The Daily Parker

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Three cheers for the Secretary of State's Office!

Because I moved, I had to change my drivers license in-person at an Illinois Secretary of State Drivers Services Office (our DMV). Let me tell you how hard that was:

  1. I went online yesterday morning and, after a few clicks, got to "Same-Day Appointments."
  2. I found that the facility closest to me (about 5 km away) had appointment times in the late afternoon, so I signed up.
  3. The sign-up process took me to a checklist that helped me figure out what documents I needed to bring. It took me about 15 minutes to assemble those documents in a folder.
  4. Half an hour before my appointment, I drove to the facility, and found a parking space right away.
  5. I went into the Vehicle Services Office next door, and got redirected to the correct building.
  6. There was no line. I went right to the first station, showed him my documents, and was directed to the photo area.
  7. There was no line, so I got my photo taken, and was directed to the to the document verification window.
  8. After waiting 30 seconds in line, the nice lady at the documentation window went over all my documents, verified and scanned them, signed me up for Motor Voter registration, and sent me to the cashier.
  9. There was no line, so I paid my $5, waited for a few seconds while my temporary license printed out, and that was it. Total time: 22 minutes.
  10. Since I was right there anyway, I went next door to Vehicle Services and updated and renewed my car registration. Total time: 6 minutes.

It took me longer to drive to the facility than to update my drivers license, apply for a Real ID, update my auto registration, and renew the same.

I love living in a state where we care about government enough to fund it properly!

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