IDFPR already looking at Trotter

As many already know, Illinois Sen. Donne Trotter (D-17) has his pistol in a wringer, because he tried to pass through airport security yesterday with it and a loaded magazine (clip) in his carry-on luggage.

Sen. Trotter apparently told the airport cops and TSA that he was an armed security guard and had worked late the night before. Right! He's a State Senator and, apparently, works as an armed security guard. He had his .25 cal. Beretta (which he said he carried at work) in his bag.

Is Trotter a lawyer?

His bio on the State Senators' website reads: "Biography: Born Jan. 30, 1950, in Cairo; B.A., Chicago State University; M.J., Loyola University School of Law; married (wife, Rose), has four children.

But he is not listed as a lawyer on the website of the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (www.iardc.org). Loyola University Chicago School of Law could not be reached immediately to provide Trotter's year of graduation.

Now, a .25 Beretta might be thought by some as an off-duty, back-up or concealed carry weapon, but I surely cannot imagine an armed security guard carrying a peashooter like that. You're going to carry something with some stopping power, just in case you need it.

The Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issues a PERC (Permanent Employee Registration Card). All you need is $55.00, a photo and your fingerprints. Then you must a second license (or permit or certificate), which you get by sitting through a class and firing 50 rounds on the range, scoring 70%.

Some of the courses even provide a pistol and ammo. They probably provide a weapon big enough to see and long enough to provide a decent sight-line on the target. It's a different story with a .25 Beretta. Did he score 70% with that?

The IDFPR should be checking the employment time-sheets with Allpoints Security & Detective, Inc. carefully to determine when (and if) "Sen." Trotter worked as an armed security guard. What do they pay a State Senator to work as a security guard? More than the average bear?

Some people have been known to get "courtesy" licensing, because they have friends in high places. Or they get the laws twisted around so that they can carry. Some Chicago Aldermen carry because they got themselves licenses as peace officers. How does that happen?

Trotter earns over $84,000/year as a part-time Illinois Senator. (See www.bettergov.org for its Payroll Database.) If he's a lawyer, he'll have that income, too. And he's working for $9-10/hour as a security guard?

Unfortunately, results of any investigation of Trotter by the IDFPR will likely be buried, as they are for any other "regulated" person. Results are revealed only under very limited circumstances.