Chambana Sun

House Rep. Mike Marron (R-Fithian) believes the Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card process needs to change.

Marron said his office began receiving calls last summer from constituents who were unhappy with the process. The number of complaints has grown exponentially.

He said they have been inundated daily with multiple phone calls. "This is the main thing my district office spends their time on. At least 90% of their time is taken up with FOID card issues," he said.

Aside from the separate issue of the FOID card system as a whole being a rights violation, Marron said, "The mismanagement of this system is causing real problems for law-abiding citizens."

He said the system has been chronically understaffed.

"Between fiscal years 2015 and 2019, almost $30 million in funding has been swept from the funds to manage these programs," Marron said. "This seriously lacks fiscal transparency. This is no way to manage a state program and you’re setting the system up for a catastrophic failure."

Marron also brought several constituents to the press conference so they could share their stories.

Kathie Porter of Danville said she is frustrated with the length of time it has taken her to get her address changed on her FOID card.

"On Dec. 14, I went online to change my address for my FOID card," Porter said. "It’s been 81 days and it’s still under review."

Porter said she has tried repeatedly to reach the state police by telephone at various times of the day to no avail.

Randy Brinegar, also of Danville, said he applied for FOID card renewal on July 8, 2019, through the licensing agency so that it was done correctly.

"Several months later I still hadn’t received it," Brinegar said. "I had heard about the backlog and kept waiting, but on Jan. 21, my wife and I came to Springfield since phone calls weren’t working."

Brinegar said he went to the State Police office and was immediately told that FOID card renewals couldn't be done by appointment and that someone would be out to help him shortly.

"A person took down my name and number and said I’d receive a call within two weeks," Brinegar said. "I still haven’t heard back."

Brinegar, the former Vermilion County State's Attorney, knows the importance of following the law in order to avoid prosecution.

"I don’t want to break the law, but now I can’t do anything," Brinegar said. "I have to be in compliance with the law and I don’t want to be not in compliance and here I am going on eight months."