East Central Reporter

Throughout a Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) meeting, Republican lawmakers peppered the Illinois State Police (ISP) with questions regarding their statement that they had no means to reject a FOID card for the alleged Highland Park shooter, an August Capitol News Illinois report said. The alleged shooter, Robert Crimo III, had applied for a FOID card to enable him to pay for firearms in the year 2019, a mere three months following a clear-and-present danger report because Crimo had threatened to "kill everyone." 

Crimo was not taken into custody following that event, and although the Highland Park police pushed the report to ISP, the state police discarded it as Crimo did not have a FOID or a pending application at that time. ISP stated at the meeting that it was not able to act because of the regulations in place at the time. Several weeks after the July 4 shooting, ISP issued a new emergency rule stating that it will maintain clear-and-present danger reports, even if the subject of the report does not have a FOID or a pending application. During the JCAR meeting, the rule was allowed to stand.

State law enables local law enforcement officials and school administrators to file "clear and present danger" requests with the Illinois State Police (ISP) in the event that they believe someone, "if granted access to a firearm or ammunition, pose an actual, imminent threat of substantial bodily harm to themselves or others," according to the form, NBC 5 Chicago reported. ISP can then reject a FOID card application if the individual has executed one, or take a FOID card that has already been released. In September 2019, Highland Park police sent a clear and present danger report to ISP regarding the alleged July 4 mass shooter, after the young man said he would "kill everyone" in his home. 

Local law enforcement seized 16 knives, a dagger and a samurai blade from the residence but returned them later during the day. A few months following those seizures, the suspect filed a FOID application, which was granted. He then acquired five weapons within the law over the course of the following two years.

After a 2019 mass shooting at an Aurora workplace that left six people dead and five police officers injured, Gov. JB Pritzker put measures into force intended to tighten gun control processes in Illinois, the Du Quoin Call reported. The law, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2022, provided funding and established a task force to assist with confiscating firearms from people who have had their FOID cards revoked. The bill also charged the state police with watching state and federal databases of gun-related crimes to identify people who should not be permitted to purchase firearms.

In an opinion piece for Real Clear Politics, Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general Thomas DeVore voiced dismay regarding the spike in gun crimes in Chicago and its suburbs and alarm that the implementation of the SAFE-T Act in January 2023 will contribute to an even greater increase in crime, calling the bill "anti-police, pro-criminal." DeVore criticized Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and incumbent Attorney General Kwame Raoul for supporting policies that lead to more violent criminals being released onto the streets.

EveryTown For Gun Safety ranks Illinois' gun control laws the sixth-strictest in the country, noting the requirement for background checks on all gun sales and an Extreme Risk law. On average, 1,505 people in Illinois are killed as a result of gun violence each year.

As of Aug. 28, there have been 444 murders and 1,885 shooting incidents reported in the city of Chicago this year, data from the Chicago Police Department showed.