CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A hearing this week could force Illinois State Police to speed up processing of FOID cards.
Illinois State Police said 17,000 hours of overtime, 21 new hires, and a new phone system have helped the agency process 216,000 FOID card applications this year. But a 45 percent increase in applications means the backlog continues.
ISP said there currently are 145,000 pending FOID card applications and the average wait time is 121 days for a FOID card. In addition, there are 27,000 Concealed Carry applications pending.
Now, the Illinois State Rifle Association is asking a federal judge to intervene to address the backlog.
Executive Director of the Illinois State Rifle Association Richard Pearson said they worked with state police to extend the timeline from 30 days to 60 days, but it is still taking the agency twice that long to process the cards.
“The FOID card delays are not getting better – they are only getting worse,” said Richard Pearson, Executive Director of the Illinois State Rifle Association. “We worked with the State Police to extend the 30-day requirement to 60 days and of course they are going well beyond 60 days in getting FOID cards out to applicants. Enough is enough. Now it is time to get the courts involved and that is what we are doing. These delays are inexcusable and if the State Police won’t fix it voluntarily then the courts will have to intervene and force them to fix the problems and expedite the FOID card process.”
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The injunction was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Easter Division. The ISRA is asking a federal judge to force the agency to fix the problem and issue FOID cards within within the 30-day timetable as required by law.
Originally the hearing was set for Dec. 22, but now the hearing has been moved to Jan. 15, 2021.