Temporary Visitor Driver's License Coming to Illinois

Governor Quinn's signature on Senate Bill 957 will give 250,000 undocumented immigrants the right to drive.

Activist for Illinois People's Action Susi Rubi said this decision is one that everyone will benefit from. Rubi said, "If just 50 percent of our 250,000 that cannot currently legally drive get a driver's license we're seeing new state revenue of about 3.65 million."

Rubi said another bonus is a drop in insurance premiums. She said thousands of these people are driving right now, without the proper training. "The thing is, they're driving not legally but they're driving and that causes for safety issues because they don't take vision, written, road tests to see if they're OK to drive they're just driving and a lot of times uninsured."

This law means big changes for the Secretary of State's Office. Spokesperson Henry Haupt said it's responsible for implementing the three-year license, which cannot be used for identification.

He said the procedure will be much different than how it is for Illinois citizens. "When they (Illinois citizens) come to a facility they can leave that same day with a driver's license. That won't be the case for the TDVL. We will require advance appointments and then the individual who makes the appointments will go to a specifically designated facility."

For supporters, this law is a step in the right direction. Rubi said her next goal is to educate those who aren't on board. "I think a lot of people don't understand the importance or may have seen a bias point of view either or and one of the things we want to work toward locally here in Peoria is to educate the community."

The temporary visitor driver license will not be available for 10 months.