Illinois state Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) is among a group of lawmakers demanding answers in the wake of a report that finds that over the last five years, millions of dollars have been swept from the State Police Firearm Services Fund for general state revenues.
“The State Police has consistently not used all the money available in the Firearm Services Fund,” Reick recently posted on Facebook. “Where it was spent, who knows?”
The findings come courtesy of the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), as executive director Richard Pearson said the organization decided to look into finances after anti-gun groups sought to enact legislation that would have more than doubled FOID card fees because the program was reported to be underfunded.
Illinois state Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock)
| Courtesy of repstevenreick.com
“It appears that since 2015, over $13 million dollars – plus an additional $15-plus million from the Firearm Transfer Inquiry Program, which pays for background checks – has been swept from this fund into General Revenue, where it was spent on who knows what,” Reick posted.
Going forward, Reick says that it is imperative that guidelines be clearly established about how funds are to be used and allocated.
“What we need to do is make sure there are no more sweeps of money out of this fund and into General Revenue,” Reick said in a separate press release. “It looks like someone was asleep at the switch, but whatever the reason, this is now being used as an excuse to make it more expensive and burdensome to own a firearm in Illinois.”
Now in his second year in Springfield, Reick serves on the Illinois House’s Consumer Protection, Revenue & Finance, Labor & Commerce, and Business & Industry Regulations committees. His 63rd District includes all or parts of Harvard, Marengo, Woodstock, Bull Valley, Wonder Lake, Greenwood, McHenry, Fox Lake, Spring Grove, Johnsburg and Lakemoor.
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