(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Gov. JB Pritzker was in the western suburbs Monday to sign a new law that substantially changes the state’s firearm regulation system.
House Bill 562 modernizes the Illinois Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card system, which is 50 years old. In the last decade, the number of Illinoisans with a so-called FOID Card has nearly doubled — from 1.2 million in 2010 to 2.2 million today — the governor’s office said.
Pritzker said the new law expands background checks to include fingerprints but also speeds up the process of obtaining FOID cards.
“Responsible gun owners who opt into this process will see their FOID and concealed-carry applications expedited,” Pritzker said.
The new law expands background checks to all gun sales in Illinois starting in 2024. It will provide money for mental health programs in gun-plagued communities and beef up resources for the Illinois State Police, which is required to remove guns from people whose FOID cards are revoked, if they do not do so voluntarily.
The governor signed the bill in Aurora, where a gunman whose FOID card had been revoked but still had his weapon killed five co-workers at Henry Pratt Co. in February 2019. The murders could have been prevented, officials said.
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