And you might apply for renewal 60 days in advance and wait six months, in which case you hold your guns ‘illegally’for 4 months.
The State of Illinois "lost" my renewal for two years after I'd sent my renewal application in 90 days ahead of time. I cannot tell you how many phone calls it took to the Illinois State Police downstate to straighten the matter out. I literally "got lucky" one day when I called downstate and spoke to a female State Police officer who easily found my "lost" renewal application, confirmed with me over the phone who I was, apologized profusely, and made sure I had my FOID card three days later.
Problem was, it arrived in a non-postmarked (no date) envelope and an FOID card that had been backdated to the original application date, so my FOID is only good for 8 years, not 10.
So the "upside" I guess is they made sure I wasn't a criminal for the two years they dicked me around?
On a side note, this is now why I purchase all my weapons and ammunition out of state in Michigan where we have a summer home and NO FOID required.
The only "downside" is that when I want to purchase a new handgun or rifle, I do it while we're vacationing since Michigan honors Illinois stupid 24 hour wait period for a rifle, and 3 days for a handgun.
Still, the State of IL knows only about TWO of my weapons, purchased here 22 years ago. Everything else they have no clue about. I'll keep it that way too.