Find yourself living paycheck-to-paycheck? If REAL ID is implemented in Illinois it may mean trading in a week’s worth of lunch to get the ID that complies with federal standards.
That’s the message from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. Ed Yohnka, director of communications for the ACLU of Illinois, says getting a REAL ID will be labor intensive and not something applicants could pick up almost instantly, as is done now with the state’s current ID.
[audio:1071682708-Yohnka2.mp3] [/audio]
Yohnka says at the end of the process of providing all the documents the applicant would then go home and wait for the ID card to arrive in the mail. Meanwhile Yohnka says for people who are struggling financially REAL ID will be even more burdensome.
[audio:1071682710-Yohnka3.mp3] [/audio]
Yohnka estimates if REAL ID is implemented in Illinois, as the federal government is pushing the state towards, it could put the price of a driver's license to more than $100, whereas it now costs $30.
The Illinois Secretary of State’s office couldn’t say how much it will cost individuals but estimates overall implementation of the ID will cost taxpayers $60 million dollars, and there’s little indication of what the yearly costs thereafter would be.
