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During a recent Senate hearing, FOID Card Review Board member
Erin Alexander said the board fields appeals from those with
revoked or denied cards. Among the information they review comes
from law enforcement reports.
“That can include documentation from police who have been
involved in that investigation or who have completed a
documentation about a concern about that citizen,” she said.
Other information the FOID Card Review Board reviews includes
criminal histories and even letters from those being denied.
“To date, we’ve heard a total of 256 petitions, we’ve continued
81. One-hundred and sixty-three petitioners have been granted
relief and 12 have been denied,” Alexander said.
ISP recently said is has denied or revoked more than 4,000 FOID
cards based on clear and present danger reports. There are more
than 2.4 million FOID card holders in Illinois. Illinois State
Police statistics show in November, nearly 1,000 were revoked.
Of 14,300 applications, 1,300 were denied.
While the review board has worked through a fraction of those
cases where appeals have been filed, review board member Ramone
Moore said they continue to meet more frequently.
“The statue requires that we meet quarterly, but we’ve been
meeting monthly and handling quite a bit of these petitions in a
timely manner,” Moore told the Senate committee in November.
The Illinois Supreme Court Thursday ruled that individuals
cannot file public records requests to access their individual
FOID card information. Instead, citizens must go through the
Illinois State Police Firearms Services Bureau.
Attorney Thomas Maag represented the plaintiffs in the case and
said they were not looking for personal information like their
own personal address.
“We’re trying to get to what the government's stated reason was
for revoking, suspending or otherwise invalidating my clients’
FOID cards,” Maag said during oral arguments.
The FOID card faces state and federal constitutional challenges
arguing it infringes the Second Amendment right to keep and bear
arms.
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