FredNickl

Not sure why someone needs an attorney when they've successfully obtained their CCL?

No, I believe you received bad advice. ISP has not dropped the evaluation requirement for MHA less than 5 years, and will not process your informal appeal without it.

The Board was meeting regularly for a while, but then missed the December, January, and February meetings. In early March, they made up for lost time and my phone rang off the hook with new Objections and Denials they issued.

Just saw these stats. Our success rate by writing the Response to Law Enforcement Objections is 95%. Anecdotally, it seems that most folks that click that response button don't think it through and get denied. If you ask for more time, collect lots of background info, provide references, get character evidence via affidavit, etc. you'll do OK.

Correct. I told clients with dom batt dispositions for years to 'read the papers and call me when you hear about the IL Supreme Court taking this on.' When Johnson came out in late January 2020, I got about 2 dozen folks calling me "hey, I think the law changed!" Good times filing all of their formal appeals! To the original poster, you need to file a Petition for Relief in the county in which you live, give a copy to the State's Attorney's Office, go before a judge and have a short evidentiary hearing (usually).

Interesting. I've never encountered that. I wonder if it is just pro se folks that are getting pushback from the judges who don't want to deal with this? I have had AAG / ASA make basic arguments that I didn't bother to exhaust all remedies, but no one has ever argued the lack of a pardon request. If one does get a pardon, then we default to an informal appeal, which would make sense if you don't want the hassle of appearing before a judge in your county. I have never done a pardon so I don't know how long those have been taking.

Re: pardon,. that is a separate beast and not a requirement to file a formal appeal (unless they passed another damn rule!) I cannot discuss potential representation on a public forum, but you are welcome to email or call my direct line anytime. I will talk to anyone for up to half an hour no-charge to discuss their background and how/whether we can help.

Well, here's the source for the rule change, which sucks and I'm surprised I missed this since we check the Flinn each week: https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/index/register/volume45/register_volume45_issue_37.pdf The rule change can be found in Volume 45 Issue 37 pg 10959 (9-10-21 issue) It created a whole new subsection of an existing rule governing out of state residents, and eliminates the ease with which we could usually restore firearm civil rights for some out-of-state residents. Prohibitors that would have required a formal appeal for in-state residents now also require formal appeals (with a twist on where you can file) for out-of-state residents.

That rule was amended late December 2021. I have to pull it to see when the language changed. But I monitor the Illinois Register via the Flinn Report on a weekly basis and don't remember seeing ISP give notice of this rule change (unless it was a while ago and I missed it). Molly - do you recall seeing notice of the rule change?

Assuming everything you've stated is accurate, then the analyst who sent you that email (behind an anonymous email address of course) REALLY needs to talk to the Chief Legal Counsel who specified the exact process (and thereby clearing up a couple of years of uncertainty) back on 5-3-21.

Though I agree with Molly, I have seem some horror shows. One time, relief was granted after informal appeal, FOID issues, but then denied at renewal. Why? Because ISP can't find the letter they sent restoring renewal applicant's firearm civil rights 10 years prior. Renewal applicant searches everywhere, can't find it either. Without proof that rights were ever restored, renewal applicant must submit new appeal.

Not that this applies to 'less than 5' but I got a 'more than 5 years' appeal granted in 10 days last month. Processing times can be all over the place.

Assuming you were not charged in juvenile court and assuming the charge was truly amended, this would be an Informal Appeal and you can follow the appropriate checklist published by the FSB.

Mental health admission is a prohibitor regardless of time that has elapsed since the admission. However, a different standard is applied if your admission is more than 5 years old.

I completely agree with Molly B.

I disagree with anyone that says you should first expunge. In my opinion, and I am not offering legal advice through this forum, you need to simply file an Informal Appeal based on this specific prohibitor. My appeal times range between 60 and 180 days (assuming you don't need the firearm for work).

I agree. First choice is your primary care physician. Unless you have been getting meds from psychiatrist, in which case ask THAT treater to complete the form. Ask them for a copy, too.

Use the trainer to do it, BUT make sure they give you the login and password they used to set up the portal, and then change it when you get home. I've talked to too many folks who didn't think it was necessary to get the info that the trainer's office used to set up the portal for their class attendee until it was too late.

You equated "been a patient" with "have you been treated for", which is not the same thing. See the definition of "patient" from the statute. Therefore, you "inadvertently answered YES" to a question that required a "NO" answer. This would be an informal appeal. "Patient" means: (1) a person who is admitted as an inpatient or resident of a public or private mental health facility for mental health treatment under Chapter III of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code as an informal admission, a voluntary admission, a minor admission, an emergency admission, or an involuntary admission, unless the treatment was solely for an alcohol abuse disorder; or (2) a person who voluntarily or involuntarily receives mental health treatment as an out-patient or is otherwise provided services by a public or private mental health facility, and who poses a clear and present danger to himself, herself, or to others.

This is what I've been telling folks for at least a decade. Unless they have a specific reason to need expungement like for employment purposes, expungement does not help remove anything from online sites.

Those are some of the administrative rules found in the Illinois Administrative Code. Every state agency is mandated to create rules for the administration of whatever statute gives them power. It's where the details are found that are too messy, numerous, or tedious for inclusion in the statute. The pdf you link to is the checklist for appeal of normal felonies that don't trigger the requirement for formal appeal. Out of state applicants need to do an informal appeal as best they can in order to restore their firearm rights without obtaining the FOID.

Anecdotally, I believe most FOID informal appeals take between 1-4 years. I try to have my appeals processed by ISP and granted between 2-6 months. Lately I have had a couple of decisions about 6 weeks after my FedEx arrives in Springfield. But it is always hit and miss and the appeal's complexity has to be considered when evaluating timeframes.

Although burglary is a forcible felony and would normally require a formal appeal to the circuit court in the Illinois county in which you live, if you are out-of-state I have the latest news from the (now former) Chief Legal Counsel for ISP that they will accept an informal appeal and if they grant relief, the prohibitor will be removed from the nonresident's background, but a FOID card will not be issued (unless the nonresident moves back to Illinois). Hope this helps. That is actually very encouraging Mr. Nickl. My concern is this part of thier message "The Illinois State Police Office of Firearms Safety has received documents for the appeal of your denied FOID card. The Office of Firearms Safety CAN NOT approve your FOID card without the proper relief document from the Circuit Court." That makes me think they already believe that I have begun an appeal, when I actually haven't done anything but send them an email requesting info. And they are saying that I must obtain relief from the Circuit court. I wouldn't know how to go about initiating an informal appeal, but I will certainly look in to it. If anybody can nudge me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it. As sometimes happens, there is a likely disconnect between the information in the letter that you receive and the actual procedure. Here, I would reach out to Springfield and reorient them to the fact that you are a nonresident seeking relief from a prohibitor, NOT that you are seeking a FOID card. Then I would file an informal appeal or at least the best approximation of one because there is no "checklist" for this situation.

Although burglary is a forcible felony and would normally require a formal appeal to the circuit court in the Illinois county in which you live, if you are out-of-state I have the latest news from the (now former) Chief Legal Counsel for ISP that they will accept an informal appeal and if they grant relief, the prohibitor will be removed from the nonresident's background, but a FOID card will not be issued (unless the nonresident moves back to Illinois). Hope this helps.

I get at least 10 calls every day re: FOID/CCL, and I've heard a handful of people in the last month mention this 10 years of addresses thing...