(Left to right) ASA Jamie Helton, Chief Brian Henry, Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart, Elizabeth Leahy, Sgt. Zack Kettelkamp, Heather Robbins
(Lake County, IL) On Monday, June 26, 2023, over 60 law enforcement officers, school administrators, attorneys, and mental health professionals attended a training that focused on Illinois’s “red flag laws” that keep firearms away from dangerous individuals. The training was hosted by the Lake County State’s Attorney at the College of Lake County (CLC), in Grayslake and included presentations from the Illinois State Police (ISP), Lake County State’s Attorney’s Civil Division, and the Lake County Health Department (LCHD).
The training began with Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart welcoming the attendees, emphasizing the work that law enforcement and others perform to protect our society and how the increased use of the “red flag system” can prevent suicides, homicides, and mass shootings.
Mr. Rinehart stated, “This training is about making a difference. We have too many guns in our society, too much domestic violence, and too many people who need mental health treatment. We want to make sure that law enforcement, medical professionals, and education leaders are aware of the tools they have in order to continue keeping our community safe.”
Elizabeth Leahy is ISP’s Firearms Safety Counsel, and heads the Director’s Office of Firearms Safety and presented on the Firearm Owner ID (FOID) Act of Illinois, focusing on Clear & Present Danger laws (C&PD), and how police, school administrators, and healthcare professionals can report dangerous individuals to the ISP and to the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). After ISP receives a report, such as a C&PD report, ISP reviews the information and if the C&PD is affirmed, the individual’s FOID card is quickly revoked. Acting Master Sgt. Zack Kettelkamp explained how any police officer or school administrator can quickly use ISP’s Online Law Enforcement Portal to report dangerous individuals.
Leahy also discussed the FOID application process and how ISP conducts background checks on individuals seeking a FOID. After a FOID has been issued, a criminal conviction, C&PD reports, and mental health hospitalizations can lead to the revocation of FOID cards.
Leahy further explained how law enforcement officers and members of the public can seek a Firearm Restraining Order (FRO) which is a temporary court order issued by a judge that removes firearms from individuals exhibiting dangerous behavior. Currently, family members and law enforcement can seek FROs by coming to any county courthouse. Leahy and Rinehart also explained how judges can further restrict access to firearms if an individual is charged with a crime or is the subject of a domestic order of protection. (The FRO and C&PD procedures do not require a pending criminal case.)
The training also included a presentation from Lake County State’s Attorney’s Civil Division Attorney Jamie Helton, that focused on the legal process for involuntarily hospitalizing individuals who are suffering from a severe mental health crisis. Helton emphasized that police are allowed to take individuals into custody if they are a threat to others and have “reasonable grounds” to believe they would be hospitalized by court order.
The training ended with personnel from the Lake County Mental Health Department explaining the new “988” and Mobile Crisis Team programs that allows anyone in Lake County to seek assistance with mental health crises 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
