By DILPREET RAJU  
Capitol News Illinois  
draju@capitolnewsillinois.com

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill on Tuesday that’s aimed at providing free identification cards to more people exiting correctional facilities in Illinois. 

The state already provides identification cards to people leaving the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice, but the new law expands the program to every county jail and federal prison in the state. It took effect upon Pritzker’s signature.

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said at a bill signing ceremony at the Women’s Justice Institute in Chicago that the new law allows his office to waive certain document requirements that prohibited people from being able to get their ID.

“The crux of the issue is locating the documents they needed, like their birth certificate or physical social security card, which are required to prove your identity,” he said, and without internet access – which many people exiting the prison system do not have – it is difficult to figure out where to go.

The new law also allows officials to verify a social security number through the Social Security Administration instead of being shown a physical card.

Pritzker said without identification, people returning to society from correctional facilities are deprived of a basic need.

“For returning citizens, at a time when they need the most support to get reestablished in society, the lack of identification often shuts them out,” he said. “They can’t pursue employment opportunities, they can’t pursue housing, social services, health care.”

The governor said expanding access was necessary as “these are individuals who have served their time and paid their debt to society.”

First Lady MK Pritzker, who helped former Secretary of State Jesse White launch a pilot ID program in Logan Correctional Center in 2021, said she has visited women’s prisons more than a dozen times since her husband was sworn into office more than five years ago.

“Having legal identification says, ‘I am here. I am somebody, and I am a returning citizen choosing to participate in civil society,’” she said.

She said granting identification is a method to treat people with “dignity and respect.” 

Giannoulias, who helped expand access to free IDs to the Cook County Jail last year, said IDs are something people “rely on so much, that we tend to take this privilege for granted.”

Read more: Secretary of State helps launch first-of-its-kind state ID program for inmates exiting Cook County Jail

He said that his office has issued roughly 3,000 ID cards to people exiting Illinois correctional facilities over the past two years.

“Most of us don’t think twice when we’re asked to present an ID while we’re at a store, bank or a doctor’s office,” Giannoulias said. “In a moment’s notice, that small plastic card that we pull from our pocket, wallet or bag gives us immediate access to whatever we need.”

Marlon Chamberlain, founding executive director of the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments, which aims to remove legal barriers to successful life after reentry, said the law will help people to “restart their lives.”

“We all want the same things. We want to be valued, respected for who we are now, and not judged by our past actions,” Chamberlain said. “Those returning home have changed and deserve a chance to be productive members of society.”

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said punitive policies are not indicative of “true justice” and emphasized how the new law will make communities safer by giving returning residents more opportunities to get employment and access government services.

“Talk to those who’ve had these experiences,” Stratton said, referring to people who have been in jail or prison, “and you’ll quickly come to find that true justice is also about having access to what’s needed to keep you from cycling in and out of the system. True justice is about having access to what’s needed to care for yourselves and your families.”

In the first five months of this year, 7,000 people exited IDOC facilities, according to the latest IDOC Quarterly Report.

Giannoulias said as part of the initiative, the Secretary of State’s office will host “educational seminars with correctional facilities to help increase awareness and participation in the program.”

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.