Latest news with #KeeFirearmsandTraining
Chicago Tribune
08-08-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Gun owners say there's a gap in safety training without Kee gun store
Terry Cornell, an Evergreen Park resident, said he would often spend his weekends having doughnuts and coffee at Kee Firearms and Training with about 100 people from across Chicago, learning about gun safety at the store's free concealed carry classes. About 400 people attended the classes monthly, which required a $30 range fee per class, according to owner Jeffery Regnier. Many customers returned for additional training or to listen in, which created a community space where people, especially those who couldn't afford other training classes and even young teenagers, could learn more about gun safety and chat, Cornell said. 'So the guys got to eat, and they got to learn, and I'll tell you they were laughing and joking in the back of the room, and I was sitting back and I was like that's the best thing I ever seen,' Cornell said. Since the store closed in 2023, due to Regnier facing several criminal and civil charges, since dismissed. Cornell, who attended the classes with his wife and dozens of friends, said there's been void that hasn't been filled. He said he hasn't found any courses similar to the Kee's training that are affordable, scheduled on the weekend and extensive. Cornell said training courses usually cost hundreds of dollars and he said he knew people who would own and use guns without the training or license because the courses were unaffordable and only on weekdays. Regnier said his offering free classes changed the market, and several businesses that offered paid classes shut down because they couldn't keep up. 'There's no one to fill that role, even on a paid avenue,' Regnier said. 'Nobody can handle hundreds of people doing training every weekend.' While gun store owner Joe Malone agrees Regnier threw a 'wrench in the market,' he said there are still accessible, affordable options. 'But they would get people in the store and then what happens, when you're in the store where you see all the accessories they have available, and when you look at companies, yeah, it makes sense as to why they did what they did and it definitely threw a wrench in the market for sure,' he said. Malone said he had to recently close his gun business in New Lenox due to a lack of registrations, unrelated to Kee, and argues there isn't enough demand for these trainings in the area. He said he offers trainings in the Frankfort and Alsip areas, starting at $99 for the 16-hour training. This occasionally requires an additional $25 if they're using a third party range for the training. Customers can also pay an additional charges for other services like help with their Firearm Owner's Identification cards. Creative Scott, a concealed carry trainer based in Chicago off of North Lawndale, said he led a training in the New Lenox area about a month ago and works to provide affordable concealed carry and other gun safety classes at an affordable rate. That usually requires a $75 fee for the range. Scott said sometimes it's reasonable for these classes to charge because it's important to invest in individual safety. 'It shouldn't be about money all the time for your safety, like no amount of money determines my safety,' he said. 'Some people have the money but don't want to invest. You have to invest in yourself, in order to better yourself.' Cornell said many people purchase a gun because they're scared and work odd shifts. 'But you have to know when to shoot because that is a life-altering decision you're making and you don't know how the state's attorney is going to see it, how the police are going to see it,' he said. Cornell said 90% of the Kee's training emphasized gun safety, teaching people how to respond calmly to law enforcement, what types of locks to buy to secure a gun and how to unload a jam safely, which can lead to an explosion if addressed incorrectly. Regnier said he started the program after a few young moms told him they were scared of guns because they didn't know how to use them and they didn't have the money to spend on training. After more than 2,000 people signed up for what was meant to be a one-time offer, Regnier decided to incorporate the safety training into his business, hiring concealed carry certified trainers to work the weekend shifts so they could answer safety questions. 'We can't sell guns to people who don't know how to use them and just hope that everything works out,' Reigner said. 'We encouraged people to ask questions because we didn't want people to come in our store and just stay quiet as some people do and then they don't know how to do something. That's what we're doing it for, to help you.' Cornell said the instructors zeroed in on any participants that didn't take the safety measures seriously. But when federal and local officials raided the home and businesses of Regnier and his wife, Greta Keranen, in 2023 while investigating them for money laundering, Regnier lost his license to sell guns and, in November 2024, didn't have the funding to pay the store building's mortgage. His wife's construction business has also been on hold since the arrest, he said. Multiple criminal charges against Regnier were dismissed last month after a Will County judge denied the state's request to reschedule the trial date. Regnier also pushed back on the charges and won a civil forfeiture case in July regarding the four vehicles and Fidelity Investment accounts valued at $5.5 million that were seized as a part of the investigation. The Will County state's attorney refused to comment on the substance of the case, citing that it is still in progress. Regnier said he lost about 25 employees and a significant amount of revenue because he had to undersell a good portion of the guns quickly to acquire the funding to pay attorneys fees and other fees, such as sales taxes and other unfinished business payments with manufacturers. 'I never intended to close and we loved what we were doing in the community,' Regnier said. 'We were not a typical firearm store where you just come in and buy stuff. We were actually community involved and we were trying to train the community and answer those questions.' Regnier will face the second round of his criminal charges at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 8 in room 405 of the Will County Courthouse. But in the meantime, Cornell said the community needs accessible gun safety training. He said he tries to help educate people if he sees someone doing something unsafe with a gun, but that it's not the same as a structured classroom where the skills can be learned and applied. 'I think the state should do more to encourage people to get out there to a class because in a blink of an eye you're changing somebody's life as well as your own,' Cornell said.
Chicago Tribune
22-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Charges dismissed against Kees Firearms owners
After more than two years in court, Will County prosecutors moved Monday to drop several criminal charges, first filed in 2023, against two New Lenox business owners, after a circuit court judge denied their request to reschedule the trial date. Jeffery Regnier, the owner of Kee Firearms and Training in New Lenox, and Greta Keranen, with Kee Construction, will not face charges of theft by deception, burglary, loan fraud, wire fraud or burglary fraud, unless the state decides to refile the charges. The Will County state's attorney's office did not respond Tuesday afternoon whether refiling is a possibility. Regnier and Keranen were first charged with several felonies for fraud and theft of COVID-19 pandemic relief funds in 2023. The state requested to continue the case, scheduled for a jury trial Monday, on another date due to the absence of several witnesses, including two special agents for the U.S. Secret Service and a former secret service agent now working with the IRS Southeastern District Analysis. The state said the agents were necessary to the case but were scheduled for field work the week of the trial. But Judge Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak said prosecutors had four months to ensure the witnesses presence, as the July court date was set in March, and denied the state's request. Previous judges in the case expressed frustration with prosecutor delays. The New Lenox business partners will still face a number of charges in Will County Circuit Court on Sept. 8, including money laundering and filing a fraudulent Illinois sales and use tax return. 'I'm relieved that they dropped the case at this point in time because of the time it's taken to go almost 30 months to prove that we're innocent,' Regnier said Monday. Regnier and Keranen won a case July 16 to recover seized property and securities under the Eighth Amendment's protection against excessive fines. The properties, including four vehicles and Fidelity Investment accounts valued at $5.5 million, were seized as a part of officials investigation of Regnier and Keranen for money laundering. Michael Ettinger, an attorney on the case, called the judgement 'historic' for how pretrial civil forfeiture is applied in the county. Previously, defendants had to wait 10 months to a year of trial proceedings before they could move to dismiss the forfeiture and get their property back, Ettinger said. 'They had no right to seize that property under the Constitution,' said Ettinger. 'Whatever alleged fraud, if it was $200,000, they could seize that amount of money, but you can't take the rest of their assets just because it's in the same account.' The business owners also filed a federal lawsuit in January 2025, claiming Will County authorities and the U.S. Secret Service targeted them and others with 'frivolous' civil forfeiture cases. Defendants in the lawsuit are the Will County sheriff's office, a U.S. Secret Service agent and unknown members of the Will County sheriff's office and U.S. Secret Service. The agent filed a request Monday to dismiss several motions. The lawsuit alleges the Will County state's attorney's office worked in conjunction with the secret service and the Will County sheriff's office to bring 'knowingly frivolous civil forfeiture claims targeting citizens of Will County to line the pockets of the Will County State's attorney and other Illinois government agencies.' Under Illinois law, 65% of forfeiture proceeds go to the arresting agency, which in this case is either Will County sheriff or U.S. Secret Service, 12.5% goes to the state's attorney, 12.5% to the state appellate prosecutor and 10% to Illinois State Police. The lawsuit claims those authorities, working together, created a 'de facto policy to overzealously pursue forfeiture opportunities' regardless of their legality 'in violation of the constitutional rights of the individuals whose assets they seek to forfeit.' The federal lawsuit also alleged the ongoing and widespread constitutional violations in civil forfeiture cases in Will County and across Illinois suggest a possible 'widespread conspiracy, understanding or policy' that leads to the overzealous and unconstitutional prosecution of forfeiture cases.
Chicago Tribune
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
New Lenox gun shop owner, business partner argue wrongful asset seizure and forfeiture abuse in federal lawsuit
New Lenox business owners Jeffery Regnier and Greta Keranen said their lives were turned upside down after officials raided their home and businesses in 2023 while investigating them for money laundering. Regnier said the investigation began due to a $750,000 cash deposit made to his bank, which he says came from a large spike in gun sales at his store, Kee Firearms and Training in New Lenox, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regnier, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 Republican primary for the 1st Congressional District, and Keranen, of Kees Construction, face 29 felony charges for fraud and theft of COVID-19 relief funds as well as other offenses, according to two indictments filed in 2023. But the business owners filed a federal lawsuit Jan. 9 claiming Will County authorities and the U.S. Secret Service targeted them and others with 'frivolous' civil forfeiture cases. 'It takes you a long time to get out the fog of just coping with your emotions of having your life blown up, and then you realize that this is systemic abuse,' Keranen said. 'I'm not alone, there are people that have far less and can't fight and cannot afford to fight and they (prosecutors) are taking advantage of it.' Defendants in the lawsuit are the Will County sheriff's office, U.S. Secret Service agent Cayla Coleman and unknown members of the Will County sheriff's office and U.S. Secret Service. Regnier and Keranen's attorneys said Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow's office was not named because they do not have any facts his office engaged in any acts not judicial in nature, which would reduce its immunity from absolute to qualified. The lawsuit alleges Coleman filed a knowingly false affidavit with the goal of achieving a search warrant that led to the seizure of four vehicles and Fidelity Investment accounts valued at $5.5 million. The couple argues their Fourth Amendment rights were violated when law enforcement seized four vehicles not listed on the seizure warrant, which was shared with the Daily Southtown, and only lists the three Fidelity accounts and a Chase Bank account. They also claim their 14th Amendment rights were violated because a probable cause hearing was not held after the seizure. Their attorney, Oliver Soleiman, said the state statute is 'convoluted,' explaining law enforcement must notify the state's attorney within 60 days but also seek a probable cause determination from the court within 28 days. 'How can you have a probable cause hearing 28 days from the seizure of the property when they have 60 days?' Soleiman said. Regnier faces 14 criminal charges that include one charge each for loan fraud and money laundering and multiple charges of theft, state benefits fraud, wire fraud and filing a fraudulent Illinois sales and use tax return. Keranen faces multiple charges of loan fraud and charges of wire fraud, and they both face additional charges for theft by deception, forgery and burglary court records show. As a result of the charges, court records show authorities seized five vehicles, one of which was later returned, three fidelity investment accounts that Regnier said were valued at almost $4.4 million at the time of the seizure and $1,257 in cash. Regnier and Keranen's lawsuit argues the affidavit also violates their Eighth Amendment rights, which protects people from excessive fines or bail, by taking the vehicles and fidelity accounts valued at more than $5.5 million. They argue probable cause could not reasonably apply to more than $274,000 based on the contents of the affidavit, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit alleges the Will County state's attorney's office worked in conjunction with the Secret Service and the Will County sheriff's office to bring 'knowingly frivolous civil forfeiture claims targeting citizens of Will County to line the pockets of the Will County State's attorney and other Illinois government agencies.' Under Illinois law, 65% of forfeiture proceeds go to the arresting agency, which in this case is either Will County sheriff or U.S. Secret Service, 12.5% goes to the state's attorney, 12.5% to the state appellate prosecutor and 10% to Illinois State Police. The funds allocated to the county's state's attorney must be used for cannabis and drug law enforcement, public education on drug or alcohol abuse and grants to local treatment centers, according to Illinois' Drug Asset Forfeiture Procedure Act. The lawsuit claims those authorities, working together, created a 'de facto policy to overzealously pursue forfeiture opportunities' regardless of their legality 'in violation of the constitutional rights of the individuals whose assets they seek to forfeit.' The ongoing and widespread constitutional violations in civil forfeiture cases in Will County and across Illinois suggest a possible 'widespread conspiracy, understanding or policy' that leads to the overzealous and unconstitutional prosecution of forfeiture cases, the federal lawsuit alleges. These violations are still 'ongoing, pervasive and rampant,' according to the lawsuit. 'It's not hard to prove that it's systemic,' said Alexander Michael, an attorney at Palos Heights law firm Michael Ettinger and Associates, representing Regnier and Keranen. 'Every time that I've seen a case where I heard something really egregious happened, it always came from Will County. After about four or five, I'm like, 'You know what, there's a pattern here,'' Michael said. Regnier and Keranen's criminal case was in court Tuesday to set a trial date, with the business owners eager to move forward. Ettinger said prosecutor Mike Casson filed a motion to disqualify Ettinger from representing Regnier. In response, Ettinger filed a motion to disqualify Casson, alleging Casson improperly used confidential unemployment information from the Illinois Department of Employment Security when filing charges, violating a state law that prohibits such information from being used in court. A trial date was not set. Court records show the case is scheduled for March 4 where the motions to disqualify each attorney will be heard. Their attorneys said the case has been repeatedly delayed, and Will County Judge David Carlson expressed frustration in December 2023 when prosecutors submitted records nearly 10 months after the charges were filed. 'They do not want to try this case,' Ettinger said. 'They can't win it. They're dead in the water.' The Will County state's attorney's office did not return numerous Daily Southtown requests for an interview. Soleiman said in the last few years he has seen the number of civil forfeiture cases ramp up in Will County. In January, there were 223 civil forfeiture cases scheduled to be heard at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. As of Jan. 29, 149 had been scheduled in February. 'Let's be generous, and assume 30% to 40% of these are repeats. That's still over 100 new forfeitures every single month,' Soleiman said. Forfeiture law has long been controversial in the U.S., and in the last 10 years, has sparked civil rights discussions in Illinois. In a 2016 report, the Illinois American Civil Liberties Union and the Illinois Policy Institute recommended reforms to the state's forfeiture laws. These reforms were later enacted in legislation signed into law in 2017, according to the ACLU of Illinois. Among the legislative changes was raising the government's burden of proof from probable cause to a preponderance of the evidence, requiring public reporting of forfeiture data and adjusting the monetary thresholds for forfeiture. However, unlike in criminal cases, people in forfeiture cases do not have a right to a publicly appointed attorney, and the evidence standard is not as high as the one used in criminal court. The legislation also allows people to lose their property through forfeiture when they have not yet been convicted of a crime, and police departments and state's attorney's offices still profit from forfeiture cases, according to the ACLU of Illinois. According to the 2023 Illinois seizure and awarded assets report, compiled by Illinois State Police, more than $18.2 million in cash was seized and $16.8 million in cash and property was awarded to law enforcement that year. Still, civil rights discussions have prompted challenges to forfeiture law that have circulated the courts. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled civil asset forfeiture cases are subject to the 8th Amendment in the Timbs v. Indiana case. Plaintiff Tyrone Timbs was arrested for selling heroin, and police seized his Land Rover, which he bought for $42,000 with money from his father's life insurance. Timbs pleaded guilty and was sentenced to home detention and probation. However, the court later rejected the state's request to keep the Land Rover, ruling the vehicle's value was much higher than the maximum $10,000 fine for his crime. The court said seizing the car was unfairly excessive and violated the Eighth Amendment's protection against excessive fines. While civil rights activists have considered the ruling a step in the right direction, it does not specify how large a forfeiture constitutes an unconstitutionally 'excessive' fine. Joliet attorney Frank Andreano is challenging forfeiture law's constitutionality under claims that Will County prosecutors are profiting from seized property belonging to people who haven't committed any crimes. Andreano's case involves 84-year-old Almeda Cain of Richton Park, who owns a 2014 Mazda SUV. Her car was seized after Cain allowed her daughter, who, unknown to Cain had her driving privileges revoked because of a past conviction for driving under the influence, to use her car to pick up medication, court records show. 'Civil forfeiture was supposed to be for people like Pablo Escobar,' said Soleiman, representing Regnier and Keranen. 'It's not meant to take someone's grandma's car because their dumb son or grandson got drunk behind the wheel. It wasn't meant to be weaponized in this way against citizens.' The Will County sheriff's office said it cannot comment on pending litigation. U.S. Secret Service spokesman Joe Biesk said 'as a matter of practice, the U.S. Secret Service does not comment on proposed or pending litigation.' 'Whatever is decided, I'll know that I've done my best to try to advocate for more than just myself, that we have a real problem here, and that no American citizen should have to go through this,' Keranen said.
