getting foid card? (newb)

[LDL707]

No. Any place that does licenses can do it. As long as there's a notary somewhere to notarize it. I've done it at a gun show. I've done it at "Mary's Fast License Service". Gunshops will often have the forms, as will police stations, etc.

(oop. sorry. I misread you to mean that it had to go through a gunshop.)

Actually, the Illinois State Police has the application on their website. You can print it up, get a picture, write a check for $5 and mail it in all by yourself. No notary required.

Here's the link:
http://www.isp.state.il.us/media/docdetails.cfm?DocID=38

 

[Don Gwinn]

Remember that for most purposes, you must treat Cook County as entirely separate from Illinois. Chicago and Cook County are effectively exempted from many of the laws and requirements that govern all other counties and municipalities in Illinois; laws are routinely written such that any city or county with a population, say, over 1 million people is exempt and has home-rule status. That means Cook and Chicago, of course.

As noted, yes, you need your FOID to own any gun or ammunition.

Yes, you can own an AR-15 in Illinois, but, to my knowledge, not in Cook County. There may be other counties where this is the case; certainly there are several towns and cities that ban certain kinds of guns, particularly "up there" where you are.

No, no full-autos will be allowed. You can remedy that by moving to Wisconsin or Indiana, but then I could do the same by moving to Missouri--and I won't. You can rent full-auto in Illinois, contrary to popular belief, but that's expensive as you generally have to buy the renter's ammo to shoot through their gun.