pick fights with knife-wielding individuals. Hopefully, this information gives you a good idea about the types of knives you shouldn’t carry if you plan to move to the historic city of Chicago in the near future.