Governor Rauner signed HB-4855 into law. Aren't you excited? The bill allows extends the time the Illinois State Police has to process a FOID card renewal to 60 business days, up from 30 calendar days.
The good news, if you look hard enough, is that the FOID card will remain active and valid while they process the renewal. The bad news is that it doesn't really matter what the law is, when it comes to FOID card applications and renewals, the ISP does what they want, when they want, the law be damned.
Need examples? Sure, no problem.
1. Remember when FOID card applications and renewals took the better part of three to four months under Pat Quinn? Even though the ISP was, BY LAW, required to process them within 30 days?
Ancient history, you say? The Guns Save Life president just waited thirty-some days for the ISP to process his renewal and that has been within the last two months. The law when that happened was 30 days to process renewals. Did anyone at ISP get sanctioned? Laugh out loud. No.
2. A while back the ISP unilaterally decided it would not issue a FOID card to anyone under the age of 10, despite the law clearly omitting any reference to a minumum age for issuance of a FOID card. Again, the law be damned.
I'm planning on testing that here in a couple of months if all goes as planned. My plan is to submit a FOID application for my newborn twin sons the day they are born, if time allows. At the latest, the applications will be submitted the day after their birth. I double dog dare ISP to deny those applications because of age. I'll seek damages under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 litigation. I think it's time for state officials to be held directly accountable for arbitrary decision-making against civil rights.
3. Ever tried to buy a gun after your FOID renewal has been sent in and you have not yet received a replacement card? If so, you got denied. Why? Because standard practice has always been that the ISP arbitrarily invalidates existing FOID cards as soon as a person submits for a renewal. Not because it says anywhere in Illinois law that as soon as you submit for a renewal your existing card becomes invalid, but because some schmuck at ISP decided that's the way it will be. Will this change under this new law? Who knows. We'll find out soon enough.
4. Illinois law, specifically Section 10 of the FOID Act, says that the Department of the State Police shall grant a hearing to request relief from their status as a prohibited person.
In a nutshell, the ISP must notify the state's attorney's office at least thirty days before any hearings to give them an opportunity to object, having no convictions for forcible felonies for at least twenty years since incarceration, the applicant's criminal history and reputation are such that they are not likely to act in a manner dangerous to the public's safety, and granting relief would not be against the public's interest (or federal law).
The ISP has a number of applications sitting on someone's desk where they have done nothing towards ruling on these reformed felons seeking to have their firearm rights restored. And without ISP rejecting the applications outright, the individuals cannot appeal to their local circuit courts for relief. Again, the law says one thing, the ISP's leadership does what it darn well pleases when it darn well pleases. Some have waited for up to two full years without action from ISP.
While you may not have a lot of sympathy for reformed felons, I assure you JB Pritzker has even less sympathy for you as a gun owner.
How early can you apply for renewal?
Good question. They won't return my phone call when I asked Jessica Trame just that.
This isn't good enough for me to vote for Rauner. Remember how he shafted gun owners by signing the "red flag" and other gun control last month? If we don't take revenge against our enemies, soon we won't have any friends.
I hope you like Madigan running the governor's office through his "string puppet" JB peckerhead better. When have we ever NOT had to hold our noses to vote for the least undesirable politician, especially for governor. Even Edgar, who was the most responsible governor for a long time and since, was somewhat a wuss on firearms rights.
With Chitcago overriding downstate voters, what can we do?
You dont have to like Rauner to vote for him. Do what I am going to do; Hold your nose.
If JB is elected its good by 2A. Even Conceal carry could be rolled back under JB.
What we need to do is get Rauner re-elected then start getting some good pro-gun people elected to the General Assembly.
I used to think that way. But JB would be horrible for 2A rights, and the state in general. However bad Rauner has been (and he's done some things that I absolutely HATE), JB will be 100x worse. I will hold my nose and vote for Rauner, then actively work to get him primaried (again) next election.
We win and lose the RINO vs. Conservative battle in the primary. All that not voting for Rauner in the general election will get us is 4 years of JB (or fewer if he has a grabber) and Madigan having unrestricted control over the state. That might be enough to get me to displace for greener pastures.
I beat you to it. I left Illinois (Chicago) in 2015 and haven’t looked back. Won’t even visit it since they are so anti-2nd amendment. The Mrs. came to me last week and said that she has an opportunity to be promoted, but we would have to move back to Chicago. I told her if she chooses to go for and secure that promotion, I’m going to go for and secure a new Mrs. She hasn’t spoken of it since.
Unfortunately I don’t see Illinois changing for the better in my life time. Or that of two generations from now for that mater.
Good luck!
I dont like the Red Flag law either but I dont blame Rauner for the actions of the Illinois Gun Lobby that wrote the law.
It was the Illinois gun lobby that wrote and still supports the FOID card law today. I remember the first time I ever talked to Richard Pearson and had to listen to his spin on how we got the FOID card. i also remember his comments that "We will never enjoy the same gun rights like our Grand Fathers and Fathers enjoyed".
This law is an improvement on a law that should have never been on the books in the first place.
Add in the Fact that Obama is now openly supporting JB in ads it makes our struggle all the more difficult.
I am unable to attend the NRA training meetings. How can I benefit from their information?
The FOID card is nothing but an unconstitutional mess that needs to be ended. whenever I talk to a sheep that thinks the FOID system is a good thing I simply ask "What other Constitutional rights should law abiding citizens have to pay a fee and get a card before being able to exercise ?" They just stand there with a dumb look on their face.
Religion.
Access to internet.
and definitely to vote!
JB Pritzker, absent his inheritance, would probably be working as a lazy, overweight janitor at a Chicago Public School somewhere. Or for the IDOT. No offense to school janitors or the handful of IDOT workers that actually work.
Well, the government agency has got to use bio-degradeable green paper to print the FOID cards . Motto : do nothing with everything available .