Illinois Supreme Court to hear case about restoring FOID card privileges

(The Center Square) – The Illinois Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case about individuals’ Second Amendment rights, but it’s just one of a series of cases challenging the state’s gun laws working through the courts.

Among several cases to be heard Wednesday by the high court, is Alfred Evans Jr., v. The Cook County State’s Attorney (The Illinois State Police, Appellee).

Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson said that the case is about restoring people’s Second Amendment rights.

“We’re just trying to make sure that the state gives them their rights back if they deserve them, there’s no process for that at the moment that works,” Pearson told WMAY. “So we want to guarantee those rights come back.”

In the case, Evans’ attorneys are asking the Illinois Supreme Court to order the ISP to issue a FOID card despite state police saying a years old felony conviction prohibited issuance of the ID.

While the case is narrow to one individual, when it’s decided, Pearson said it could set a precedent in other cases. That’s just one of a slew of cases in both state and federal courts challenging Illinois gun laws.

“To give you an idea of how long these cases last, we had one that we had in court waiting 13 years,” Pearson said.

Last week, ISRA sued state police in federal court over the delay in processing Concealed Carry Licenses. Other cases challenge the state’s delay in processing Firearm Owner Identification Cards.

It’s unclear what legislative remedies there are.

State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said one of the major complaints his office fields are residents not getting their FOID card from ISP. The cards are required to buy ammunition and firearms.

“I’ve had people that I’ve helped 13, 14 months waiting on their FOID card,” Davidsmeyer said.

He said there doesn’t seem to be much appetite from the Democratic majority to address the persistent backlogs delaying people’s Second Amendment rights.

“There’s kind of a follow-up on the FOID card to kind of fix some of that,” Davidsmeyer said. “A lot of my constituents say ‘don’t even support that, let it go down in flames, it’s infringing on our rights, if they can’t do it right, we need to get rid of the program altogether.”

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office said they had “no comment to offer” on how to fix the ongoing backlogs in FOID applications and Concealed Carry Licenses.

Senate President Don Harmon’s spokesman John Patterson said people want to know their government works.

“If there’s a process or a system that isn’t working as planned, we need to figure out why and more importantly how to get it back on track,” Patterson said.

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