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Read the press release here.

Don't Want Weapons in Your Shop? Put Up No-Gun Signs, City Says

By Alisa Hauser | January 17, 2014 11:31am | Updated on January 17, 2014 11:49am
 The Illinois State Police's Official "No Guns" sign.
The Illinois State Police's Official "No Guns" sign.
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Illinois State Police

CHICAGO — With the new concealed-carry gun law now in effect, the city sent out an email earlier this week to business owners reminding them that the new law requires a "No Gun" sign posted "clearly and conspicuously" at the entrance to their business if they do not want firearms on premises.

Illinois' concealed-carry law allows people with permits to carry guns, though carrying concealed guns is banned in about 25 place, like schools, bars, airports and libraries.

Chicago further stiffened restrictions by banning guns from restaurants that serve alcohol.

David Staudacher, a spokesman from the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which sent the email, said the e-newsletter goes out to more than 40,000 people.

Staudacher said the newsletter was meant to "make sure we are disseminating the information out there."

Read the e-newsletter here.

One Chicago-based business owner who received the email expressed frustration over Chicago's more stringent law on Illinois Carry.com.

Eric Williams, owner of The Silver Room, a clothing and accessory shop at 1442 N. Milwaukee Ave, took to social media to vent his frustration over the new law.

"So now I have to put a big a-- sign in the window saying don't bring a gun in Silver Room if I don't want mugs bringing guns in the store! Otherwise folks have the right to if they have this conceal and carry permit. Who thought this was a good idea?"

Williams went on to say that he wasn't "going to even put that energy out there so I'm not going to put any sign up."

"So please tell your friends to leave your gats at home if your coming to TSR. For all my pro-gun carrying friends, do your thing but I need to be clear. Please don't bring them around me," Williams wrote.

The Silver Room is an apparel and accessories store. Individual businesses are allowed to ban guns by posting a state-approved sign.

However, legal experts have called the law ambiguous, saying that "Illinois sets no limits on liability."

“God forbid, there’s an incident where an employee or anybody comes into a facility that allows concealed carry, or doesn't prohibit it, and takes action with that gun,” attorney Peter Friedman told WTTW-Channel 11.

Friedman said, “There inevitably will be a claim that the employer who had the opportunity to prohibit concealed carry but didn't is somehow responsible for that act of violence."

Some business owners have said they fear no-gun signs would alienate gun-rights advocates and others worry it could make them a target for crime.

One North Side police district has been encouraging owners to post the signs. In November, Rogers Park Police District Cmdr. Thomas Waldera distributed a stack of signs to Devon Avenue business owners during a public safety meeting.

Contributing: Benjamin Woodard