The Illinois State Police has issued an emergency rule that will allow the agency to retain and expand the use of reports on people found to pose a “clear and present danger” to themselves of others even if they don’t have a current firearm owner’s identification card or a pending application.
The move is a direct response to a hole in the state’s gun laws that was exposed in the mass shooting at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade.
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The alleged Highland Park shooter was able to obtain a FOID card just months after Highland Park police filed a clear and present danger report with state police in September 2019 because the report wasn’t retained after it was determined he didn’t have a firearm permit or pending application at the time, according to state police.
Under the emergency rule, which will take effect in 10 days, state police will be able to retain a clear and present danger report even if the subject doesn’t have a FOID card or a pending application at the time it is received. The agency would be to use such reports in evaluating future FOID card applications.
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“For the sake of public safety, any FOID applicant with prior clear and present danger information needs to have that considered when having their application processed,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement Monday. “These changes will immediately allow ISP to see a fuller picture of an applicant’s history and keep the people of Illinois safe from those who should not be in possession of firearms.”
The emergency rule will remain in effect for 150 days, but state police said they plan to make the change permanent through the state’s administrative rule-making system.
Robert “Bobby” Crimo III allegedly opened fire on parade-goers July 4, killing seven and wounding dozens. In September 2019, Highland Park police ussed a “clear and present danger” on Crimo after he allegedly threatened to “kill everyone” in his household and several knives were confiscated from his home,
Illinois State Police determined got the report but found Crimo didn’t meet the threshold of being considered a clear and present danger. The report was reviewed by a trooper assigned to the state police’s Firearms Services Bureau, but at that point Crimo had no pending FOID application. Shortly thereafter, the clear and present danger designation apparently was cleared from the state system, authorities said.
The new rule will contain a broader definition of “clear and present danger,” aligning with state law to include “physical or verbal behavior, such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive threats, actions, or other behavior,” state police said.
Clear and present danger reports — separate from the state’s so-called red-flag law, which involves going before a judge — can be made by individuals including physicians, psychologists, school administrators and law enforcement officers.
More to come.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
