But gun ownership is on the decline.

Illinois Gun Buyers Now Waiting More Than 60 Days For FOID Card

More than 70,000 FOID card applications have been received in March, Bond said, putting it on track to be the record month so far for the program.

Every month since December has seen a record number of Illinois residents applying for FOID cards. Officials say 31,249 applications were received in December. In January, 61,172 people applied for a card, and there were 56,078 applications in February. State officials noted that at the end of January the backlog on processing FOID cards was more than 70,000.