Secretary of State has a ‘Skip the Line’ plan for DMV

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has released his transition team’s report he says will serve as a blueprint for modernizing the office.

“This transition team report is detailed, aspirational and doable,” Giannoulias said Tuesday. “It’s clear we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m excited to dig in and make the Secretary of State’s office the gold standard when it comes to customer service, innovation and ethics.”

Highlights in the report include:

• Implementing a modernization plan, using technology to overhaul and improve customer service and reduce wait times. This plan will allow for expansion of the “Skip the Line” appointment program at facilities to improve the customer experience.

• Positioning the office as a leader in ethics reform by strengthening lobbyist registration guidelines, increasing transparency, expanding disclosure requirements and modernizing the lobbyist registration database to make it more accessible.

• Distributing library resources, activating more collaborative partnerships and supporting freedom of thought. This includes narrowing the digital divide through improved accessibility of e-books and online education resources. In addition, strengthening the collaborations between the three library systems: the Illinois Library Association, Reaching Across Illinois Library System and the Illinois Heartland Library System.

• Launching fraud prevention and detection education campaigns, publicizing fraud and scam enforcement successes to deter future acts of fraud, enhancing employee recruiting and retention, and streamlining investigator training to improve efficiencies and promote effective skills.

• Increasing voter participation through the expansion of equitable access, driving voter registration in settings where people are less likely to be registered to vote, and proactively informing constituents about voting locations and election dates.

• Introducing modern technologies to streamline services through upgraded software tools and new, creative methods of delivery. These improvements will allow for the establishment of a digital driver’s license and digital ID, an electronic car title system that digitizes the issuance of car titles, making the process faster and more convenient, and a mobile app to conduct transactions with the office easily and quickly.

• Working to find a match for those who need an organ donor by increasing the registry, particularly among communities that are more likely to need a donor match. This includes streamlining and automating the process to simplify registration, increasing donor registration points to expand the donor network, and training office staff on organ and tissue donation so they can effectively share that knowledge with the public.

The transition team included individuals who served on nine separate transition sub-committees and the more than 800 Illinoisans who submitted ideas and suggestions online through his RevUpIllinois.com website.

A copy of the full Secretary of State Transition Team report can be found at https://www.ilsos.gov/news/2023/january/230117d1-transition.pdf.