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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Many people carry credit and debit cards on their phones in their digital wallet. And in Illinois, a driver’s license could soon be added to it.
“We do everything nowadays with technology, everything’s on our phone so it only makes sense to have that available to us,” Anna Lee Norman, a driver, said.
A bill in the State Capitol would allow people to carry a digital driver’s license. It passed unanimously out of a House committee and is under further consideration.
Under the proposal, a driver wouldn’t get a ticket if they got pulled over and only had a digital driver’s license. In addition, for people with a digital license, law enforcement officers wouldn’t be allowed to go through any other information on a person’s device.
“[It would be] really helpful because I never carry my wallet,” Christine Alcantar, another driver, said. “I only have it right now because my debit cards are in there but everything’s on my phone, my cards, all my money.”
The bill doesn’t eliminate physical driver’s licenses but would give driver’s the option to carry a digital one. They would also be able to carry both a digital and physical license.
The Secretary of State’s office said Alexi Giannoulias is excited about the possibility.
In a statement to WCIA, his office said, “Secretary Giannoulias’ goal is to modernize the secretary of state’s office in a manner that allows for an infusion of new technology to better serve customers. This includes the adoption of digital driver’s licenses, also known as mobile DLs.”
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But some people have concerns about how this would be carried out.
“We’re taking way too much technology and it’s being abused because then if you have everything going digital, then what happens when everything crashes?” Blaine Hagerman, another driver, said.
The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police opposes the bill. While they aren’t against the technology itself, Kenny Winslow, the organization’s executive director, said they are concerned about the security behind digital licenses.
“We just want to proceed with caution, ensure that we take the appropriate measures to ensure that they’re secured, they’re valid, and that they can’t be hacked,” Winslow said.
The Secretary of State’s office says the digital driver’s licenses are secure adding that, “they are encrypted and rely on state-of-the-art technology to protect the owner from fraud and identity theft.”
Winslow said the association is also concerned about liability for officers if they needed to take a person’s phone to write a citation because their license is on their device.
“We want some protections for our officers as well, as well as to ensure that we’re not liable for any phones they may get dropped as we’re trying to hand out the window then falls to the ground, that kind of thing,” Winslow said.
