FILED
4/5/2018 2:28 AM
Marcoullier
ERIN CARTWRIGHT WEINSTEIN
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Lake County, Illinois
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NINETEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
CHANCERY DIVISION
DANIEL D. EASTERDAY,
ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATION, and
SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION, INC.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
VILLAGE OF DEERFIELD, ILLINOIS,
a municipal corporation,
Defendants.

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Case No.18CH427

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COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
Plaintiffs, DANIEL D. EASTERDAY, ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE
ASSOCIATION, and SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION. INC., by and
through LAW FIRM OF DAVID G. SIGALE, P.C., their attorney, and as and for
their Complaint against the Defendant, VILLAGE OF DEERFIELD, ILLINOIS,
seeking a declaratory Judgment, permanent injunction, and other relief, in support
thereof state as follows:
INTRODUCTION
This legal action is a challenge to the Defendant’s Ordinance O-18-06, passed
on April 2, 2018, which bans assault weapons (used specifically as that term is
defined in O-18-06) within the Defendant’s municipal limits. The passage and
enforcement of the Ordinance O-18-06 violates the Defendant’s statutory authority,
as the issues with which the Ordinance is concerned are preempted by Illinois state
law as stated in the Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Card Act and the Illinois

 Firearm Concealed Carry Act. Therefore, the Ordinance O-18-06 is invalid and
must be enjoined, as described more fully herein.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
Plaintiffs
1.

Daniel D. Easterday is a natural person, and a citizen and resident of

the Village of Deerfield, in Lake County, Illinois. Easterday owns several firearms
which he legally purchased that are considered assault weapons under O-18-06, as
well as large capacity magazines, also as defined in O-18-06.
2.

In addition to the firearms that Easterday owns, he desires to legally

purchase additional firearms, parts and accessories, including some parts and
accessories for the firearms he now owns, but cannot because they would be banned
by the subject Ordinance O-18-06.
3.

Easterday is a law-abiding citizen who possesses the said firearms for

self-protection and protection of himself and his family in their home, and for target
shooting. He has a FOID card issued by the Illinois State Police pursuant to the
Illinois FOID Act, 430 ILCS 65/1 et seq. He also has a concealed carry license
issued by the Illinois State Police pursuant to the Illinois Firearm Concealed Carry
Act, 430 ILCS 66/1, et seq.
4.

SAF is a non-profit membership organization incorporated under the

laws of Washington with its principal place of business in Bellevue, Washington.
SAF’s membership includes residents of the Village of Deerfield, Illinois. SAF has
over 650,000 members and supporters nationwide. The purposes of SAF include

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 education, research, publishing and legal action focusing on the Constitutional right
privately to own and possess firearms. SAF brings this action on behalf of itself and
its members.
5.

Members of SAF who reside in Deerfield, Illinois would possess assault

weapons and large capacity magazines for self-defense, but refrain from doing so
because of the penalties in Section 15-89 of Ordinance O-18-06, and the
confiscation/destruction provisions in Section 15-91 of Ordinance O-18-06.
6.

ISRA is a non-profit membership organization incorporated under the

laws of Illinois with its principal place of business in Chatsworth, Illinois. ISRA has
over 17,000 members and supporters in Illinois, and many members outside the
State of Illinois. The purposes of ISRA include securing the Constitutional right to
privately own and possess firearms within Illinois, through education, outreach,
and litigation. ISRA brings this action on behalf of itself and its members.
7.

Members of ISRA who reside in Deerfield, Illinois would possess

assault weapons and large capacity magazines for self-defense, but refrain from
doing so because of the penalties in Section 15-89 of Ordinance O-18-06, and the
confiscation/destruction provisions in Section 15-91 of Ordinance O-18-06.
8.

Easterday is a member of SAF and ISRA.

Defendant
9.

Defendant Village of Deerfield is a municipal entity organized under

the Constitution and laws of the State of Illinois. It lies in Lake County, with a
small portion lying within Cook County.

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 10.

Deerfield is governed by a Mayor and Board of Trustees. The Deerfield

Board of Trustees is composed of six Trustees who serve four-year staggered terms.
11.

Harriet Rosenthal is the Mayor of the Village of Deerfield. She is the

chief executive officer of the Village, the President of the Board of Trustees, and has
supervisory authority over all employees of the Village. She has served as Mayor
since 2009.
12.

The Board of Trustees is the legislative department of the village

government. At all relevant times, the Trustees were: Robert “Bob” Benton, Tom
Jester, Bill Seiden, Dan Shapiro, Barbara Struthers, and Mary M. Oppenheim.
State Law
13.

Effective July 9, 2013, the Illinois Legislature amended the Firearm

Owners Identification Card Act (430 ILCS 65/1, et seq.). Specifically, Section
65/13.1 of the amended FOID Card Act stated at all relevant times:
(b)
. . . the regulation, licensing, possession, and registration
of handguns and ammunition for a handgun, and the
transportation of any firearm and ammunition by a holder of a
valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card issued by the
Department of State Police under this Act are exclusive powers
and functions of this State. Any ordinance or regulation, or
portion of that ordinance or regulation, enacted on or before the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General
Assembly [P.A. 98-63] that purports to impose regulations or
restrictions on a holder of a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification
Card issued by the Department of State Police under this Act in
a manner that is inconsistent with this Act, on the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, shall be
invalid in its application to a holder of a valid Firearm Owner’s
Identification Card issued by the Department of State Police
under this Act.

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 (c)
Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, the
regulation of the possession or ownership of assault weapons are
exclusive powers and functions of this State. Any ordinance or
regulation, or portion of that ordinance or regulation, that
purports to regulate the possession or ownership of assault
weapons in a manner that is inconsistent with this Act, shall be
invalid unless the ordinance or regulation is enacted on, before,
or within 10 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 98th General Assembly. Any ordinance or regulation
described in this subsection (c) enacted more than 10 days after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General
Assembly is invalid. An ordinance enacted on, before, or within
10 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
98th General Assembly may be amended. The enactment or
amendment of ordinances under this subsection (c) are subject to
the submission requirements of Section 13.3 [430 ILCS 65/13.3].
For the purposes of this subsection, “assault weapons” means
firearms designated by either make or model or by a test or list
of cosmetic features that cumulatively would place the firearm
into a definition of “assault weapon” under the ordinance.
(d)
For the purposes of this Section, “handgun” has the
meaning ascribed to it in Section 5 of the Firearm Concealed
Carry Act [430 ILCS 66/5].
(e)
This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule
powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article
VII of the Illinois Constitution [Ill. Const. Art. VII, § 6].
14.

430 ILCS 66/5 states that:
“Handgun” means any device which is designed to expel a
projectile or projectiles by the action of an explosion, expansion
of gas, or escape of gas that is designed to be held and fired by
the use of a single hand. “Handgun” does not include:
(1) a stun gun or taser;
(2) a machine gun as defined in item (i) of paragraph (7)
of subsection (a) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of
2012 [720 ILCS 5/24-1];

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 (3) a short-barreled rifle or shotgun as defined in item (ii)
of paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1 of the
Criminal Code of 2012; or
(4) any pneumatic gun, spring gun, paint ball gun, or B-B
gun which expels a single globular projectile not
exceeding .18 inch in diameter, or which has a maximum
muzzle velocity of less than 700 feet per second, or which
expels breakable paint balls containing washable marking
colors.
15.

Additionally, at all relevant times, Section 66/90 of the Firearm

Concealed Carry Act (430 ILCS 66/90) stated as follows:
The regulation, licensing, possession, registration, and
transportation of handguns and ammunition for handguns by
licensees are exclusive powers and functions of the State. Any
ordinance or regulation, or portion thereof, enacted on or before
the effective date of this Act that purports to impose regulations
or restrictions on licensees or handguns and ammunition for
handguns in a manner inconsistent with this Act shall be
invalid in its application to licensees under this Act on the
effective date of this Act. This Section is a denial and limitation
of home rule powers and functions under subsection (h) of
Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution [Ill. Const.,
Art. VII, § 6].
16.

While the 2013 amended FOID Card Act at 430 ILCS 65/13.1(c)

allowed home rule municipalities until July 19, 2013 to regulate the possession or
ownership of assault weapons, the 2013 amended FOID Card Act at 430 ILCS
65/13.1(b) specifically did not allow home rule municipalities, such as the Village,
that same window as applied to handguns.
2013 Village Ordinance (O-13-24)
17.

On July 1, 2013, the Village of Deerfield enacted Ordinance O-13-24 –

An Ordinance Regulating the Ownership and Possession of Assault Weapons in the

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 Village of Deerfield. The Ordinance, which was valid because it was passed in the
proper timeframe as stated in 430 ILCS 65/13.1, defined assault weapons (Sec. 1586), required safe storage as a condition for possessing assault weapons possessed
in the Village (Sec. 15-87(a)), provided for a lawful self-defense exception for
violation of the safe storage requirement (Sec. 15-87(b)), and listed requirements for
the possession, carrying, and transportation of assault weapons (Sec. 15-88).
2018 Village Ordinance (O-18-06)
18.

On April 2, 2018, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Deerfield,

Illinois, enacted O-18-06 - An Ordinance Amending Chapter 15 (Morals and

Conduct), Article 11 (Assault Weapons), Section 15-87 (Safe Storage of Assault
Weapons) and Section 15-88 (Transportation of Assault Weapons) of the Municipal
Code of the Village of Deerfield to Regulate the Possession, Manufacture, and Sale
of Assault Weapons in the Village of Deerfield. O-18-06 was labeled as an
“amendment” to Ordinance O-13-24.
19.

Rather than being a mere amendment to O-13-24, however, O-18-06 is

actually a new ordinance.
20.

Whereas O-13-24 allowed the possession of assault weapons under

certain conditions, and even contained a lawful self-defense exception for using
them, O-18-06 bans them entirely (Sec. 15-87(a)). There is also no lawful selfdefense exception.

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 21.

Though these new restrictions have limited exceptions for law

enforcement, retired law enforcement, and military personnel, they are not relevant
to Plaintiffs in this action.
22.

O-18-06 provides that assault weapons and large capacity magazines

in Deerfield will be confiscated and destroyed (Secs. 15-89; 15-91). O-13-24, in
contrast, contains no such provision.
23.

Also, while Section 15-91 of O-18-06 calls for the confiscation and

destruction of large capacity magazines, they are not actually banned by any other
section in O-18-06.
24.

Further, while Deerfield may intend that large capacity magazines

should be confiscated and destroyed pursuant to O-18-06, the original ordinance O13-24 does not restrict or regulate the possession or use of large capacity magazines
at all, except as they may be used in conjunction with an assault weapon.
IRREPARABLE HARM AND INADEQUATE REMEDY AT LAW
25.

Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm if the Ordinance is enforced.

Unless relief is granted herein, Plaintiffs will incur irreparable harm in that despite
their aforesaid legal possession of firearms and magazines, and without any intent
on their part to engage in any illegal activity they will be subject to penalties and
loss of property.
26.

The Plaintiffs will have no adequate remedy at law, there being no

forum to recover damages, the Village most likely being immune from liability for
tortious conduct and resulting losses.

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 27.

While care should be used in granting injunctions to avoid prospective

injuries, there is no requirement that the Court must wait until the injury occurs
before granting relief, and Plaintiffs have demonstrated both irreparable harm is
imminent, and their remedy at law would be inadequate.
28.

Pursuant to Section 15-90 of O-18-06, Plaintiffs and/or their members

have until June 1, 2018 to remove assault weapons and large capacity magazines
from the Village, or to modify them, or to surrender them to the Deerfield Chief of
Police. If this is not done, Plaintiffs will be prosecuted, and damages resulting from
enforcement of the subject ordinance as amended are likely and not merely possible.
COUNT I – PREEMPTION UNDER STATE LAW
1-28. Plaintiffs reassert and reallege paragraphs 1 through 28, above, as
paragraphs 1 through 28 of this Count I.
29.

The Village only has authority to exercise its home rule powers to the

extent the Illinois Legislature has not preempted those powers.
30.

430 ILCS 65/13.1(e) states that the FOID preemption statute is a

“denial and limitation of home rule powers and functions.”
31.

Further, 430 ILCS 66/90 states that the concealed carry preemption

statute is a “denial and limitation of home rule powers and functions.”
32.

While 430 ILCS 65/13.1(c) allowed for a validly-passed municipal

ordinance regarding assault weapons to be amended, the statute does not allow the
municipality to broaden the ordinance to the point where it is no longer the same
ordinance. That is what the Village has done with O-18-06.

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 33.

Therefore, the provisions of O-18-06 that are an improper broadening

of O-13-24 must be invalidated by the preemption doctrine as effected by 430 ILCS
65/13.1 and/or 430 ILCS 66/90. Those provisions include:
a. The banning of the possession of assault weapons, even if following
safe storage requirements, as described in Section 15-87 of O-18-06;
b. The banning of handguns and ammunition that the Village was
defined as assault weapons to concealed carry license-holders, as
described in Section 15-87 of O-18-06;
c. The elimination of a lawful self-defense exception to the violation of
Section 15-87 of O-18-06;
d. The banning of Deerfield residents from being able to “carry, keep,
bear, transport, or possess an assault weapon in the Village” unless
said firearm is merely being transported through the Village in
either a broken-down non-functioning state, and is not immediately
accessible to any person, or is unloaded and encased (Sec. 15-88 of
O-18-06);
e. The confiscation and destruction of assault weapons (Sec. 15-91 of
O-18-06);
f. The confiscation and destruction of large capacity magazines (Sec.
15-91 of O-18-06);

WHEREFORE, the Plaintiffs, DANIEL D. EASTERDAY, ILLINOIS STATE
RIFLE ASSOCIATION, and SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION. INC.,
request this honorable court to enter judgment in their favor and against the
Defendant, and to grant Plaintiffs the following relief:
1.

Enter a declaratory judgment that the subject Ordinance O-18-06 is

preempted by state law and unenforceable, with regard to the following provisions:

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 2.

a.

The banning of the possession of assault weapons, even if
following safe storage requirements, as described in Section 1587 of O-18-06;

b.

The banning of handguns and ammunition that the Village has
defined as assault weapons, as applied to concealed carry
license-holders, as described in Section 15-87 of O-18-06;

c.

The elimination of a lawful self-defense exception to the
violation of Section 15-87 of O-18-06;

d.

The banning of Deerfield residents from being able to “carry,
keep, bear, transport, or possess an assault weapon in the
Village” unless said firearm is merely being transported through
the Village in either a broken-down non-functioning state, and is
not immediately accessible to any person, or is unloaded and
encased (Sec. 15-88 of O-18-06);

e.

The confiscation and destruction of assault weapons (Sec. 15-91
of O-18-06);

f.

The confiscation and destruction of large capacity magazines
(Sec. 15-91 of O-18-06);

Issue a permanent injunction, without bond required of the Plaintiffs,

enjoining the Defendant from enforcing the challenged provisions of O-18-06;
3.

Grant Plaintiffs a recoupment of the costs expended prosecuting this

action and
4.

Grant Plaintiffs any and all further relief as this court deems just and

proper.
Date: April 5, 2018

/s/ David G. Sigale
Attorney for Plaintiffs

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 David G. Sigale
LAW FIRM OF DAVID G. SIGALE, P.C.
799 Roosevelt Road, Suite 207
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
630.452.4547
Atty. ID# 6238103
dsigale@sigalelaw.com

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