'Fix The FOID' Fails To Get Vote From IL Senate

AURORA, IL — The Illinois General Assembly has closed its spring session without moving forward to vote on the Fix the FOID Act. Senate Bill 1966, which was spurred on by the Feb. 15 shooting that claimed five lives at Henry Pratt Manufacturing in Aurora, passed in the House Wednesday, but was not called for a vote in the state Senate before the session closed Friday.

On Wednesday, members of the Illinois House of Representatives approved the measure by a vote of 62 to 52. The bill's provisions aim to mend loopholes in the application, approval, and enforcement of Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) cards).

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Anti-gun activists have lauded the bill as a way to help prevent tragedies like the Aurora shooting. Gary Montez Martin, the shooter who opened fire at Henry Pratt Manufacturing, had a revoked FOID card. The gun he used was purchased after his FOID was approved in March 2014, but a background check shortly after revealed a felony conviction in Mississippi that prompted its revocation.

Another Illinois man, Jeff Reinking, also faces charges after authorities allege he returned several guns to his son Travis Reinking after his son's FOID was revoked. Travis Reinking went on to use one of those guns in the Nashville Waffle House shooting in April 2018, killing four people, authorities say.

The Fix the FOID act included such provisions as requiring a background check for all gun purchases, even from private dealers and unlicensed sellers. It also increased the fees for a FOID card and shortened the effective term of a FOID card from 10 years to five years.

Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Addision), who sponsored SB 1966, said in a statement, "I cannot allow inaction to continue stonewalling gun safety reform any longer."

She continued to praise the House vote on the bill, saying, "these efforts are good first steps to strengthening both Illinois and its middle-class families and also maintaining the public’s safety."

Kathleen Sances, CEO of the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention PAC, released a statement that mentioned the mass shooting that claimed 12 lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Friday, urging the Illinois legislature to take action.

Sances said Saturday, "Illinois has an opportunity to be a leader in passing meaningful legislation that will help prevent further acts of violence such as what we experienced in Aurora in February, yesterday in Virginia Beach and overnight in Chicago."

Willis is expected to do more work on the Fix the FOID Act during the legislature's summer session in the hopes of presenting it again in fall.