Brandishing or Drawing On
Brandishing, displaying a weapon with the intent to intimidate, is aggravated assault in Illinois. It is a bad idea. You are escalating the use of force, and it requires the same legal justification as if you pressed the trigger. You must be defending against imminent use of unlawful force against yourself or another.
I can think of no situations where I would brandish outside my own home. Brandishing is a great way to land yourself in jail but also a great way to get ventilated by the cops or another person with a concealed carry.
There’s not a hard and fast rule like that. You could do everything right and go to jail. You aren’t even 100% clear if you wait until a knife is in your belly before drawing.
The prosecutor will use every detail that they can against you. The fewer of those details the prosecutor can prove or imply, the better your position. The more details of your restraint and efforts to deescalate or leave, the better your position. Then, there are the lies and exaggerations from antigun witnesses. They aren’t guaranteed, but they shouldn’t be discounted.
It is illegal to draw on or shoot someone. Full stop. Self-defense doesn’t make it legal, it’s just a defense that MAY help the court find you not guilty of drawing on or firing at someone.
Think of it like crashing your car into a pedestrian. You may have an excuse, like the breaks failing, but that doesn’t make running pedestrians over legal.
So, general rules I follow are
DO NOT draw until you’re ready and willing to shoot. You’ll be treated like you pulled the trigger anyway.
DO NOT shoot if anything less than life is in danger. Pride and property aren’t worth it and don’t give the defense.
You CAN’T unfire it after the fact, so you have to 100% mean it every time you pull the trigger. You’re choosing to roll the dice on prison instead of dying in the street.
ASSUME there will ALWAYS be innocent bystanders that you can’tsee. EXPECT to be held responsible if they’re hurt.