FILE - Cook County, Ill., Sheriff Tom Dart speaks on Nov. 13, 2023, in Maywood, Ill. In Illinois, there are 110,000 people banned from owning guns because of legal run-ins or mental health issues. And three-quarters of them have not surrendered their firearms, according to data Dart will present Thursday, May 16, 2024, in seeking a more robust effort to collect them. SPRINGFIELD, Ill.
“I wish I was making this up. I wish I had someone pull my argument apart and say, ’You’re exaggerating. You’re being dramatic,’” the Dart told the AP in an interview Wednesday. “No. Do the math. At this rate, two years from now, we’re going to have 100,000 revoked FOID card owners, and there will be no contact with them to ensure they’ve had their guns properly dealt with.”Connecticut Democrats unanimously nominate U.S. Sen.
Dart’s report found that of nearly 114,000 repealed FOID card holders, 74% — approximately 84,000 — have never accounted for surrendering weapons. Dart’s efforts in the area predate the Aurora incident. He formed a unit in 2013 of eight officers trained to deal with tense environments, including those involving mental illnesses. His staff says the office has closed 9,200 cases, collected 4,000 FOID cards, taken 1,517 weapons for storage and allowed the safe transfer of several thousands of other weapons.
Illinois State Police started tracking revocation enforcement in May 2019 and through 2022 reported bringing 4,300 people into compliance with the law.