As far as i can see all you have to do in Illinois is apply for a permit and they will do a background check.

There are several background checks. First the FOID check for the FOID card you mentioned earlier, and then another background check anytime they want to buy a gun, so that's already more restrictive than most places.

Then for pistols in particular, it basically (de facto) goes a step farther because you essentially need a concealed carry license (which is another, more extensive background check, including fingerprinting) because open carry is illegal in the state. So unless you are buying a pistol just to lock it away unloaded in your house and never use it for anything, it would be illegal to do anything else with it without a concealed carry license.

The state also has a red flag law. Which means anyone can report you to the police as being suspicious or some such and the state can come in and confiscate your gun(s) with no due process (no investigation, no court order, etc.).

Also has a mandatory waiting period for all guns, not just handguns.

Do you still think Illinois has strict gun laws?

Given the above, more restrictive than many, if not most other states.

Also keep in mind that most of this is rather moot since the vast majority of gang related gun crime is committed by people who already have prior felony convictions... So none of these laws even matter since its completely illegal for those people to buy guns under any circumstances, anywhere in the country, in the first place.