21 Comments - Neef Jr. - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 12:01 pm: I spend 2 hours at the Clinton drivers license facility on Friday so my son could get his license. Line out the door when we got there and when we left. 75% of the people to get their Real ID. When we finally got waited on they were telling people the wait is usually 3-4 hours and the line starts at 6:30am for a facility that opens at 7:30. - Norseman - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 12:22 pm: No. Not rocket science. Stop waiting in ridiculous lines. Just don’t book a flight or do anything that requires extra security until after you get your REAL ID. - Remember the Alamo II - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 12:28 pm: Maybe Secretary Giannoulias would have been better served running PSA’s with this information months ago. - Politix - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 12:30 pm: SOS could probably do a better job of communicating this. I heard the rumor a few weeks ago when my 21 yo asked if she has a Real ID (lol). I’ve heard horror stories on wait times ever since. - Remember the Alamo II - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 12:32 pm: To the question - I have not heard this myth, but I chalk it up to poor communication and reading skills. May 7th is the date by which the feds will begin enforcing the Real ID requirements at airports and federal facilities. If you aren’t going to an airport or a federal facility on May 7th, then that deadline really does not apply to you. I think people are confused by this and for some reason equate the Real ID deadline as the last day by which they can obtain a Real ID. Such widespread misunderstandings could have been prevented with more effective communication and explanation of the process. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 12:45 pm: ==SOS could probably do a better job of communicating this.== I doubt it; I think it has more to do with people not taking the time to read/listen to the messaging that has been out there for years and that has been ramping up this winter and spring. “You will need this to get on a plane after May 7.” Has been pretty clear, but it seems to have registered with many people as “You will need this May 7.” - Henry - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 12:45 pm: This is what you get when an ignorant constituency believes rumors over facts. - JS Mill - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 12:57 pm: What @Henry stated plus 1 - 47th Ward - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 1:00 pm: Pro-tip: if you have a passport, you have a REAL ID. But if you don’t have a current passport, you’ll need to get a REAL ID before your next flight. I had not heard the rumor, but we’ve been talking about REAL ID since the mid-2000s. Now the deadline is here. Time to get it done, but unless you are flying this week, the deadline doesn’t really matter. - Yes, indeed - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 1:12 pm: === Pro-tip: if you have a passport, you have a REAL ID. === Yes, indeed. And when I last renewed my passport, I asked for a passport card, so I now have two REAL ID. When my DL expires, I will get a third REAL ID - Amalia - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 1:24 pm: I get that it is document intensive. But the Sec of State website has a perfect checklist, which you can print out, and gets you ready. You don’t need one unless you don’t have a passport and want to get on a plane. I watched people in line who were clueless. says more about the education level of people than it does about the process. - Lurker - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 2:24 pm: I think his message is a bit misleading. There are some federal buildings that said they will only accept RealID after May 7. So I wouldn’t limit the need to flyers. - Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 2:33 pm: No amount of PSA’s can counteract what one reads on Facebook and chooses to believe. - DuPage Saint - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 2:36 pm: The real I d act was passed in 2005. This is a real and urgently need law evidently /S - Donnie Elgin - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 2:41 pm: =Real ID= Illinois lags its midwestern peers in terms of the percentage of folks with Real ID… At the start of 2025, about a quarter of credentialled Illinois residents had obtained their Real ID cards. By April, that figure had increased by only about 10%, according to the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. Max Walczyk, communications manager, said that Illinois began an awareness campaign about the Real ID deadline in May 2024. https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/got-your-real-id-millions-of-midwesterners-still-dont-have-the-new-more-secure-cards/ - Rich Miller - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 2:45 pm: ===was passed in 2005=== One of the main reasons for the lag was Illinois, which couldn’t get its act together. So, its implementation was delayed time and again. - GoneFishing - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 3:07 pm: Got a letter stating I needed to renew. I needed an eye exam. Went to the Naperville office a few weeks ago and was able to get an appointment day of online. Was very busy but in and out in an hour. I didn’t need a real id, I have a passport, but got it anyway. Everyone there did a good job and was trying their best to help all they could. - Leatherneck - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 3:10 pm: If this supposed “real ID deadline” was Wednesday, then why couldn’t all of the old SOS facilities in Springfield remain open until sometime after the 7th? Even if it meant delaying the opening of the “super DMV” or whatever it’s called on Dirksen for a couple weeks. - Perrid - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 3:32 pm: Why would they STOP giving them out as soon as they become mandatory? It makes no sense. - 4 percent - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 3:42 pm: Thank goodness he’s been focused on food additives and other non-SOS issues to build his profile. No more tummy time videos or rehab workout videos. Take a lesson from Jesse and make the office run efficiently and effectively. - Rich Miller - Monday, May 5, 25 @ 4:09 pm: ===Take a lesson from Jesse and make the office run efficiently and effectively=== Jesse’s office was the reason this didn’t get done a decade ago. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.