Orland DMV 'Needs To Go,' Trustee Says, But Sec Of State Calls Closing 'Huge Disservice'

ORLAND PARK, IL — After enumerating perceived issues with the state agency's use of an Orland Township building, trustees on Monday voted to close the Secretary of State's DMV office on Ravinia Avenue.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias called the move "a huge disservice to residents," saying it was made without notice and consultation with the agency. Board members, he said, "failed their constituents" in their decision to close one of the state's busiest DMVs.

Related: Fight For REAL ID Appointments Intensifies In IL, 'REAL ID Saturdays' Added

The agency has been leasing 1,100 square feet of space in the building at 14807 S. Ravinia Ave. since 2020, when it was relocated there from Village Hall. Supervisor Paul O'Grady worked with then-State Sen. Bill Cunningham to find space for the agency within Orland Township. The Secretary of State, Supervisor Paul O'Grady said, has since been leasing the space for $1 annually as part of an intergovernmental agreement.

“The Secretary of State’s office has been a vital community asset for five years,” O'Grady said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m deeply disappointed that my colleagues chose to eliminate these services without first hearing from the people who rely on them every day.”

Citing safety concerns, parking issues, security issues and cost, recently seated Trustee Ken Duffy launched the discussion, laying out more than a dozen issues he said he's encountered at the facility since the start of his term in May.

"Since I’ve been elected, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the Orland Township building on a weekly basis, hours on end," Duffy said. "One of the biggest things that stands out like a sore thumb every time I come by this building, is the disruption the Secretary of State’s office is making not only to the building, but to the outside, to the roads in the area."

The agency operating in the same building as township officials, he said, poses a security risk, as visitors walk through the building and its offices in search of the agency.

"There’s no separation between their area of the building, and the rest of the building," Duffy said.

In a social media statement Monday, Trustee Frank Williams supported Duffy's view, saying that "hostile engagements between SoS employees and SoS customers" put other employees using the building at risk.

"... too many DMV customers cannot or do not distinguish between the state run DMV offices and the township run offices," Williams wrote. "All they know is they are angry about something that has happened to them at the DMV located in our building. Our township employees have not signed up to accept risks to their personal safety to accommodate this tenant. I demand the safest environment we can provide to them in this building, and for our visiting seniors. The presence of the DMV detracts from those efforts."

Also at issue, Duffy said, are the health risks posed to customers, specifically senior citizens, in large part due to the size of the facility and corresponding wait times.

"When you come to the DMV here in Orland Township, you wait outside, where it’s snowing, raining, the sun’s beating down," Duffy said. "Doesn’t matter if you’re 100 years old. You stand outside and you wait. And that line is always 20, 30 people deep."

In his response to residents' concerns on Tuesday, Williams, too, pointed to safety issues. Williams said that a Freedom of Information request filed with the Village of Orland Park surfaced 125 calls to 911 throughout the past two years.

"The majority were emergencies like suspected heart attacks, falls resulting from loss of balance, and other medical circumstances beyond the control or fault of the SoS or the township," he said.

As he pushed to evict the agency, Duffy said the building has lost its identity to the DMV.

The majority who use the facility, trustees contend, are not Orland Township residents. They come from neighboring communities.

"The DMV has taken over this place," he said. "My opinion is, it needs to go. We would be more than happy to help them find another location. They’re probably all over the place—not for free, but I’m sure they’ll be able to find another location.

"But there's no room for them here. They're only operating in 1,100 sq. ft., which is ridiculous for the amount of traffic that goes through there and through our tiny little parking lot. It's just, in my opinion, insane."

O'Grady confronted trustees' concerns, first about the $1 annual rental fee, stating it's not uncommon for agencies to strike such intergovernmental agreements.

"It’s done all the time," O'Grady said.

Trustees also stated that the facility currently only offers REAL ID services, not licensing, driving tests, or other services typically offered at similar facilities.

O'Grady said the agency had made the shift amidst the Real ID crisis in the spring, and that he believed they intended to return to regular offerings.

"We had stickers, we had renewals, and I was negotiating road tests for Orland Township seniors only," O'Grady said.

He agreed that the facility is a draw to many from other areas.

"Are some of them from outside? Obviously," he said. "But also, what they do is, they're over spending money at Red Lobster. They're over at the PGA store. They're over at the mall. They're keeping our taxes down by spending their dollars here and their sales tax dollars. And I know that's going on. And I guess my final point would be, the building's paid for anyway. Your taxes are not going up because of the Secretary of State's office back there. And I'm not hearing of any higher, better use."

O'Grady suggested that the issues could be discussed with the agency and addressed. He also suggested the board pose the question to the voters in a referendum question on the ballot in March 2026.

"We can make it hard on them, right?" he said. "That, we can do that. But just to throw the baby out with the bathwater without taking it to the people and the voters, I'm just not for it. ...

“I think we should work with them (the Secretary of State's Office) and not get ahead of ourselves.”

O'Grady's motion to move toward a referendum question failed, with trustees Duffy, Soltis and Williams dissenting.

A subsequent vote to end the lease passed, with the same trustees voting affirmatively. O'Grady and Trustee Lena Matariyeh voted no.

As news of the closing spread via a social media post by Giannoulias, residents on both sides have fired off in the comments.

"Pay market rent and don't expect local taxpayers to foot the bill," one wrote. "Common sense."

"Pretty bad idea, that location was busy all the time," wrote another. "’m sure a lot of those folks went shopping afterwards, which is probably why they were paying a dollar a year. They created a lot of traffic that wouldn’t be there otherwise. Oh well, Joliet’s facility is better anyways."

"Such a horrible decision!" wrote another. "When will it close so I can get in there to take care of business? I live in Mokena and this place was most convenient for my family, especially my daughter who is 24 and has special needs. So many are disappointed with this decision!"

Others point to what they call the underlying political tone of the decision.

"This sounds political and trifling and it hurts the people of not just Orland but surrounding communities," one said. "It’s very telling that the trustees only care about hurting those they don’t agree with politically and not the people they serve."

"Horrible idea," another said. "Many seniors use this facility as it's incredibly convenient. Orland fumbling yet again."

Some say the state agency should find another location and pay market rent for the space.

"SoS has plenty of $$$ and should be paying reasonable rent all the time," they wrote. "There are several storefronts available in the Township that is much more suitable for their needs, including parking that doesn’t require anyone to cross a busy street!! Shame on the State!"

"So rent space somewhere else in Orland Park!!!!" said another. "Plenty of vacant storefronts available!"

In his own response to Giannoulias, Duffy said the agency would receive 90 days' notice to vacate on Tuesday, and that the board had communicated with them.

"The board's issues with the DMV were communicated per channels," Duffy wrote. "Sorry that your staff did not provide you with that information."

He refuted Giannoulias' claims that the decision had been a disservice.

"We did not fail our constituents as they support this decision," Duffy said. "And the taxpayers? We did them a solid. You are not even servicing our taxpayers but those from outside of our township."

Duffy said a broker is ready to work with the agency to find them another location.

"Just say yes and it's a done deal."

Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge said he is working to keep the office in Orland Park.

"On Monday evening, the majority of the newly elected Orland Township board voted to end their relationship with the Secretary of State's Office, removing the DMV from the Township building," Dodge said. "When I heard about this vote, I immediately contacted Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias' office with the intent to assist in finding a new location for the service in Orland Park. We are currently working in conjunction with Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Orland Township Supervisor Paul O'Grady to find a way to continue to provide these services to the Orland Park community."

Supervisor O’Grady on Tuesday issued a release calling on concerned residents to email township trustees to express opposing viewpoints.

"The decision not only deprives thousands of township residents of a convenient, local driver’s license facility, it also diminishes the foot traffic that supports our local retailers and restaurants," O'Grady said in the release. "This isn’t just a removal of services. Each person who visited the Secretary of State generated additional sales and sales tax revenue for our merchants. Those dollars won’t simply disappear; they’ll be drawn elsewhere.”

Emails are Ken Soltis at ksoltis@orlandtownship.org, Ken Duffy at kduffy@orlandtownship.org, and Frank Williams at williams@orlandtownship.org.

Watch Monday's Orland Township meeting here.