In 2005, Congress adopted the REAL ID Act without meaningful committee hearings and substantial debate as part of legislation to fund the Iraq War and Asian Tsunami relief efforts. The measure requires Illinois, and every other state, to restructure the entire driver’s license process so that the State can be part of a shared database encompassing every state and the territories in the U.S. Although the United States Department of Homeland Security has not issued regulations (originally scheduled to be released in the Summer of 2006) to guide implementation of REAL ID, states are expected to overhaul the driver’s license system by May 2008 – or risk having the citizens of the state lose the ability to use their driver’s license to board an airplane or enter a federal building or federal court.

Estimates are that implementation of REAL ID will cost more than $11 billion, though Congress has appropriated only a small portion of that money to assist the states. Washington State, with a population of less than half of Illinois, estimates that REAL ID will cost the state more than $250 million. These costs will be passed along, most believe, to consumers – who also will face long lines and multiple visits to the driver’s license bureau in order to get a new license or renew an existing one.

House Joint Resolution 27, introduced by State Representative Karen Yarbrough, calls on Congress to repeal REAL ID because the legislation is too expensive, intrudes on personal privacy, creates a bureaucratic nightmare and creates a “one-stop-shopping� for identity thieves. The following article --published on Tuesday in the Decatur Herald and Review -- discusses the issue.