Illinois: Practical, Pragmatic, remarkably calm

The Illinois Secretary of State's Office is gearing up to conform to controversial new federal standards for driver's licenses and state identification cards. "Not a lot will change for Illinois driver's licenses," Jim Burns, inspector general for Secretary of State Jesse White, said Wednesday during a Statehouse news conference.

The above quote, from this PJStar news story, caught my attention as - perhaps - yet another state dreaming that it's almost in complinace already. But according the the story, Jim Burns is more pragmatic. He knows! (Some quotes):

But what will change, he said, is that the Secretary of State's Office will be required to verify all of the information through the sources of the documents provided by applicants. That could prove expensive and time-consuming.

"That's going to be the big part of the job," said Burns, whom White appointed in August to chair a committee to implement the new standards.

Burns said it is not yet clear whether all of Illinois' 8.5 million driver's-license holders and 1.5 million residents with ID cards will have to re-submit their information or whether the law will apply only to new applicants.

He said secretary of state officials also cannot estimate the cost of implementing the requirements because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is still drafting rules regarding the law. The federal government will likely bear at least some of the expense, he said.

Costs could include hiring additional employees, training existing staff or purchasing computers or other equipment needed to verify applicants' information, he said.