No Penalty For Missing Assault Weapons Registration Deadline: Illinois State Police

ILLINOIS — Despite setting a New Year’s Day deadline for Illinois residents owning assault weapons that are required to be registered under a new assault weapons ban, state police officials said that there is currently no penalty in place for gun owners who fail to comply.

The state law, known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, was signed into effect last year by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and gave owners of certain assault weapons and large ammunition magazines, until the start of 2024 to register them with the Illinois State Police.

The law was established in the wake of the 2022 Highland Park July 4 parade mass shooting that left seven people dead and more than 50 injured. It gave owners of what it defines as assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices until the start of 2024 to register them.

However, as of Monday, Illinois State Police’s FOID website had not been updated with the latest data on how many gun owners have registered in 2024. A spokesman for the agency told Patch on Monday that updated data is expected to be coming later this week, but that the state law does not outline penalties for gun owners who failed to meet the deadline.

“The FOID portal will remain open for people who submit endorsement affidavits,” the spokesman said in a statement sent to Patch. “ISP is focused on compliance and safety. While the Act set deadlines for submitting endorsement affidavits, it does not set forth penalties for late submissions.”

FOID card applications are approved or denied based on the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act and not the type of weapon.

Patch had previously reported that as the Jan. 1 of deadline approached, of the 2.4 million FOID cardholders in Illinois, fewer than 30,000 individuals had registered a banned item with state authorities, according to the latest update from Illinois State Police.

That means about 1 in 82 FOID cardholders had complied with the law, but there is no available data on how many owned banned guns in the first place or how many chose to take them to another state rather than register their serial numbers in a state database.

The law bans rifles like the AR-15 and AK-47, as well as any that can hold a magazine with more than 10 bullets. Magazines for handguns can accommodate up to 15 rounds before becoming considered a "large capacity ammunition feeding device" and running afoul of the ban.

In November, the U.S. Supreme Court refused an emergency appeal from a gun rights group to intervene ahead of the registration. That news was welcomed by 57th District Rep. Bob Morgan, who represents Highland Park in the Illinois House and sponsored the gun ban.

"While we are grateful for our success today, we know the radical, MAGA Republicans and their NRA allies won’t give up," said the Deerfield Democrat, asking supporters for donations in the wake of the ruling. "They’ll file further court challenges and try to elect more extremists at every level to strike down common-sense firearm laws."

Patch editor Jonah Meadows contributed reporting.