Chicago, IL — Poor Mayor Lori Lightfoot is in for some bad news. The Chicago Tribune reported last week that the state has seen a staggering rise in Firearm Owner Identification Cards (FOIDS). In fact, the number is up 167% over the year 2017.
The Tribune reported that the state processed 445,945 FOID card applications through November of 2020 as compared to “166,649 applications in the same time frame in 2017.
This is the highest number on record in the history of the state.
Illinois State Police statistics also reported that there have been over 500,000 requests for information about a FOID card, and of that number, almost 450,000 went on to fill out the paperwork to legally purchase a gun.
The Illinois State Police did not release numbers for 2018 or 2019, but did say that the number of applications in 2020 “blew past” a previous surge that happened in 2013. That surge occurred immediately after concealed carry licenses were first offered in the state.
“It’s a reflection of the great deal of unease and a reflection of the tension we have in this state and across the country,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said. “It’s undeniable.”
Concealed Carry Grows By Nearly 400%!
This latest information means that there are 2.2 million Illinois residents with FOID cards. In addition to FOID cards — necessary to purchase a gun even for home protection in Illinois — the number of concealed carry permits has risen dramatically in the last decade. In fact, in just the last six years, the number of concealed carry licenses has risen from 90,301 in 2014 to 343,299 in 2020!
That’s an increase of 381% in six years!
It’s no surprise to see Fox 32 report in this article that the Illinois State Police “struggled” to keep up with the demand for FOID cards, and there is now “a processing period of 121 days.” That’s the understatement of the year! After all, the processing time for a concealed carry license is currently averaging 145 days!
We’ve reported last year when the state of Illinois was so slow about filling out FOID applications that tens of thousands of gun owners’ FOID cards were expiring while they waited for their renewal applications to process.
And that was before the chaos that 2020 brought to Lori Lightfoot’s Chicago! The windy city has seen a rise of over 50% in their violent crime rates. There have been over 3,800 people shot in Lori’s gun-controlled city in the last 11 months, but of course, that’s the fault of law-abiding gun owners!
The ones who paid a fee to fill out a FOID, waited 125 days on average, paid $500 for a handgun, paid even more for a concealed carry permit application, paid again for training to prove they were competent with a gun, and then finally waited even longer for a concealed carry permit to be issued. THOSE people then drove into downtown Chicago and started shooting up the place.
At least, that’s what Lori Lightfoot wants people to believe.