Free Republic

– Illinois House Republicans are both condemning and praising a recent federal judge ruling about illegal immigrants being able to carry firearms for protection. Earlier this month, Northern District of Illinois federal Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled in favor of Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, a foreign national in the u.S. illegally who was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. She said the law violates the Second Amendment as applied in this one case. “The Court finds that Carbajal-Flores’ criminal record, containing no improper use of a weapon, as well as the non-violent circumstances of his arrest do not support a finding...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – Some firearm owners in Illinois may soon need to update their Firearm Ownership Identification.A new bill filed by Representative Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) would require young gun owners to apply for a FOID card again after their 21st birthday. She says this proposal would give law enforcement the chance to do another background check. “Again and again, we see these heartbreaking crimes committed by young adults with a documented history of threatened and actual violence, including self-harm,” Costa Howard said. “Simply requiring young adults to re-apply for FOID cards after they turn 21 will create...

Illinois State Police announced Wednesday that it has forced nearly 300 people in southern Illinois to give up ownership of their firearms after they had their firearms rights revoked.As part of a “firearms enforcement blitz” from June 16 to July 31 in 41 southern Illinois counties, including St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Clinton and Randolph counties, state police officers performed 710 “compliance checks,” which resulted in 295 people being “placed into compliance” with the state’s Firearms Owners Identification Card, or FOID card, law.Illinois State Police said those placed in compliance had to do the following:▪ Surrender their FOID card.▪ Transfer all...

In a split 4 to 3 decision, the Illinois Supreme Court has refused to rule on the constitutionality of the Firearms Owner’s IDentification card (FOID) requirements in Illinois. This is the second time the Court has refused to rule on the same case. From the decision: “Mandates of this court are not to be treated lightly but are to be obeyed.” Id. Where the cause is remanded by this court “with specific directions, the court below has no discretion, but must pursue the mandate” of this court. Chickering v. Failes, 29 Ill. 294, 302-03 (1862). Accordingly, the circuit court’s orders...

The parents of the suspect who police say carried out the mass shooting in Illinois on July 4 have issued a statement for the first time since the attack.“We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the paradegoers, the community, and our own,” the parents of Robert “Bobby” Crimo III said.“Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to everybody,” they added.The brief statement was released by Steve Greenberg, a lawyer who said the parents have hired him to represent them.Robert Crimo, who lost a Highland Park mayoral bid...

The Illinois Firearms Owner Identification (FOID) requirement came in with the enormous gun control push done by Democrats in 1968, during the Johnson administration. In 2017, an Illinois state judge, T. Scott Webb, of White County, found the FOID unconstitutional. The case made it to the Illinois Supreme Court, where it was sent back to the District Court for clarification.In 2021, it was found to be unconstitutional again and has again made its way back to the Illinois Supreme court. From the decision, Case 17-CM-60, 26 April 2021:“A citizen in the State of Illinois is not born with a Second...

Judge T. Scott Webb, of White County, Illinois, Found the requirement to obtain a (FOID) before owning a firearm in Illinois, to be unconstitutional. From the decision, Case 17-CM-60, 26 April 2021: “A citizen in the State of Illinois is not born with a Second Amendment right. Nor does that right insure when a citizen turns 18 or 21 years of age. It is a façade. They only gain that right if they pay a $10 fee, complete the proper application, and submit a photograph. If the right to bear arms and self-defense are truly core rights, there should be...

On Monday, 22 March, in Chicago, 15 people were recorded as being shot. Three of them were killed. One of those shot is recorded as acting in self-defense, on the South Side of Chicago. From the Chicago Sun Times: An hour prior, a man was shot in South Deering on the South Side. They were sitting in a parked vehicle about 10 p.m. in the 2500 block of East 109th Street when two people walked up to them and fired shots, police said. A 25-year-old man was struck in the face and grazed in the neck area. He pulled out...

As many as 30,000 guns may still be in the possession of Illinois residents deemed too dangerous to have them, according to a Tribune investigation. In an analysis of data released for the first time, the Tribune found the state has repeatedly failed to ensure that people surrender their weapons and gun permits after their Firearm Owner’s Identification cards are revoked, resulting in the breakdown of a system put in place to deter gun violence. In all, nearly 27,000 Illinois residents over the past four years have not informed authorities what they did with their guns after state police stripped...

A very interesting Second Amendment case has developed in the Illinois state court system. The case challenges the requirement to qualify for, pay for, and have in possession, an Illinois Firearm Owner Identification card (FOID), to legally possess a firearm in the home for the purposes of self defense. The case is very clear. The Illinois court ruled the requirement to have an FOID was unconstitutional. From illinoiscarry.com:This is a case in my own circuit court that we have been monitoring for the past year. The court ruled the FOID Act unconstitutional in regards to the licensing and taxing...

This is a case in my own circuit court that we have been monitoring for the past year. The court ruled the FOID Act unconstitutional in regards to the licensing and taxing requirement to be in possession of a firearm or ammunition in your own home. The IL Attorney General has appealed the case to the IL Supreme Court. Cliff notes: Lady with a clean record, in possession of a single shot, bolt action rifle .22 in the home for personal protection. No FOID but otherwise eligible for a FOID. Judge ruled requiring a license and charging a fee/tax to...

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (KMOV.com) - A Southern Illinois state representative is pushing a plan to end the state's program to register and identify gun owners. Representative Jerry Costello said the Firearm Owners ID program is losing money and creating more bureaucracy for lawful gun owners. "It's very important to my constituents in downstate Illinois," Costello said. Currently the FOID cards are needed to purchase and possess guns and buy ammunition. Applicants must submit to a background check.

After allegedly finding a loaded weapon in the possession of a Crystal Lake attorney during a drunken-driving investigation, police said they made a bigger discovery when they searched the man's home: a cache of 56 handguns and rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Authorities apparently had not confiscated the weapons earlier from the lawyer, Donald F. Franz, despite the fact that his arrest in January marked the second time in about nine months that he has been accused of carrying a loaded gun in his car after his firearm owner's identification was revoked, court and police records show. He...

Yesterday, we looked at Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's latest maneuvers intended to minimize Illinoisans' Constitutionally guaranteed, fundamental human right of the individual to keep and bear arms. Or perhaps that it is not her latest maneuver. As it turns out, she has also been busy lately trying to persuade the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to dismiss an 18-year-old woman's lawsuit over the state's refusal to issue her a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, required in Illinois for purchase or possession of guns and ammunition. From the Madison-St. Clair Record:

Illinois State Police say they’re trying to deal with a huge backlog of applications for Firearms Owner Identification cards. The agency received more than 28,000 applications for cards during April alone. That’s on top of an existing backlog of nearly 76,000 applications. The state police say they are dealing with a record number of applications. State police are supposed to approve or deny applications within 30 days. The agency says its understaffed due to budget cuts and is having trouble meeting the deadline. Every month since December has seen a record number of Illinois residents applying for FOID cards. Officials...

I recently applied for a Illinois state mandated FOID (Firearm owners Identification) card. The law as written states that the card must be issued or declined for cause within 30 days of your $10.00 fee check being cashed. Well, to begin with, it took them 2 1/2 weeks to cash the check. Now 12 weeks after that still no card or notification. I have contacted my state rep (a Republican) for what good it will do and also notified the NRA of the situation. I know they have a high number of apps to deal with but the law is...

I'm presently looking to buy a WWII German Luger. Having just moved to the state of Illinois, I checked into the specific laws pertaining to the purchase and ownership of firearms. Of the many Draconian gun laws in this state there is one that is particularly onerous....Obtaining a FOID(Firearm Owners Identification) card. The law that the legislature passed states that the card must be either issued or declined within 30 days of receipt of application. The FOID sight states within 30 days of your application fee of $10.00 being cashed. An immportant distinction being that it took them 2 weeks...

Plan on purchasing, owning, transporting and/or operating a firearm in your lifetime? Do not relocate to the state of Illinois. The state has one of the worst gun laws in the country and the Illinois Police and the Illinois Attorney General really need to stop pursuing innocent gun owners, sellers, and users, and pursue those who actually commit crimes that injure or harm others. Stemming from a public safety initiative, Illinois implemented a law in 1968 that says a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card must be issued by the Illinois State Police before a resident can possess or purchase firearms...

Flurry of Anti-gun Bills Saturates the Illinois Legislature -- But one bill would repeal the FOID card! As you are probably aware, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pressing for increased gun controls in Springfield. According to press reports in the state, “Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently called for a mandatory gun registration with a $65 fee [which] would pay for improving a background-checking system that has failed to process 100,000 mental health records.” Of course, including mental health records in the background check means that more military veterans who are suffering from PTSD will be denied their firearms rights. This...

The program that issues mandatory ID cards to gun owners in Illinois would be discontinued under legislation proposed by state Sen. Sam McCann, R-Carlinville. Senate Bill 3340 would repeal the Firearms Owner’s Identification Act. McCann said the act prevents law-abiding citizens from exercising their rights under the Second Amendment. Residents must pay a $10 processing fee when they submit their FOID card application to the Illinois State Police. A FOID card lasts for 10 years. “It just punishes the law-abiding public,” McCann said, adding that the law doesn’t stop criminals from getting their hands on guns. McCann said his bill...