SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In response to the tragic mass shooting earlier this year in Aurora, state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, is supporting legislation to improve background checks through the use of fingerprinting and to help the Illinois State Police process and follow up FOID revocations for felons.

“Our community experienced an unthinkable tragedy at the hands of a man who should not have legally been able to own a gun,” said Hernandez. “Because of loopholes in the FOID card system, this man was able to legally purchase a gun and devastate 12 families right here in our home town. This legislation is critical to protecting our families and preventing senseless acts of gun violence from devastating our communities in the future. I am proud to support this legislation, and I will continue to work for stronger gun safety laws to ensure that no community must endure the pain and loss we experienced in Aurora.”

Hernandez is supporting Senate Bill 1966, also known as the Fix the FOID Act, which strengthens existing gun safety laws to prevent violent criminals from obtaining a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card. The legislation also streamlines the firearm revocation process for law enforcement to ensure that guns do not remain in one’s possession after his or her FOID card has been suspended or revoked. The FOID application free would also be raised, with dollars allocated toward mental health services and revocation services. The measure has received the backing of the Illinois State Police and gun safety advocates.

“As gun violence continues to plague our state and nation, we are proud advocates of the Fix the FOID Act that would prohibit people with violent criminal histories from buying guns,” said Kathleen Sances, president and CEO of the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC). “We stand by Rep. Hernandez and more than 170 organizations who have joined a coalition to put a stop to preventable tragedies, like the recent shooting in Aurora.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In response to the February mass shooting in Aurora, Illinois that resulted in the tragic loss of five lives and injuries that responding police officers and civilians are still recovering from, state Rep. Deb Conroy, D-Villa Park, is working to pass bipartisan comprehensive gun licensing reform supported by the law enforcement community.

“The fact that our state does not require FOID card applicants to submit their fingerprints for a comprehensive background check led the Illinois State Police to approve an application for the man who went on to murder five people in our community. Had our law enforcement agencies gotten the full picture, they would have seen his violent criminal record from out of state,” Conroy said. “This man purchased his gun legally, before our State Police discovered his dangerous history months afterward and asked him to hand over his weapon. Even though law enforcement knew he’d purchased a gun, there was no system in place to ensure he turned it in. So many lives could have been saved in this instances like this if law enforcement agencies had better access to information about applicants and the tools they need to get illegal guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”

The “Fix the FOID Act” expands background checks to all firearm purchases by removing the current exemption for some private transfers. This legislation strengthens background checks for FOID card applicants by requiring fingerprint submissions, which increases law enforcement’s ability to discover out-of-state convictions. Currently, only individuals applying for concealed carry permits are fingerprinted, which is how the Illinois State Police discovered that the Aurora shooter had a violent criminal record dating back to 1995.

This legislation requires coordination between the Illinois State Police and local law enforcement to ensure that individuals who’ve had their FOID cards revoked surrender their guns. Under the Act, FOID cards must be renewed more frequently to ensure there are regular background checks for gun owners. Application fees would be increased, with $4 from every FOID card dedicated to school-based mental health services.

“I worked with my colleagues to ensure that a portion of new funds raised from FOID card applications are dedicated to school-based mental health centers,” Conroy said. “As a state we must commit to making mental wellbeing a priority by providing the financial resources schools need to eliminate stigma and serve our young people who might be struggling.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Northlake, is pushing new reforms to close loopholes a gunman in Aurora recently exploited to obtain a firearm and kill five people. Willis’ bill gives law enforcement the tools needed to effectively enforce current law and modernizes the application and renewal process for a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card.

“We were shown the glaring need for this legislation earlier this year when a man who should never have been allowed to obtain a firearm killed five people and wounded seven more – including our brave first responders,” said Willis. “A serious approach to keeping our communities safe starts with properly enforcing gun safety laws. This bill makes it clear that we are serious about keeping guns out of the wrong hands.”

Willis’ legislation, Senate Bill 1966, is a result of negotiations between gun safety advocates and law enforcement officials and aims to close loopholes and streamline and improve existing law to help law enforcement keep firearms out of the hands of criminals. Willis began work on the legislation following the tragic shooting earlier this year that saw an individual who was convicted of numerous offenses—including domestic violence and an out-of-state felony conviction—exploited loopholes in the law and kill five individuals at a factory in Aurora.

The proposal makes various reforms including closing the background check loophole and instituting universal background checks, compelling all firearms sales to take place through licensed dealers, modernizing the gun owner licensing system by increasing the period for approving or denying an application to 90 days and allowing for cancellations, requiring mandatory fingerprinting for all gun owner applications and renewals, starting a prohibited owners portal for law enforcement to share information, strengthening enforcement through reform of gun revocations performed by the Illinois State Police and requiring gun revocations for felony indictments.

“As gun violence continues to plague our state and nation, we are proud advocates of the Fix the FOID Act that would prohibit people with violent criminal histories from buying guns,” said Kathleen Sances, president and CEO of the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC). “We stand by Leader Kathleen Willis and more than 170 organizations who have joined a coalition to put a stop to preventable tragedies, like the recent shooting in Aurora, Illinois.”