Gun Enforcement Blitz Confiscates Firearms From 1,017 People: Illinois State Police

ILLINOIS— Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly knows that there is no singular effort by any law enforcement agency that will end gun violence in Illinois.

But in a concerted 46-day effort that stretched from the middle of June until the end of July, state and local police agencies worked together to take guns out of the hands of more than 1,000 people who possessed weapons illegally.

Kelly said at a news conference on Thursday that a “simple, straight on” enforcement effort conducted this summer led to state police confiscating weapons from 223 Northern Illinois residents alone. Statewide, a total of 1,017 people had guns confiscated during the enforcement.

Troopers conducted 1,700 compliance checks, 25 percent of which were done in Northern Illinois, that led to authorities taking guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t own them, officials said.

Kelly said in many cases, residents who legally obtained a Firearm Owners Identification card experience circumstances that no longer allows them to own a gun. Every year, Kelly said the state police identifies thousands of residents who are prohibited from owning firearms after they were convicted of crimes or were deemed a threat under the state’s Red Flag laws.

When that happens, gun owners are required by law to give up their guns to local law enforcement officers. However, in many cases, they do not, which makes enforcement efforts like the one that took place in July and July necessary.

In one case this summer, Kelly said that state police investigated a Batavia resident who was not permitted to own weapons and who the subject of a Clear and Present Danger report completed by local police in mid-June. After obtaining a search warrant, police seized a pistol, two rifles, more than 1,000 rounds of live ammunition, a ballistic vest, explosives, an incendiary device and bomb-making devices in the resident’s home, Kelly said.

The effort was part of an intense enforcement blitz around the state who possesses “the greatest threat” to their community, Kelly said Thursday.

“Compliance checks are not confiscating guns,” Kelly said at the news conference. “It’s ensuring that individuals who have lost their firearms rights transfer their firearms to law enforcement or to someone who is legally able to possess them.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker praised the effort, which took place during a time that included the Highland Park July 4 parade shooting that killed seven people and injured dozens more.

“Once again, our (state police) officers are making Illinois safer by getting dangerous firearms out of the wrong hands,” Pritzker said in a statement issued Thursday. “Since 2019, ISP has executed hundreds of details—placing thousands of individuals in compliance with the FOID Act. Last month’s firearm enforcement blitz is another example of the ways that ISP is preventing gun violence and protecting our communities.”

The more than 1,000 residents who were brought into compliance this year represents the most guns confiscated during ISP sweeps in over the past three years. In 2021, the state police reported that 595 people were brought into compliance, a year after 562 were brought into compliance in 2020. In 2019 – the first year the state police conducted its enforcement effort — 515 people were brought into compliance.

“We commend the Illinois State Police for working to ensure that individuals whose FOID cards have been revoked are following the law and transferring their firearms,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said in a statement issued Thursday. “I dedicated a unit to this important work nearly a decade ago, and we are committed to working with ISP to help to keep our communities safe.”