There’s no such thing as a secure database.

That’s one of the many problems the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois has with the state of Illinois having to comply with the federal REAL ID Act. Ed Yohnka with the ACLU of Illinois says Illinois and other large states like California and New York are being quote “bullied” into compliance by the federal government to get what the ACLU amounts to a national ID card.

Despite the federal government being wary of calling the national mandate a national ID, Yohnka says REAL ID is a national ID because it links all states’ ID databases together, something Yohnka says is not secure.

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One example Yohnka provided is someone possibly leaving a laptop with access to the database at a coffee shop. And, he pointed out, a nationally linked system will only be as strong as the weakest state’s security.

The state was notified by the federal government last month that citizens with Illinois driver’s licenses may face extra scrutiny when boarding a commercial plane at an airport or when entering a federal facility if the state issued ID is not in compliance 120 days after this weekend’s deadline.