It is sixteen hours of mostly boring repetitious and unnecessary information. The class could easily be taught in three hours but Illinois mandates sixteen hours for the vast majority of enrollees so that it is. Some of it is necessary, like the laws regarding your rights, responsibilities, and liabilities as well as where and when to carry, how to store your weapon, etc. You will be taught the different methods in which to carry your weapon as well as how to draw efficiently and quickly. The course terminates with qualifying on a range by hitting a target at three different distances with an accuracy rate of 70% out of thirty rounds fired.
During the class we were taught a small caliber pistol is not as effective in stopping an attack as a larger caliber weapon. This makes sense due to the increased shock from the larger diameter bullet.
Something I found very interesting when on the range was the lack of accuracy of most of the larger caliber weapons being fired. The participants were shooting everything from .45s to .22s. I shot a .22 to qualify. For the most part the large weapons did not have nearly the accuracy of the smaller. It could be the natural reaction of the shooter anticipating the kick from the discharge or the weight of the gun but to me it was obvious. The large guns generally were also much slower to fire repeat rounds due to the time to recover to firing position from the kick. My .22 grouped much better and was much more accurate and fast to regain alignment after the shot. Regardless of the stopping power I believe my little .25 caliber will work just fine as a carry weapon and I doubt I will ever need it anyway.
My personal feeling is I would rather have accuracy and place three or four rounds in the desired point quickly to stop an attack rather than one massive blast hoping to hit the right area. My opinion only.
Another interesting point was made by the instructor. Almost without exception when someone is trying to defend themselves they will miss the first shot simply due to nerves. That surprised me but I guess it makes sense.
If you don't mind paying $250.00 for the class plus the Illinois card fee and the Utah card fee have at it. Some day you may be in an unfamiliar bad area away from home and you will be glad you are ready.
Ken