Gun Charge Against Champaign Man Dropped After Concealed-Carry Vote

A gun charge against a Champaign man has been dismissed after the Legislature overrode Gov. Pat Quinn's objections to the state's new concealed-carry law this week.

Donnell L. Jackson had faced a charge of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.  Police arrested him in Springfield in December 2011 after finding a gun in his sweatshirt during a pat-down.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports that the charge was dismissed Wednesday on a motion by Sangamon County prosecutors.

Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser had resisted previous attempts to have the charge dismissed. But he reversed course after the new legislation cleared its final obstacles.

A federal court last year declared Illinois' last-in-the-nation ban on concealed weapons to be unconstitutional and ordered lawmakers to craft legislation allowing people to carry firearms.