(The Center Square) – While the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday denied the ability for individuals to get public records about their Firearm Owners ID card revocation or denial, a board is set up to field appeals of such actions.
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.
