Systems Analysis Project State of Illinois FOID Card Process Improvement

1. Systems Analysis ProjectState of Illinois FOID Card Process Improvement University of Missouri-St Louis, assisted by BusinessBlock

2. Project Context The recent mass shooting in Aurora, IL has highlighted gaps in the Firearms Owner ID process. The articles below detail the issues, some of which are under the control of the state and some of which are either the responsibility of the federal government or other states. Given the political divide in government and the pressures of groups such as the NRA, the State of Illinois would like to address the problems in a bi-partisan fashion, starting with looking at tightening up their own current processes (as opposed to creating new legislation). The state is interested in using technology to drive the changes. "Illinois State Police acknowledges it wrongly issued a gun license to Aurora shooter", Chicago Tribune, Februrary 19, 2019 "Members of Congress to FBI: Fix gaps in background check system that allowed Aurora shooter to buy gun", Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2019 "Victim in Aurora Warehouse Shooting Sues IL State Police", Daily Herald, March 8, 2019

3. Overview of Current Process The State of Illinois has a Firearm Concealed Carry Act in place which allows qualified citizens to carry a concealed weapon (Public Safety act 430 ILCS 66). The Illinois State Police are tasked with issuing licenses to carry a concealed firearm. Qualifications for the license are outlined in section 25 of the act. PUBLIC SAFETY (430 ILCS 66/) Firearm Concealed Carry Act. The IL State Police (ISP) Department is tasked with conducting the necessary background checks to issue licenses. Within the ISP, the Concealed Carry License Review Board was created to consider objections by a law enforcement agency or the ISP Department. If a FOID card needs to be revoked, the ISP will send a letter to the FOID card holder. Upon receipt of the letter, they are given 48 hours to transfer the handgun to someone with a valid firearm license or their local law enforcement agency. They are also was required to submit paperwork — referred to as a firearm disposition record — to their local police department, proving they no longer possessed the gun. https://www.ispfsb.com/Public/Firearms/FOID/RevokedFOIDCards.aspx

4. Important Technical Considerations We are looking for a solution that offers the following attributes: Contains a strong audit trail Combines or syncs data sources for increased transparency between parties Offers better event awareness and management to drive outcomes Eliminates human error and gaps Integrates with existing systems Leverages all relevant metadata Includes a method for reporting

5. RFP Process The State of IL will be putting this project out for bid and will be selecting a contractor based on proposals submitted through this RFP process. There is an undisclosed amount available to fund the project. It is well known that the state is under severe deficit issues, but the FOID card problem is a crisis that needs to be addressed. The state will create a new budget line item to improve the process. This will be a competitive process. The RFP must include the following: •(Re-)statement of project objectives including main objective(s) and key requirements for project. •Benefits to be received from project •Illustration of current process flow and proposed process flow •General technical design of solution including description of technology being used •General timeline for implementation (phases of project) with hours estimates •Proposal could include a prototype of the solution •Proposed cost to the state including hourly rate to be charged •Payment terms. This could include prepayment and scheduled payments as well as a final bill along with proposed due dates for payments.

6. RFP Timeline RFP’s (written response) will be due May 6th. There will be a class presentation around May 6th (exact timing TBD), potentially the week before or week after May 6th. Q&A will be open to all teams and will be conducted over email. To ensure we avoid favoritism and ensure fairness and consistency, questions should be emailed to Tom Klein (tkklein100@gmail.com) and Mark Schumacher (mark.schumacher10@gmail.com) with cc to the entire class and Dr. Sauter. Mark and Tom will respond via “reply all”.

7. Helpful Links DoIT – Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology Wealth of information on the state of IL’s systems as well as initiatives underway to improve the state’s technological capabilities https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/doit/Pages/default.aspx IL Blockchain Task Force Final Report from Feb, 2018 Report gives some insight into efforts to use blockchain in government. Note mention of use of blockchain to manage FOID card ownership on page 25. https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/doit/Strategy/Documents/BlockchainTaskForceFinalReport020518.pdf 2018 State of Illinois Annual Report on Information Technology Transformation Report highlights the status on actions taken to improve the state’s tech infrastructure See page 19 for mention of the status of digital transformation in the IL State Police (ISP) Dept See page 21 for mention of the Blockchain Task Force Final Report. https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/doit/Strategy/Transformation/Documents/DoIT_2018_Report_to_GA%20_FINAL.pdf Deloitte Report from 2016 on Current State of Technology Contains assessment of all aspects of state’s tech including IT team, systems and software Assessmenthttps://www2.illinois.gov/sites/doit/Strategy/Transformation/ProgramWiki/Documents/CurrentStateAssessment.pdf