In a day and age where police departments are being defunded in some areas and discussion about cutting their budgets is taking place around the country, many people are growing concerned for their safety. One thing is for sure, if there isn’t a police department to protect people, those people will find ways to protect themselves. Just look at the amount of people who are applying for FOID cards.

I recently attended an Exchange Club meeting where the speaker was Illinois State Senator Jil Tracy who was talking about the “defund the police” movement. My ears perked up when Senator Tracy said that “this time last year there were some 7,000 FOID cards applied for and as of this July that number through the same time period was over 42,000 applications”. You think people are concerned?

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So what are FOID cards? Well, to legally possess firearms or ammunition, Illinois residents must have a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, which is issued by the Illinois State Police to any qualified applicant.

The FOID Card was created in 1968, by the Firearm Owner's Identification Act (430 ILCS 65), as part of a public safety initiative in the State of Illinois to identify those persons eligible to possess and acquire firearms and firearm ammunition. The FOID card is NOT a "conceal and carry" card. The FOID Card has a 10-year expiration date. The cost of the FOID Card application fee is just $10.00.

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