Republican members of the Illinois General Assembly, including State Representative Mike Marron, blasted the state’s process of renewing Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) cards and Concealed Carry Licenses, saying that their constituents have felt anxiety and stress due to the license renewal process being delayed by several months, and even the director of the Illinois State Police says the process is not up to speed.
Marron said during a Zoom meeting on Wednesday that he has heard from hundreds of people in his district who are unable to speak with a live person on the phone about the delayed process. He says it was a problem even before the COVID-19 pandemic, as Democratic leaders transferred money for the program to other funds.
“Over $28 million has been swept out of the fund that is dedicated to administer the program,” Marron explains. “They transferred the money out of the fund to administer FOID and into the general revenue fund to fund social programs.”
Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly says the renewal process is “antiquated, outdated, ineffective and inefficient.” He says the delay is caused by an increase in the number of FOID card holders in the last few years and that the money was taken out of the fund due to the budget impasse under former Governor Bruce Rauner.
Two state house Republicans, C.D. Davidsmeyer of Jacksonville and Patrick Windhorst of Metropolis, say the FOID card requirement should be eliminated if the program cannot be fixed.
