REPORT HIGHLIGHTS FIREARM OWNER’S IDENTIFICATION CARD AND CONCEALED CARRY LICENSE PROGRAMS MANAGEMENT AUDIT Release Date: September 29, 2021 State of Illinois, Office of the Auditor General FRANK J. MAUTINO, AUDITOR GENERAL To obtain a copy of the Report contact: Office of the Auditor General, Iles Park Plaza, 740 E. Ash Street, Springfield, IL 62703 (217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887 This Report Digest and Full Report are also available on the worldwide web at www.auditor.illinois.gov REPORT HIGHLIGHTS Background: On July 21, 2020, the Legislative Audit Commission adopted Resolution Number 155 requiring a management audit of the Illinois State Police’s administration of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act (430 ILCS 65) and the Firearm Concealed Carry Act (430 ILCS 66) for 2018 and 2019. The Resolution contained eight determinations. Illinois residents are required by the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act to have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card in order to possess or purchase firearms or ammunition. The Act originally became effective in 1968. The Firearm Concealed Carry Act, effective July 2013, allows an individual to carry a handgun on or about a person completely or mostly concealed from view of the public or on or about a person within a vehicle. Key Findings: • The current Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card and Concealed Carry License (CCL) application processes are labor intensive with some steps being completed multiple times for the same application. While some checks, such as those for mental health, are run daily by data match, others, such as checking for matching information with the Illinois Secretary of State, are completed manually by an Illinois State Police Firearms Eligibility Analyst. There is also significant overlap between the FOID and CCL application processes as they contain many of the same steps. Further, the new and renewal application processes also contain similar steps. • According to Illinois State Police (Department) officials, there are over 40 steps an application must go through before an eligibility determination is made. These steps include both electronic and manual checks to confirm information and determine eligibility. If a match/hit is identified that may prohibit an applicant from possessing a FOID card or CCL, a Firearms Eligibility Analyst must manually resolve the issue. Having a process that relies heavily on Firearms Eligibility Analysts manually completing steps that could be conducted via an electronic matching process is inefficient and vulnerable to potential mistakes or oversights. Manually verifying information that could be automated slows the time it takes to process applications. • The number of FOID and CCL applications increased substantially from 2018 to 2019 driven by an increase in renewal applications. - FOID applications received increased from 266,836 in 2018 to 306,217 in 2019 or 14.8 percent. - FOID renewal applications increased from 106,862 in 2018 to 146,912 in 2019 or 37.5 percent. - CCL applications increased from 58,669 in 2018 to 104,049 in 2019 or 77.3 percent. - CCL renewal applications increased from 6,341 in 2018 to 61,253 in 2019 or 866.0 percent. • Overall, very few FOID or CCL applications were denied. For applications received during the two- year period 2018-2019, there were 20,642 FOID applications denied (3.6%). The most common reasons for denial were felony convictions (26.5%), mental health matters (20.3%), and crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year (18.1%). For the same period, there were 2,438 CCL applications denied (1.5%). The most common reasons for denial were danger to self or others (45.5%) and not having a valid FOID card (30.4%). • The timeliness of processing FOID and CCL applications decreased significantly from 2018 to 2019. Overall, 79.5 percent of FOID applications received during the two- year period were processed within the statutorily required timeframes. However, the percentage of FOID applications processed within statutorily required timeframes dropped from 87.1 percent in 2018 to 72.9 percent in 2019. For Concealed Carry Licenses, overall 64.5 percent of applications submitted in 2018 and 2019 were processed within the statutorily required timeframes. However, the percentage of applications that were processed timely dropped from 93.4 percent in 2018 to only 48.2 percent of applications submitted in 2019. • The increase in the number of applications that were not processed timely was due primarily to the applications not being started in a timely manner. - In 2018, there was an average 15 day delay to begin processing a FOID application which increased to 22 days in 2019. - For FOID renewals in 2018, there was an average 19 day delay to begin processing the renewal which increased to 46 business days in 2019. • There were a total of 19,275 FOID cards revoked during 2018 and 2019. The most common prohibitor categories were for mental health and Order of Protection/Restraining Order. The majority of revoked FOID cards are not returned to the Department as is required and a Firearm Disposition Record showing that the weapons had been transferred to someone else was filed in only about one-third of cases. The percentage of revoked FOID cards that were returned to the Department was 44.8 percent in 2018 and 45.8 percent in 2019. • There were a total of 9,566 Concealed Carry Licenses revoked during 2018 and 2019. The most common prohibitor was Inactive FOID Card at 81.5 percent of all prohibitors. The percentage of licenses returned dropped from 22.4 percent in 2018 to 14.4 percent in 2019. Key Recommendations: The audit report contains six recommendations directed to the Illinois State Police including: • The Illinois State Police should seek to reduce manual verifications and checks of applicant information, reduce multiple and overlapping checks, and seek legislative remedies, if necessary, in order to increase the efficiency of the FOID and CCL application processes. •The Illinois State Police should ensure that all FOID and CCL applications are approved or denied within the required statutory timeframes. • The Illinois State Police should: - Ensure that Sheriffs are notified of revocations as is required by the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act; and - Continue to work with local law enforcement agencies to ensure revoked FOID cards and Concealed Carry Licenses are returned to the Department in accordance with the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act and the Firearm Concealed Carry Act. • The Illinois State Police should consider including enforcement details in its procedures to ensure consistency among zones. • The Illinois State Police should: - Establish a case management system for tracking appeals; and - Update its administrative rules to reflect the current appeals process. • The Illinois State Police should update its administrative rules to reflect the current process for determining issuance date and expiration date. This management audit was conducted by the staff of the Office of the Auditor General.