Illinois Unveils New Driver's License and ID Card

Illinois unveiled a new state of the art driver's license and state ID to help protect its state residents from identity theft, fraud, and counterfeiting. According to ID Theft, "There will be approximately 10,000,000 victims of identity theft that will occur this year." The card's new features allow ID and driver's license that has been properly issued to be readily identified immediately as fraudulent and to be traced back to the location of materials used to manufacture it.

The new Illinois and ID card design features are multiple layered and includes inventory control mechanism that ensures that Illinois card will be some of the most secured in the nation. According to the press release issued by Secretary of State, "New security features include kinetic movement and color shifting designs, a UV feature that cannot be duplicated utilized standard techniques often used in fraud attempts. A new inventory tracking system has been adapted to monitor and track the material used in card production. Also included are ghost images of the photo, and incorporates the date of birth in two locations in the cards."

With these new features comes new colors: red for driver's license and commercial driver's license, green for ID cards, and purple for temporary driver's license. The text has also been improved for readability, and ease of use in verification of information, but the contact information will remain the same.

On November 6, new equipment to issue the new driver's licenses and ID cards will begin in Southern Ill and then move north. All Secretary of State driver-licensing facilities are to be converted to new technology by the end of January 2008.

Talking briefly to Beth Kaufman, spokesman for Secretary of State, about the new equipment that is set to arrive in Illinois driving facilities at the beginning of next year, Ms. Kaufman said that, "The new equipment consist of printers, computers, and machines that will be better able to handle the issuing of the new licenses."