ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL: COOK COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO LYING ON FOID CARD APPLICATION

Chicago  —  Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced a Cook County man pleaded guilty to charges alleging he lied on his FOID card application submitted to the Illinois State Police (ISP).

Christopher Johnson, 38, of Chicago pleaded guilty in Cook County Circuit Court to one count of unlawful violation of the Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Act, a Class 2 felony. As a result, Johnson was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 100 hours of public service.

“As communities throughout Illinois endure gun violence, we must use every tool available to prevent guns from entering the hands of those who are prohibited from having them,” Raoul said. “I am committed to holding accountable anyone who lies to obtain a FOID card and abuses otherwise legal paths to gun ownership.”

“The Illinois State Police have a duty to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and we take that duty very seriously,” stated ISP Director Brendan Kelly. “The thorough investigative work performed by our special agents and the efforts of the Illinois Attorney General’s office shows the public the extent of our commitment to this critical mission,” he concluded.

The Attorney General’s office previously indicted Johnson alleging he knowingly entered false information on a FOID card application. In 2021, Johnson submitted a FOID card application on which he indicated he had never been previously convicted of a felony – despite having a felony record that spanned several years. According to Raoul’s office, Johnson was previously convicted of criminal damage to state property, a Class 3 felony that took place in 2013; two counts of identity theft, Class 2 and 3 felonies that took place in 2010; and two counts of identity theft, Class 1 and 2 felonies that took place in 2009. Illinois law prohibits individuals who have been convicted of a felony from being eligible for FOID cards.

Assistant Attorneys General Steven Knight and Peter Ravoori are prosecuting the case for Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau.