Illinois Clears Gun Owner ID Applications Backlog

The backlog of tens of thousands of applications for gun owner ID cards has been cleared, the Illinois State Police has confirmed.

As recently as a few months ago, almost 50,000 Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card applications were still waiting to be approved, causing many to raise concerns that the state police would be able to handle the anticipated 400,000 concealed carry applications in 2014.

However, department spokeswoman Monique Bond said that as of mid-December, there were only 3,000 pending applications, all of which were submitted within the last month. The law dictates that all FOID card applications be approved or denied within a period of 30 days.

“We have no more backlog,” she said.