Kane sheriff: State police info helping to retrieve revoked FOID cards

Nearly half of the 81 people notified of a revoked Firearm Owner's Identification card by the Kane County Sheriff's Office since early March have turned in their cards to law enforcement agencies, Sheriff Ron Hain said.

Hain called the response "alarming" but said it mirrors the state average. But he added he was pleased his office contacted people who turned in their cards.

"Hopefully, we've deterred somebody from that group from a violent act down the road," he said. "That's what we're here for."

In December, Hain's office began assembling letters the state police had sent to his office for residents in unincorporated Kane County whose FOID cards had been revoked. The cards are necessary to legally own a gun or possess ammunition.

That process was hastened by the Feb. 15 shooting at the Henry Pratt Co. warehouse in Aurora in which a disgruntled employee, who lied about his felony record in order to obtain a FOID card in 2014 and buy a gun, killed five co-workers and wounded five Aurora police officers.

When the man later applied for a concealed carry permit, authorities learned of a 1995 felony conviction through a fingerprint check. State police revoked his FOID card, sent him a letter asking him turn in his card and gun within 48 hours, but he still possessed both until that fatal day.

Since Feb. 27, Hain's office has sent out 81 certified letters, and 39 people responded that they turned in their FOID cards.

Nineteen people gave their FOID cards to the sheriff's office in person or via mail, and 20 people said they turned in their cards to a local law enforcement agency. About 30 of the certified letters were returned to Hain's office because no one signed for them.

In some cases, a FOID was revoked because a person moved, not necessarily having been convicted of a felony. For example, in one Kane County case, a resident who had a FOID card went to college and since his address changed, he turned the card into law enforcement there, Hain said.

The state average for compliance is about 50% to 56%, Hain said, and he would prefer that to be 95% for Kane County. In February, he said he would have deputies do an in-person visit to residents who didn't turn over a revoked FOID card, but Aurora Police Chief Kristen and Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley urged his office to hold off on that step until new legislation is enacted.

Hain said state police have compiled a spreadsheet for each county that is updated every two weeks and shows if a retailer did a background check on a particular FOID card owner. That can give authorities a better idea if the person has purchased a gun illegally.

"Attention has been drawn to the gaps in the FOID system. It has increased communication," Hain said. "We are all waiting to see how that evolves while still trying to protect our citizens."

In early March, the state police unveiled a list of improvements to the FOID laws. The proposal, which is being considered by a legislative committee in Springfield, would give local law enforcement agencies greater access to the list of people whose FOID cards have been revoked. Agencies would learn why a card was revoked, whether the person has turned it in, along with a list of their firearms.

Last week, Ziman said representatives from her department were working with lawmakers on a solution.

"Right now, there are loopholes in the system. It's not anyone's fault, we work with legislation, we follow law, " Ziman said. "People having a FOID card doesn't necessarily mean you even have a weapon and so then to knock on doors to get people's weapons when we don't even know if they have one and then the people tell us 'no,' there's nothing we can do in furtherance. So we're looking to shore that up."