Can i get a foid card with a felony???

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I'm sloppy w/ language on the computer too. My whole point being, keep your mind tuned in on 1) What you want to get don re: your rights restored 2) That people LIKE YOUR STATE REPS OFFICE can move mountains for you if you ask nicely, calmly, and with a smile on your face. Ask if you could stop by and talk to someone for five minutes and have some info to leave behind explaining what you are trying to do and so on---a letter of intent maybe simple addressed to the Rep and 'his or her' designee asking for any advice or help they could offer. Be sure to get info of anyone you talk to and send them a thank you note (no cash, just a quick thank you card) right away EVERY TIME you interact with someone new along the path (it may be a path with many steps; just keep quietly asking nicely how to get over the next hurdle and saying thanks).

I know I sound like a third grade teacher here, but I tell youi (from my own experience) nice little notes of thanks and as pleasant attitude w/ office staff folks in this wonderful state can make A LOT of results occur for little to no money and a wee bit of time investment---these people get yelled at and pushed around day in and day out, many feel good about helping people who offer genuine thanks. I know it seems unfair to have to go begging to get ones rights restored--but keep your eyes on that prize. I'd save the heavy-duty 'lawyering up' as a later step of you can't resolve the issue by quiet discourse. Your not facing jail time or anything right now, so why throw cash a the problem up front.

(And yes, for the record, I am a humble servant of the people of the Great State of Illinois) Take Care-MB
 
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Being nice under the circumstances is good advice but trying to get your firearms rights restored using a legal procedure is not something that being nice is going to help you accomplish.

Ask yourself if you are familiar with petitioning a Superior Court? Written many legal briefs lately? Familiar with the court's docket system? Had to argue any points in open court with a skilled prosecutor as your opponent?

My unsolicited advice is to approach a skilled firearms attorney, arrange for a free assessment meeting to learn if you are even eligible to have said rights restored, then negotiate a flat fee to have him/her handle it on your behalf.

Remember, these same guys celebrated the day they took your rights away, mission accomplished, the LAST thing on their minds is to return them to you.
 
Sounds like good advice neo-luddite. I can only assume that the more work I do would save me some money in attorney fees. However I just received a information packet from the state on having a felony case sealed and ummm yeah like bikemutt is saying I need a representative just to explain everything to me. Not fun.
 
Hey, I'm just a guy on the web, right? Maybe it won't work--BUT this is Illinois. IN fact, AFAIK, you could ALSO begin a conversation regarding FOID issues w/ the Illinois State Police as they DO HAVE some discretionary powers at the top to issue the FOID to a former fellon under certain circumstances. They have some contact info, ect on their web site (or at least they did). http://www.isp.state.il.us/foid/firearmsfaq.cfm
But I would start w/ your Rep's office---they are there to help you. Illinois has raised this to a high art form at times.
Hey, all I'm really saying is start small and go bigger when needed; in this state sometimes a trickle of water will makes seeds grow when a flood would leave you high and dry. Sometimes you get lucky and it takes more time than money. The public stage displays often bad things, but the truth is also a latice of quiet help provided citizens that goes unnoticed.
 
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Well I just was finally able to consultant attorney. from what he says a class 1 felony is NOT expungable. But class 2,3 and 4 are. After he reviewed the case and my charges he could not believe what he saw. The class 1 plea that I accepted was far more worse than the two original class 4 charges. WOW! How stupid could i have been. Total injustice....(Note to self) get an attorney next time!!!!
So now what I ask. Well since it was for a non violent crime we should appeal the S.P. decision to reject your request. But first we need to have the misdemeanor charges expunged first. Cool. Good news right? Well kinda it's $150 per case just for court fees. Your looking at close to $2k after its all done and over with BUT! You still could be denied a foid card from the s.p. Well that's just fantastic!!!
 
Did you waive your right to an attorney when you were charged? I didn't think that was even an option when charged with a serious felony.

In any event, it sounds like there may be daylight at the end of the tunnel. I would think the important thing to accomplish is to get your right to possess firearms restored, if that can be guaranteed by these legal procedures, I'd say got for it as soon as you can afford to.

Whereas it sounds like IL could still deny you a FOID card, you always have the option to move to another state that may not continue your punishment despite your rehabilitation.

The price estimated by your lawyer sounds like about the range I figured it would be, $1-2K.

Continued good luck.
 
That's kinda what I was thinking. I'm a over the road truck driver with no real real estate in Il. Just a few friends an exwife and a criminal background. I have family all over the country and it would be very easy to take up residence in a new state. I'm just not sure if all this would carry over or if I would have to go through the same process but just in a different way.
 
Well, there is no FOID card, except Illinois that I know of. NC has a permit to buy, but most do not. The question is CHL, and would you pass a NICS check?
 
jmstevens2 said:
Well, there is no FOID card, except Illinois that I know of. NC has a permit to buy, but most do not. The question is CHL, and would you pass a NICS check?
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If his right to possess firearms is restored he will pass a NICS check as long as the felony (and any other crimes) addressed by the court order restoring his rights are the sole reason for not passing a NICS check.

This of course is no guarantee of a CHL being issued. It's likely a pure shall-issue state like WA would issue one; other may-issue states might not, depends if the sheriff's dog bit him after breakfast that day or not.
 
You cannot truthfully answer the question - "have you been convicted of a felony". Don't lie on your application, or you may pick up another felony, that will bar you for life. You may stand a chance to have the felony expunged, but if the misdemeanor is for an act of domestic violence (sibling on sibling may equate to that) you are also barred from owning a firearm.

I am sorry that you are going through this headache, but given the fact that you have both a misdemeanor and a felony criminal history, I'm not sure you ought to have the right to have a gun.

And thinking about moving out of Illinois? You can't own a gun as a felon anywhere in the United States. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Says that anyone "who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" is barred from possessing a gun. The only felonies that are not covered by the federal gun ban are 1) those "pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices," per 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)(A); and 2) felony convictions from foreign countries, per Small v. United States, --- U.S. ---, 2005 WL 946620 (April 26, 2005).
 
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RobNDenver said:
You cannot truthfully answer the question - "have you been convicted of a felony". Don't lie on your application, or you may pick up another felony, that will bar you for life. You may stand a chance to have the felony expunged, but if the misdemeanor is for an act of domestic violence (sibling on sibling may equate to that) you are also barred from owning a firearm.

I am sorry that you are going through this headache, but given the fact that you have both a misdemeanor and a felony criminal history, I'm not sure you ought to have the right to have a gun.

And thinking about moving out of Illinois? You can't own a gun as a felon anywhere in the United States. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Says that anyone "who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" is barred from possessing a gun. The only felonies that are not covered by the federal gun ban are 1) those "pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices," per 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)(A); and 2) felony convictions from foreign countries, per Small v. United States, --- U.S. ---, 2005 WL 946620 (April 26, 2005).
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Sorry to say RobNDenver but you are plain wrong with respect to felony convictions.

Having your right to possess firearms restored in Superior Court is unequivocal; once the petition has been granted you may now answer the question you referred to in the negative. You can even become an FFL if you like, that application asks a similar question.

With respect to misdemeanor domestic violence, you may be correct. I don't know if that can be vacated or not.

Now if the felony was received at the federal level, you are pretty much done for, no guns for you. Unless I suppose a Presidential pardon was issued.
 
Bikemutt, you are right if the felony is expunged from the convict's record. No expungement, no right to possess a firearm. A court of competent jurisdiction may order that a defendant may own a firearm but that does not negate the federal law if the conviction still stands.
 
Don't bother coming to Tennessee, they are refusing to recognize a full pardon from Georgia. Since our pardons don't apply to firearms possesion.............
 
waidmann said:
Don't bother coming to Tennessee, they are refusing to recognize a full pardon from Georgia. Since our pardons don't apply to firearms possesion.............
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I'm puzzled what a Georgia pardon applies to if not right to possess firearms. As far as I know, which admittedly may be stunted, a felon who has met all the terms of their sentence will have their "core" civil rights restored, which generally does not include the right to possess firearms. So if you can't own guns after a Georgia pardon, why jump through the hoops?
 
Not a NICS, no. But you can certainly run a criminal background check through one of the major websites.
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backgtound checks that us mortals can do are not the same as what a judge sees. They see all. your back ground check from the sheriff will come up clean, no records found, and the judge will see yout'ful offender charges, charges that were dropped, all arrests, anything and all. Learned first hand. If theres charges or arrest from your past and you forgot about them or the details and dates, the judges vast file cabinet didn't forget.
Lawyer up.
 
I'm not sure you ought to have the right to have a gun.
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some of us made mystakes and some bad choices that dont reflect our true character. I'm not sure you ought to have the right to have a gun.... seriously your going that route. His record was cleared, so he gots the same rights as you.
 
seriously your going that route. His record was cleared, so he gots the same rights as you.
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I'm not voting one way or the other...but at what point was his record "cleared"?
 
The misdemeanors are going to be expunged cording to my attorney . But I still have a class 1 felony for attempt to obstruct that can not be expunged. A non-violent crime. It looks like I have a 50/50 chance. It's up to the statepolice.
 
good luck I hope it works out. Gives you a reason to stay out of trouble. If I can be trusted to vote I'd say I shpuld be allowed to defend myself.
 
lobo9er said:
some of us made mystakes and some bad choices that dont reflect our true character. I'm not sure you ought to have the right to have a gun.... seriously your going that route. His record was cleared, so he gots the same rights as you.
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Actually, if you read his post, his record has not been cleared. He was convicted of a violent misdemeanor and a felony. He has a criminal history, and until that is expunged, the OP is SOL. As he should be. You and I and most gun owners are able to limit our bad judgement to parking tickets and moving violations. Not a bar to gun ownership for us, bar to gun ownership to a convicted felon IMHO. If you can't do the crime, then don't do the crime. Sounds harsh I realize, but most of us live our lives in a manner that would not have us in court pleading guilty to anything.
 
To the original poster:

Instead of listening to the opinions of the masses, contact your local Police Dept.
Explain the situation to them & ask them if it's "legal" for you to answer "no".

Make absolutely certain you get the answer in writing!
That way if there is an issue later on, you have proof of your conversation with the PD.

If they say you can't, you may have to contact a lawyer to help get your record expunged.
 
He has a criminal history, and until that is expunged, the OP is SOL. As he should be.
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the laws of the land (that I abide by to keep the record straight) agree with that at this time. I just dont share your views. And laws do change from time to time. I view this statement
I'm not sure you ought to have the right to have a gun.
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on this particular post to be a bit "holier than thou". IMHO of course. But he is asking for advice on a public forum, so... not everyone is gonna agree.
 
RobNDenver said:
Actually, if you read his post, his record has not been cleared. He was convicted of a violent misdemeanor and a felony. He has a criminal history, and until that is expunged, the OP is SOL. As he should be. You and I and most gun owners are able to limit our bad judgement to parking tickets and moving violations. Not a bar to gun ownership for us, bar to gun ownership to a convicted felon IMHO. If you can't do the crime, then don't do the crime. Sounds harsh I realize, but most of us live our lives in a manner that would not have us in court pleading guilty to anything.
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So what your saying is if you get a speeding ticket you should never be able to drive again?
 
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