SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The Illinois State Police (ISP) is recognizing a program the agency strengthened last year, with officials arguing it saved lives.
In a release, ISP highlighted the agency’s Office of Firearm Safety reviewing more than 10,000 Clear and Present Danger Reports.
Law enforcement agencies, school administrators, and medical professionals can file a clear and present danger report to ISP to alert state police of people potentially threatening to hurt someone or themselves. ISP then reviews the report and can revoke a FOID card or application and confiscate any firearms.
After the 2022 Highland Park mass shooting, Illinois State Police passed emergency rules to strengthen the reports to include “physical or verbal behavior, such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive threats, actions, or other behavior” as a qualification for the agency to revoke firearm ownership. The Highland Park Police Department issued a Clear and Present Danger report to the mass shooting suspect, Robert Crimo III, in 2019 but ISP did not act on the report.
The state legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules approved ISP’s change last November. Now, state police officials train schools and law enforcement agencies across the state on how to spot danger and file reports. The Illinois State Police has also created a web portal for reporting this year, making it easier for officials to submit a report.
“I’m thankful for the Illinois State Police’s diligent efforts to train law enforcement agencies, school administrators, and medical professionals about the importance of reporting individuals who pose a threat of gun violence and how to do so,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said. “Every neighborhood and every home deserves to be free from gun violence, and the State of Illinois will continue to make significant investments in public safety and violence reduction.”
ISP officials said they review around 30 Clear and Present Danger reports each day.
Between January and September 2023, ISP investigated 10,144 Clear and Present Danger Reports. From those, 4,212 resulted in revoking a card or an application. 4,912 individuals involved in a Clear and Present Danger investigation were found to not have a FOID card or a pending application.
“We can stop potential tragedies when law enforcement, school administrators, and medical professionals file Clear and Present Danger reports,” ISP Director Brendan Kelly said. “Continued vigilance, identification of dangerous individuals, and hands-on work by state and local police can save lives.”
State police officials gave some examples of the agency’s actions taken this year from Clear and Present Danger investigations:
- A school administrator reported a student who threatened to shoot and kill his classmates after being accused of cheating. The student sent an email to his family saying he wanted to shoot his classmates and used a school computer to research rifles. While the student did not have a FOID card or pending application, ISP affirmed the report, meaning if the student applies for a FOID card in the future, the report could be taken into consideration. Law enforcement worked with the student’s family to remove a firearm in the home.
- A social worker notified a law enforcement agency in southern Illinois of a man who wanted to purchase a firearm after being released his hospital stay for expressing suicidal ideations. The agency submitted a Clear and Present Danger report to ISP, which revoked the man’s FOID card and communicated to the firearm dealer that he was prevented from buying the gun. ISP learned the man called the dealer from the psychiatric ward to check on the status of the gun he had ordered.
- Central Illinois law enforcement reported a man from a domestic violence call who tried to light his wife on fire. From the investigation, local police learned he recently obtained a FOID card. ISP was able to revoke his FOID card.
- A central Illinois law enforcement agency reported an individual who was fired and made threats towards his former place of employment. Police learned this person bought multiple firearms and ammunition while his mental health deteriorated. Local law enforcement were able to obtain a Firearms Restraining Order and secure the firearms after ISP revoked his FOID card.
More examples of Clear and Present Danger reporting can be found on Illinois State Police’s website.
