Simple Question: Illinois and FOID

Dave P

New member
So my friend Bill lives in southern Illinois. He inherited some long guns . Deceased lived in Illinois also.

Does he need a FOID card to be legal now? Any other hoops that he needs to jump thru?

Thanks!
 
As far as I know, if you have any firearm in your possession in Illinois, you must have a FOID card to be legal.
 
Yep, a FOID is necessary to possess one. I was even encouraged to have my wife get a FOID too, as she may be construed to have possession if I am away from home. The law is not typically enforced that way, but it's written ambiguously enough.

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+1. If he is stopped with weapons in his possession, and no FOID card, it will not be good! The LEO may be understanding about the situation, but your friend definitely won't be on the right side I the law. He cannot even buy ammo for said weapons without the FOID!

Advise him to apply ASAP, as the process in my experience takes longer than the 30 days the law says it should.
 
As others have said, a valid FOID is necessary to even posess a firearm as a resident of Illinois. In addition to that, he will need to show his FOID in order to purchase ammunition for the guns he inherited as well. One of the really pernicious things about IL law is that should you forget to renew your FOID, you instantly become a criminal when it expires if you still have any firearms in your posession.
 
Dave P
Simple Question: Illinois and FOID

It's a precarious situation. Ideally, your friend needs to get a FOID ASAP.

If your friend must get the guns out of his deceased relative's home now then later, he might have a trusted friend living in IL with a FOID hold the firearms for him. Another solution, depending on the number of firearms, is to have them stored in a bank safety deposit box. Finally, not advised, but unless he has reason to believe he's going to have the police search his home anytime soon, he could simply take the risk and store the guns in his home. In all cases, he should have a friend with a FOID transport the firearms from point A to point B. Once at point B, your friend is pretty safe until he gets his FOID.

Here's the caveat - I am not a lawyer and this is advice from the Internet. ;)
 
Get the FOID and deal with it or do like I did and GTH out of Illinois.

I left in 1989 and never looked back. Arizona is a great place for the shooting sports.
 
Thank you men! I just called, and it turns out his son has a FOID, so he is legit now. I am surprised, because Bill is not a shooter at all.

Now I better ask if his son lives at home while going to school ...

Thanks Again
Dave
 
Just tell him to get a FOID. No big deal, ten bucks for ten years and then he is legal. Tell him to go to the State Police website and from there he can print out the form to send in. Pretty simple really.
 
Get the FOID and deal with it or do like I did and GTH out of Illinois.

The FOID is a big deal so far as you shouldn't have to have it but so long as you live in that socialist utopia you've got to play by their rules.

IL is a failed state. I know a lot of people there, they talk a lot of trash on it and always talk about moving.

I know southern Illinois is nice and all but moving across to Missouri or Kentucky or Indiana if we are talking East puts a person in such a better state.
 
^^^^^^ I lived and hunted for over twenty years around Hamel, Worden, Benld and Edwardsville. Had a bunch of fun hunting ground hogs.

I had no choice but to get the FOID. When I got the chance to leave. . .I did.
 
Not a big deal to get one as long as you are not a criminal.

Cop has never looked at mine, but never been pulled over with my guns in the b ack on the way to range.
 
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