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llinois is about two and a half months into Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ new “Skip the Line” program.

The idea is to make an appointment in advance and eliminate the unpredictability of wait times at Illinois DMVs. But, the problem has now shifted to finding an available appointment.

Lynn Cannon spent part of her work day scrolling through the Illinois Secretary of State Office’s website, trying to schedule an appointment for her 16-year-old son.

“I’ve been looking for over a month, because he’s now eligible to get his first driver’s license and he’s pretty upset that he can’t get it yet,” Cannon said. […]

A spokesman for the secretary of state said, in part, “Since launching the program on Sept. 1, more than 500,000 appointments have been scheduled. Customers with appointments are also experiencing little to no wait times, which is a vast improvement compared to the long lines and hour-plus wait times that Illinoisans had been used to.”

* The Question: If you or friends and family had any experience with the “Skip the Line” program, how did it go?

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 11:40 am

Comments

Went to the express office on Diversey. No problem making an online appointment. Got there 5 minutes early and waited another 15 minutes before being allowed in. Took 30 minutes to get through the process.
40 minutes total processing time. Which is how long it usually takes.

Comment by a drop in Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 11:51 am
Can’t find an appointment…but little to no wait time at the appointment itself.

Something is missing here.

If he cared about governing, he should have assessed the office and operations before rushing through this major change in the first year. This is what happens when Comms is running an office…

Can’t wait for the next “tummy time” pic…

Comment by NIU Grad Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 11:58 am
It went well. And the appointment system means the lines for the other services seem to be shorter as well, at least when we were there.

Bravo to SOS Giannoulias for starting to modernize an office that had been stuck with 90s tech for decades. Always going to be some hiccups when you roll out a new plan, but SOS has seemed to move quickly to address the issues (helping seniors make appointments by phone instead of computer; opening up a pair of Chicago-area senior walk-in sites).

Comment by George Ryan Reynolds Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:00 pm
My parents, both seniors needed to take their behind the wheel test. Took a bit to get the appointment but then it was a breeze. They were even able to get their appointments set up one right after the other.

Comment by Dupage Dem Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:03 pm
I would rather wait two hours in a drivers license facility than try to make an appointment when there’s nothing sooner than two or three weeks away. Killing two hours in a facility might not be great but at least I get my business done that day.

Comment by Nick Name Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:08 pm
Surprisingly, no problems in Schaumburg last month. I’m a senior, but did not require a road test (not that old, yet). The first indication that this system is better is that the parking lot was not filled to the brim, with people zipping around looking for a spot. Sometimes when going there in the past it’s more dangerous than crowded expressways.

Comment by Blanche Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:13 pm
this reminds me of the rollout of the public vaccination system for COVID. Lots of anecdotes, but what does the data say?

We ought to be able to compare the # of people served from October, 2023 to October, 2022 by type of service provided at the facility.

Comment by Thomas Paine Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:20 pm
I went to get a replacement ID. The new system is…not great. After some trial and error I learned that you have to get up early and make an appointment as soon as they open them. So I got an appointment but at the facility the system may as well not have existed. One employee confirmed that you had an appointment at the door, then you got in the same snaking line after snaking line until the process was over. It felt no different than any previous SoS visit. So, cumbersome appointment process on the front end. No change on the back end.

Comment by High Socks Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:28 pm
If you’re a senior citizen skip the website and schedule your appointment using the telephone early in the morning. Got an appointment in Deerfield within a week. When I got there the whole process including the test took about 45 minutes compared to 41/2 hours in 2021. And the place was uncrowned to boot!

Comment by Jim Fritts Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:31 pm
Without knowing what some other people have mentioned here (looking for appts early in the morning), I looked mid-day and there were no appts in the next month anywhere in the Chicago area. I had to take an appt in Rockford, an hour drive from me. But the appt itself was quick. In and out in less than 30 minutes, and that included an eye and written test.

Comment by Smalls Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:41 pm
Horrendous. Total failure. Tried for weeks to find appointments within 50 miles and zilch. Finally had to call someone I knew in SOS office and got appointment right away. It shouldn’t take knowing someone to get a routine DL exam.

Comment by New Day Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:45 pm
I think the system is terrible. There’s something to be said about having the ability to visit any DMV without an appmt and getting your DL that day. Under the guise of no lines and easy access….as a taxpayer.. is having to make an appmt to get service at a DMV truly your Govmt at work. I don’t think so. Further, the roll out on this program has been horrific.

Comment by Ryder Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:45 pm
“If he cared about governing, he should have assessed the office and operations before rushing through this major change in the first year. This is what happens when Comms is running an office…”

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Comment by New Day Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:46 pm
Rumor has it that next week Giannoulias is announcing a new program for people to make an appointment to access the Skip the Line appointment website.

Another rumor has it that the staffer who recommended StL, is part of an initiative called “skip the pay raise.”

Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:46 pm
Bridgeview location at seat geek stadium has been literally a circus. Young belligerent soccer players doing their thing trampling over feeble senior citizens, parking is long walk for the seniors even with the handicapped spaces. Does not look like any planning before implementation.

Comment by South suburban soccer Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 12:56 pm
Some of my elderly friends has been trying for several weeks to make an appointment by phone and to date no luck.

Also, the Secretary should be aware that many elderly friends have said they are not good on the computer and the phone is their only way of making a reservation..

You need to open the facilities to the elderly and move them to the front of the line.

Comment by MOON Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:00 pm
I went to the Wabash office in Springfield on a weekday mid afternoon. It was under populated and I was early. A clerk waved me over and got me processed about fifteen minutes early, and we were done in about three minutes. The only problem I had was with their janky camera system that no longer was able to adjust for height, so I had to squat uncomfortably syas to not be too tall.

Comment by Give Us Barabbas Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:06 pm
The Elgin and Schaumburg Locations were impossible to get into unless you could wait two-plus weeks - I had to go to Dekalb. The Newly named “DMV Services” are terrible. At least in the old system, you could plan on waiting but you would eventually get helped. Alexi should know better as the one service you really need working is DMV.

Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:22 pm
I took my mom to get her address changed. She had gotten her license over the summer so they had a current picture she just wanted her license to have the correct address. We were told we had to have an appointment even though several of the windows didn’t have anyone waiting.

Comment by Frustrated Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:37 pm
Had an appt at 9.. by 945am I still had 24 people in front of me to get processed. Left by 10 because of work and wrongly assumed having an appointment meant the process would be faster. What’s the point? Agree with the comments above, rather walk in and wait as long as it takes to get it done than deal with the fake appointment system.

Comment by Fake News Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:40 pm
The new system seems to be a mess. There never seems to be appointments available. I never had major problems with long lines in the past but now I cannot get into a facility. And why are they called DMVs? Makes no sense.

Comment by Near Springfield Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:43 pm
I recently needed to replace my license because my wallet was stolen out of my gym locker. I called the Secretary of State’s office and ended up speaking with a man who scheduled an appointment for me at the Lombard facility within an hour of my call. I went to Lombard, moved seamlessly through the process and was in and out with a temporary license within 40-45 minutes. It could not have gone better.

Comment by Just the Facts Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:49 pm
‘Skip the line’ is great in theory but it needs improvement. I tried for two weeks to get an appointment relatively close to Evanston. I was finally able to get one in Naperville. The process was very smooth at the DMV but I did spend 3 hours driving to/from the appointment.

Comment by SIUEalum Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:52 pm
A few things. 1) For an office that cares so much about comms, a nameless spokesperson speaks volumes. Clearly the office is missing Mr. Haupt, who was renowned statewide for his clear communication and actual knowledge of the office. 2) I would be interested in seeing the actual data for the services that are provided in the “DMVs” and how much operational costs have increased since Skip the Line was implemented. I’m surprised there hasn’t been more actual data released rather than vague references to potential numbers.

Comment by Jaded Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 1:58 pm
It looks to me like the system is working in low volume offices but is a disaster in the Chicago area. Am I right?

Comment by New Day Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 2:50 pm
Tried over a week at various times of the day to find a location near me. The only places listed as even having openings were 100s of miles away from the Chicago area as New Day notes. Finally got an appointment at the Lombard SOS location. Basically once there it went smoothly, except you cannot smile for the photo and have to take your glasses off. Did my best to avoid the Trump mugshot look being on my DL.

Comment by West Side the Best Side Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 3:27 pm
Just looked at the appointments for the Bradley IL location and it says no appointments available. I’m not sure how much things have changed in the last 16 months but late last summer when I needed to get my address changed and get RealID I had to wake up at like 6 or 7am to find an available appointment for the same day. Everything went smoothly when I made it to the SOS office but I was under the impression that the staff could have helped many more people if there had been more appointments available. There were only 2 or 3 other customers (that I could see) in the entire facility.

Comment by Aaron B Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 3:34 pm
Earlier this year I could not get an appointment and tried calling and always got a busy signal. I then called but put a different number on the last digit of the phone number and someone answered. They asked my age, and informed me seniors did not need an appointment, but would have to wait in the line of seniors. Has this changed? Is the “no appointment needed for seniors” policy still in effect? I waited in the senior line about 15 minutes.

Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 4:25 pm
Just tried today for an appointment in Chicago suburbs. Impossible to find. Like others said I’m sending more time trying to find an appointment than I would have spent waiting in line. Total failure.

Comment by IT Guy Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 6:54 pm
Family lives 10 minutes from Elston Ave facility. Near impossible to get an appointment at that location or others near by searching at normal times during the day. One family member went to Plano and another to Joliet. Not exactly convenient. The appointments themselves were punctual.

Comment by Herb F Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 7:59 pm
I made an appointment to get my DL renewed. 45 minutes in and out. Same as before with no appointment.

Comment by Michael Westen Wednesday, Nov 15, 23 @ 9:31 pm