New Report – Piecing It All Together: An Analysis of the Available Data for the FTWOP
The First Time Weapon Offense Program (FTWOP) has existed and been reformed over the course of approximately eight years in the state of Illinois. In this new report, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts (Chicago Appleseed) and the Better Government Association (BGA) seek to better understand how it has been used across Illinois, how often the program has been completed successfully, and what roadblocks exist for the program.
Chicago Appleseed and BGA analyzed records obtained from 13 counties and found that after the expansion of the program in 2023 participation increased and successful completion rates were often high. However, the state’s attorney’s ability to withhold consent for the defendant to participate is a potential stumbling block for full utilization of this program.
A significant barrier to Chicago Appleseed and BGA’s analysis of the FTWOP was the fact that the judicial branch is exempted from Illinois’ main public records law. The FTWOP is run by the courts, and without the mandate of Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act, the courts are not required to turn over documents or data related to the programs they run.
What is the FTWOP?
The First Time Weapon Offense Program (FTWOP) was piloted in 2018 as part of the Safe Neighborhoods Reform Act. The act allows Illinois courts to sentence eligible defendants accused of certain gun possession charges to the program, circumventing traditional prosecution, with the consent of the state’s attorney and the defendant themself.
After a minor amendment in 2021 and an extension of the pilot in 2022, Public Act 103-370 made the FTWOP permanent in 2023. The act also: expanded its age eligibility to include people of all ages rather than people younger than 21, lowered the minimum program length from 18 months to six months, and changed the standard and discretionary program requirements. The only major amendment since then was Public Act 104-398, enacted in 2026, which enabled people who have successfully completed the program to apply for and receive a FOID card if they are eligible.
A defendant is only eligible for the FTWOP if they are charged with misdemeanor UPW, Class 4 UPW, or Class 4 AUPW. Defendants are ineligible for the program if they have any prior gun possession convictions. Furthermore, they are only eligible for the FTWOP if they meet all of the following criteria:
- They did not possess a gun during the commission of a violent act;
- They have never been convicted or placed on probation or conditional discharge for a violent offense;
- They have not previously successfully completed the FTWOP;
- They were never adjudicated a delinquent minor for a violent act; and
- They do not have an order of protection against them.
Even if the defendant is eligible, a judge or state’s attorney can deny them entry into the program, or their circuit court may not operate such a program at all. Though bills have been introduced to remove prosecutorial discretion from the FTWOP, none have passed.
The FTWOP is a post-plea diversion program, meaning that a defendant must plead guilty to their offense in order to participate. If they successfully complete the program, the court dismisses their case; any violation of the program’s conditions, however, could result in a conviction. The program lasts up to 24 months; during that time, participants must avoid any criminal activity, not possess any guns, and attend required programming, which could potentially include counseling or education. The court may also impose discretionary requirements, such as obtaining employment or certification of education, abstinence from drug use, community service, or fines and fees.
Our Findings
Chicago Appleseed and BGA submitted records requests to each of the 102 state’s attorney’s offices in Illinois. 81 counties responded to the requests and 13 counties provided some data on the program (though the data was not consistent across all counties). Cook, Lake, Kane, DeKalb, and St. Clair Counties provided enough information for more detailed analyses within the full report. Others provided only enough data to confirm that the program had been used, but not enough for a more thorough analysis.
The Cook County FTWOP has seen a lot of growth since it started. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, there were under 100 cases, growing to over 1,000 participants in both 2024 and 2025. With an increase in participants, the program has also seen an overall increase in its successful completion rate. 2025 had the highest rate of successful completion at 92%. This is especially promising because eligibility for the program was expanded in July of 2023, allowing those 21 and older to participate in the program. Every year since 2023 has seen a higher rate of successful completion than the year before, suggesting that opening up the program’s eligibility has improved its effectiveness.
Overall, poor access to data on the FTWOP program proved to be an issue. Much of the data provided seemed to stem from tracking fees that defendants owed the court. Using the data provided to create a dataset that allowed for cross-county comparison proved challenging, as different counties track different data points and use different terms. A universal coding system and an increased awareness of this program could be useful in seeing its expansion and providing more data to better analyze where the roadblocks and/or bottlenecks lie.
To ensure future evaluations of the FTWOP, Chicago Applesseed and BGA recommend the program be amended to create a mandate for uniform data collection across all counties, using a shared standard for coding the data, to be submitted annually to the General Assembly. This would be necessary even if the courts were subject to FOIA, but especially since they are not it is of the utmost importance that the public has a way to get this data.