•February 19, 2020•
By Jerry Nowicki
Capitol News Illinois

The Illinois State Police director said this week that his department has stepped up illegal firearm ownership enforcement methods, but it needs greater resources to continue the job — including fingerprints of Firearm Owner Identification Card applicants.
During a news conference Thursday, ISP Director Brendan Kelly gave an update about enforcement efforts and announced support for Senate Bill 1966, a measure that would increase FOID card fees and mandate fingerprinting of applicants.
The House passed the bill in May, but a Senate measure to agree with that final language stalled before a vote. It remains in the Senate assignments committee but could be taken up this legislative session.
Under the bill, sponsored in the House by Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Addison, new applications for FOID cards and renewals — which would be required every five years — would cost $20, up from the current cost of $10. The fees would fund law enforcement revocation efforts for those not legally allowed to own FOID cards or guns.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.