Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to sign a bill into law Monday that will make it easier for the state’s lowest-level gun offenders to obtain a firearm ID card.
The laws, which was passed with bipartisan support at the end of the spring legislative session, allows people who have been arrested for the least severe charges of possessing a gun without a license to complete diversion programs that are alternatives to prosecution.
After the programs are completed, and the felony case is officially dropped, Illinois State Police would grant that individual a firearm owner’s identification, or FOID, card if they choose to apply and pass the background check.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said the way current Illinois law is structured prevents state police from starting the process of the FOID card and background check until after the felony case is officially dropped, which can take months after the diversion program is complete.
The new law allows state police to start the application and background check in the interim between completing the programs and the official dropping of the charges.
The state’s attorney’s office said the law benefits people who own guns for protection or for sport, and who may have moved to Illinois after purchasing a gun legally in another state, especially ones with looser gun regulation and open carry laws, who have not realized Illinois gun laws would require them to get a FOID card and concealed carry licenses.
"It’s two very different approaches to gun crimes because they’re treated very differently under the law," Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in June. "The goal is to get as many people into compliance with the regulation as possible, while at the same time addressing the very real threat that automatic weapons pose."
Region: Chicago,Politics,City: Chicago
via Politics – CBS Chicago https://ift.tt/neCqaAQ
July 28, 2025 at 10:15AM
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