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If you call 217.782.7980 you’ll get this message (as of early this morning):
You’ve reached the Illinois State Police Firearm Services Bureau. FOID cards are being processed within 8 weeks of receipt. If you have not allowed the 8-week processing time, please call back after 8 weeks.
The trouble is, the state is mandated by law to process FOID cards within 30 days.
(430 ILCS 65/5) (from Ch. 38, par. 83‑5)
Sec. 5. The Department of State Police shall either approve or deny all applications within 30 days from the date they are received, and every applicant found qualified pursuant to Section 8 of this Act by the Department shall be entitled to a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card upon the payment of a $5 fee.
As I’ve already told you, the State Police is under fire for laying off workers who processed the cards.
The delay is crucial because if you are caught possessing or transporting a weapon in Illinois without a valid FOID card, you can be hit with a felony.
The Rifle Association is considering filing a lawsuit over the delays and has asked members who have had a problem to come forward. Stay tuned.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 6:07 am
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Rich thank you for clarifing that.So if he brings in one of his snoozy no bid contract buddies he will be violating the law.It has to be the State Police.When they came up with these lay-offs trying to balance the budget on the backs of state workers if you remember this bunch made the statement that there would be no cuts or slow down in state services.If you check all agencies have cut or slowed down because of these cuts.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 6:33 am
Blago said he wouldn’t raise the FOID card, running from his prvious $500 FOID card idea.
But he never said he would issue one.
Comment by Todd Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 6:46 am
That is not the message they were playing last week. It said 30 days! They have changed it since the story broke over the weekend.
Here is what is says on the ISP website:
“Most applications are processed within 30 days from the date your payment is processed at your financial institution. If you have not received a card or letter by the end of the 30 day processing period, you may contact a customer service representative at 217-782-7980, Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.”
Legislators REALLY need to step up on this. As a gun owner, I don’t mind that we need to have FOID cards. I don’t mind there are 24-hour and 72-hour waiting periods for purchases. I actually think those are good ideas.
But if we have to follow the law, than Governor Blagojevich’s administration MUST also be held to that same standard. It is absolute ineptitude on their fault and it goes to the top.
It actually scares me to think that I can be prosecuted for a felony right now because I still don’t have my FOID renewal due to Blagos “Reform and Renewal”!
Comment by Brad Tusk's Ego Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 6:50 am
Just read about Bill HB 2414 sounds like if they get another gun ban law like this it will cut the number of request for FOID cards.Then they will be able to get them out on time.See the governor is trying to do right.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 7:05 am
I am opposed to guns period. Hundreds of thousands of people have died unnecessarily because of this country’s liberal gun laws, laws receiving de facto support from our pretend liberal governor.
However, if FOID cards are required, issuance should occur without delay. Is there a union in here somewhere? Couldn’t the employees work a little harder, for their nice salaries and almost-free health benefits and pensions.
Whenever state employees complain about being overworked and understaffed, taxpayers should hang on to their pocketbooks and consider outsourcing, especially if the work is not getting done, as in this case. Surely, issuing these cards requires little skill. Is this unit another patronage job farm?
Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 7:21 am
Only politicians like Rod get gun toting cops, the average person should have their guns confiscated. Let’s fill the prisons with law abiding citizens.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 7:22 am
Cassandra,
Apparently you don’t understand much about state employees or their benefits or their work. There is no such thing anymore as “almost-free health benefits and pensions” and if you paid attention to the Springfield paper and the nice Editorial there the other day, you’d see that we’re paying more for our pensions and the state pays less in the long run, but that’s beside the point here.
The state cut jobs and contracted out, then cut those contracted jobs. Now people aren’t getting their FOID cards. If the jobs hadn’t been cut in the first place, then there wouldn’t have been a problem. You ought to be a state employee trying to do more with less these days. It doesn’t work. And when you’re a servant of and for the people, you can’t do right by the taxpayers. And when you think about it, state employees are taxpayers too. Everyone is getting screwed by the messed up system in Springfield.
This FOID screw-up needs to be fixed, as does everything else. By admitting on the answering machine that it’s going to take longer than by law they have to get a new card, I hope a lawsuit gets filed. What a mess. And I don’t own a gun, or even like guns.
Comment by Tessa Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 7:32 am
Cassandra you need to walk a day in some of our shoes the only ones that are scarfing up the good stuff is the ones he appointed after he was elected.They came in and tried to balance the budget on the state employees backs laying off many critical employees and then turned around and appointed a bunch of his friends at inflated wages.It is not that we are not doing our job it is at the manpower level we are at it is phyiscally impossible to do.I have been told that one area child caseworkers have almost 300 cases on thier desk.Stae campgrounds closed and falling in disrepair.A good employee will do thier best to do all the jobs handed to them and that is what the had in the back of thier mind that a few good employees will get the job done.Well when it is an 8 hour day and you are given 12 hours work it is impossible.A state job is one of the most stressfull there is right now and I am not talking about the appointees that do very little.Of course most of them have no idea they are just there to put out the governors lies that it is just another day in paradise.If your legislator is a Democrat he has already turned a blind eye to the problems.I know I was told that everything was O.K. and getting better by mine.No I won’t vote for him or Blago again.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 8:12 am
This is just another example of the disgraceful ineptitude of the Blagojevich administration. If this keeps up Rod will attract more flies than votes Downstate.
Comment by Randall Sherman Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 9:14 am
You can see it warming up, we will get hit in the next 6-18 months with a rate hike on foid cards to pay for the extra staff. Nice little wag the dog by Blago, cut the staff so you can justify raising fees to restaff.
For those of you who think guns cause crime try looking at the statistics regarding states with conseal and carrry. Burglaries, carjackings, rapes and assaults are all reduced when law abiding citizens are allowed to carry. WE don’t need more gun laws, enforce he one’s we have. Ironic that law abiding gun owners are concerned over foid card felonies yet the City of Chicago wants more gun laws. Here is an idea, round up all those criminals in Chicago with the guns, and charge them with the felony us law abiding citizens are worried about.
That being said how we issue a foid card in this state is absured. You mail in your picture with your payment and form. As long as the person’s whose information you use is clean, no problems.
Problem is, there is no verification the personal information goes with the person int he picture.
I got $50 that says you could get a foid card in your name with the Governor’s picture on it.
Comment by the Patriot Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 9:43 am
I know it’s the chicken way to post as Anon; however, I happen to personally know how overworked the employees of the FOID secion are - almost to the point of now knowing which day it is. The supervisor is inept and the other 2 have to handle ALL of the applications. One of those has been out with a serious injury coming back to work weeks early against doctor’s orders. Don’t tell me that State employees don’t earn their money. This section is pathetically understaffed and it’s about time this all came to light. And I agree, this is just another ploy of Gov. Hairdo’s to jack up the FOID fee. Cassandra, you better outlaw hammers and baseball bats too. It’s an old saying but true - guns don’t kill people - people kill people. If an idiot wants to do bodily harm to someone and even kill them, where’s there’s a will–there’s a way.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 11:25 am
I’ll just add this one to the list of other violations of law by the Rod R. Blagojevich administration, inc.
The news articles are stacking up. A judge that did not receive his or her salary increase due to Mr. Blagojevich would love to have these violations of laws before them.
Comment by ONEMANCANMAKEADIFFERENCE Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 2:54 pm
This is not an ISP problem. The problem is the administration (Governor) trying to tote his “money saving” ideas and it looks great on paper but when they are implemented you really find out how much they are misplanned. The layoffs are going to hurt a lot of departments. Its not the state workers or contractors faults. Everyone of them want to work, but if they are not around things are not going to get done.
Way to go Blago.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 4:18 pm
The ISP should not take the flack for this serious error. Blago, Filan, and Trent are the ones responsible. The current FOID staffers were overworked even before they laid off those employees. What is sad is that officers are coming in off the road to process these applications and generally don’t know what they are doing when the process those files. Since there is such a huge backlog many of “those” that shouldn’t have a FOID are possibly recieving them. Again another reason to hope and pray that the Blagojevich Admin has less than a calendar year left.
Comment by SouthernILRepub Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 4:59 pm
Perhaps this is their way of not wanting us to have guns for any reason.
Comment by Levois Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 5:43 pm
This is not a new problem. It took 6 weeks to get my FOID card last year.
Comment by Gun Owne Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 5:58 pm
How come noone is mentioning yesterday’s State Journal Register article titled “IDOT abolishes External Affairs”? In June of 2004 IDOT abolished/laid off a bunch of people in traffic safety (all republicans) and the very next month they created a new Department of External Affairs and hired a bunch of Blagojevich campaign workers/contributors and now 18 months later because of a federal investigation they are abolishing External Affairs and moving all the hacks to traffic safety where they laid all those people off 18 months ago! WTF? How can they do this? is it because they are democrats? why didn’t they move all the repubs to different departments and how come no press picked up on this? IDOT’s Tim Martin must be insane!
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 6:31 pm
I know from first hand experience(and I don’t mean from being arrested) that the ISP are the least knowledgeable police agency there is when it comes to state firearm laws. The policy setters are anti-gun and when they did not get their way in the legislature they made up their own regulations and imposed them on the public. They even instructed their own field troops and officers from other agencies incorrectly on the law. Another state agency called them on it several years ago.
Comment by from my cold dead hands Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 6:35 pm
Someone far wiser than myself once said “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.” The same situation was caused by Thompson / Mandeville / Zagel, Thompson / Mandeville / Margolis, Edgar / Walters / Gainer … well, you get the idea. If the data in the article is correct, the situation should be fixed. But if never fails to amaze me how many people think nothing went wrong under the 22 years of Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar … .
Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 6:37 pm
But if never fails to amaze me how many people think nothing went wrong under the 22 years of Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar … .
Of course there were screw-ups in those administrations, and Ryan’s too (I’m no fan). It’s the nature and degree of the screw-ups that are getting people’s attention now.
Comment by 6 Degrees of Separation Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 9:42 pm
“It’s the nature and degree of the screw-ups that are getting people’s attention now.”
OK - Blagojevich’s people manipulate the system so a fairly high level person can bypass Veteran’s Preference, and people go nuts. But that PALES in comparison to Thompson’s patronage directors and/or county party chairmen selling state jobs, including janitors and messengers (the job selling was proven in the 1992 trials in Centralia). Remember recently Jesse White fired 2 janitors as ghost payrollers? The one who was working full-time in the Springfield Public Works Department? He was hired by none other than the “Mr. Clean” of Illinois politics, Jim Edgar, in 1986. Think you’d read about that when the person was recently fired? Didn’t think so … .
Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Jan 11, 06 @ 10:12 pm