Illinois driver’s license, state ID extensions to expire in December

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - Time is almost up for you to get your driver’s license or state ID’s renewed as the final extension from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office expires in about 30 hours.

I visited numerous Department of Motor Vehicles offices in the area today, each one just as busy as the last. With people racing the clock to get their ID’s renewed.

“I have to get it done, so it’s more of a necessity for me but it’s pretty disruptive. I have to take a day off from work,” said Khaudeja Bano, a resident from Lake County waiting to get her daughter’s license renewed.

Bano and her daughter struggled Tuesday to find a DMV with an opening, so her daughter could get the new license before the COVID-19 extension expires December 1.

“I’m based out of Lake County and drove an hour and a half,” she explained.

She says she didn’t know she needed an appointment to handle the lengthy process. She couldn’t find an opening in Waukegan and the earliest opening in Lake Zurich December 6. That made Rockford her last resort.

“This was the only appointment for today that I could find. So I’m waiting in the car for an hour to get exactly on the clock because they wouldn’t accept one hour early,” said Bano.

Bano wishes the process was easier and people like her who work a lot would get extra consideration. However, officials with the Secretary of State office say, they did.

“Unfortunately if they do miss the deadline then they’re going to be eligible to receive a ticket if they are pulled over without driving with a valid driver’s license,” said Elizabeth Kaufman, who is the secretary of state press secretary for Chicago.

Leaders say accommodations were made and the two years of extensions were more than generous, but they are no longer necessary.

“If you haven’t done it - do it to avoid the ticket. Also, see if you’re eligible. Go online and see if you are eligible to do it from the comfort of your own home,” said Kaufman.

Kaufman says her office’s online services include reporting a lost license, getting a vehicle sticker and renewing your driver’s license.

The federal deadline to get a real ID was also pushed back, but that extension ends May 3, 2023.

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