SE Illinois News

House Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) seeks changes to the Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card system.

"This is the number one issue we receive calls on at the district office in Harrisburg," Windhorst said. "I took some legislative steps to hopefully fix these issues we’ve heard."

Windhorst introduced House Bill 913, which he said calls for the FOID card to be repealed. He said there have also been several other bills introduced regarding FOID card issues.

"House Bill 4057 calls for the same repeal," Windhorst said. "You've heard there is a delay that is running three to five months and you can't even apply for renewal until 90 days before, so that's creating a gap."

Windhorst said House Bill 4447 provides that state police will accept renewal applications within 180 days. He said other bills, like House Bill 4450, would require state police respond within 60 days to people who appealed the process when their FOID cards were denied or revoked.

"And finally, House Bill 4448 deals with a gap in the system since we adopted conceal carry legislation," Windhorst said. "Because FOID card is 10 years and concealed carry is five years. This creates a situation for citizens if their FOID card expires while their concealed carry is still valid."

Windhorst said he and other House Republicans want FOID legislation repealed. If that can't happen, they want commonsense fixes to benefit citizens in their districts.