Illinois: Renewed Effort to Increase FOID Fee & Mandate Fingerprinting

Senator Ram Villivalam and Representative Kathleen Willis will file legislation this year to increase the cost and red tape required to obtain a FOID after the effort failed last session. While bill numbers are not yet available, the scheme is deceptively named “Fix the FOID.” Please contact your lawmakers and ask them to OPPOSE this so-called “Fix the FOID.”

The legislation is likely to include many of the same provisions as the previous iteration:

• Criminalize private transfers, with violations being punished as a Class 4 felony.
• Require the recipient of a firearm gifted by a family member to call into Illinois State Police within 60 days to run a background check on themselves, even though they must already hold a FOID.
• Allow for the indefinite delay of firearm transfers. Currently, federal law allows a licensed firearm dealer (FFL) to release a firearm after three business days if they have not received any additional correspondence after receiving a “delay” when conducting the initial background check for a firearm transfer. This safeguard prevents the potential shutdown of sales via endless delays and allows law-abiding individuals to take possession of a firearm in a timely manner.
• Mandate FOID applicants submit fingerprints, including for renewals, which does not add anything of investigative value.
• Increase FOID processing time from one calendar month to thirty business days, which can span more than six weeks.
• Reduce the duration of the FOID from ten years to five while also increasing the application fee from $10 to $20, resulting in a significant increase in the cost to maintain a FOID for the same amount of time.
• Require FOID applicants pay all costs for fingerprinting and processing the background check, totaling around $150 on top of the application fee.
• Prohibit those with a revoked FOID from transferring firearms to another FOID card holder in the same household and also take away the right to self-defense from individuals due to the alleged actions of someone else in their household.
• Require the owner of the seized firearms to petition the court to have them transferred to a third party.

Again, please contact your lawmakers and ask them to OPPOSE the so-called “Fix the FOID.”