Kane County Reporter

State Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) noted that during a Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) meeting, Republican lawmakers questioned the Illinois State Police (ISP) over their assertion that they had no authority to deny a FOID card to the alleged Highland Park shooter.

During a Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) meeting, Republican lawmakers grilled ISP about the assertion; an August Capitol News Illinois report said. The alleged shooter, Robert Crimo III, had applied for a FOID card to allow him to purchase firearms in 2019, just three months after an individual filed a clear and present danger report because Crimo had threatened to "kill everyone."

Crimo was not arrested after that incident, and although the Highland Park police forwarded the report to ISP, ISP discarded it because Crimo did not have a FOID or a pending application at that time; the Capital News report said. ISP stated at the meeting that its hands were tied because of rules in place at the time. Several weeks after the July 4 shooting, ISP issued a new emergency rule stating that it will maintain clear and present danger reports, even if the subject of the report does not have a FOID or a pending application. At the JCAR meeting, the rule was decided upon and allowed to stand.

“Today, I supported the new rule that strengthens the FOID card review process to prevent dangerous individuals from legally purchasing or possessing firearms," DeWitte said in an Aug. 17 news release from his office. "The Pritzker Administration’s purported review of the FOID card process following the Aurora shooting in 2019 failed to recognize this gap in the interpretation and application of clear-and-present-danger reports submitted to the ISP. Had the Pritzker Administration done what they said they were going to do, which was to review and make sure laws already on the books were being implemented more effectively, the tragedy in Highland Park might never have occurred. Local police in Highland Park did their due diligence to alert the State Police of this individual, but because of the gap, which was overlooked in the Pritzker Administration, the report was discarded.”

State law allows local law enforcement officials and school administrators to file "clear and present danger" requests with ISP in the event that they believe someone, "if granted access to a firearm or ammunition, pose an actual, imminent threat of substantial bodily harm to themselves or others," an NBC 5 Chicago report said. ISP can then reject a FOID card application if the individual has submitted one or revoke an already-issued FOID card.

In September 2019, Highland Park police sent a clear and present danger report to ISP regarding Crimo after the individual allegedly threatened to "kill everyone" in his home, the NBC 5 report said. Local law enforcement confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a samurai blade from the residence but returned them later that same day. Several months after that incident, Crimo filed a FOID application, which was approved. He subsequently purchased five weapons legally over the next two years.

The new emergency rule aims to expand the use and broaden the definition of clear and present danger reports, stating "administrative rules have unnecessarily limited and complicated the ability of the Illinois State Police to consider Clear and Present Danger information over time," the NBC 5 report said. Under the new rule, “physical or verbal behavior, such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive threats, actions, or other behavior" would meet the qualifications for a clear and present danger report.