With Mobile Driver’s License Deadline Looming, No Updates From Illinois Secretary Of State

SPRINGFIELD, IL — With less than a month before Illinois’ new mobile driver’s license law is set to take effect, state officials have remained silent on how much progress has been made toward implementing it — or when the public can expect to start using the promised digital IDs.

Approved unanimously by the General Assembly in May and signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker in August, the law requires the Illinois Secretary of State to issue digital state IDs and driver’s licenses as a secure complement to physical credentials.

But with the Jan. 1 effective date looming, it remains unclear how much progress has been made toward meeting this requirement.

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias praised the legislation that authorized mobile driver's license in a statement this summer, which said his staff "is hoping" to make them available in 2025.

Giannoulias's spokespeople have not responded to repeated requests for information about the program’s status or a timeline for its rollout, and public records requests for records and contracts related to the program remain pending.

“We’re excited to reach a point where we can implement mobile IDs in a manner that ensures our roads are safe and that the privacy of Illinoisans is protected, while still providing law enforcement, businesses and medical professionals, which rely on physical driver’s licenses and identification cards, the information they require,” Giannoulias said in a statement in August.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, who introduced the bill in January, noted that residents will retain the option to keep their physical cards.

“We can keep folks safe while providing them with the convenience and benefit of modern technology," Buckner said, nothing other states already have mobile IDs and licenses.

The legislation emphasizes privacy protections, allowing users to control what information is shared during transactions and contactless encrypted exchanges.

For instance, consumers verifying they meet the minimum age requirements to purchase alcohol or cannabis will be able to confirm their eligibility without disclosing sensitive information like their birthday or address. It also calls for mobile IDs to be designed so that their owners can hold on to them while being checked by police.

When Illinois implements the program, it will join more than a dozen other states with some form of digital ID, though not all of them are accepted as valid for domestic air travel or interoperable across operating systems, according to the Secure Technology Alliance, an industry trade group.

The Transportation Security Administration has announced that starting May 7, 2025, it will accept mobile driver's licenses for identity verification at airport security checkpoints nationwide, provided they comply with REAL ID requirements.

Buckner, a Chicago Democrat, told WGEM in February that he came up with the bill because he was jealous of Louisiana's "LA Wallet" mobile driver's licenses.

“I’m like, listen, this is Illinois," he said. "Once again, we are, in my mindset, much more technologically mature than states like Louisiana."

The law states unequivocally that the Secretary of State's Office “shall issue” mobile driver’s licenses and identification cards, as well as physical credentials.

But as the Jan. 1 effective date approaches, it seems Illinois is unlikely to be "technologically mature" enough to meet its own mandate.