Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias tries to bust myths about Real ID before deadline

A visibly frustrated Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias urged residents Monday to make sure they need a Real ID before standing in a potentially long line to get one.

The federal government is requiring anyone boarding a domestic flight to show either a passport or Real ID starting Wednesday.

“The vast majority of people do not need a Real ID before Wednesday,” Giannoulias said, rankled by false or misleading information surrounding the ID. “We have been saying for months, and over a year now, that even after May 7 you will still be able to get a Real ID.”

Individuals with a valid U.S. passport, military ID, green card, Global Entry and those under the age of 18 will not need a Real ID for air travel under the new regulation.

Regular driver’s licenses are still valid on the road, and state-issued IDs are still valid as a means of identification, Giannoulias said, adding, “We could not be more clear on this.”

Individuals should also not expect to walk out of a Secretary of State facility with their Real ID. The official wait time to get a Real ID is about two to three weeks, though most people have received it in up to seven days, Giannoulias said.

Anticipating longer lines at DMV facilities, the Secretary of State’s Office opened a Real ID “supercenter” in the Loop, at 191 N. Clark St., which processes about 1,600 IDs daily.

“The line [at the supercenter] is like nothing we’ve ever seen in the state of Illinois,” Giannoulias said.

People waiting in line for IDs that they do not need right now are also making it difficult for individuals who need to access regular Secretary of State services, Giannoulias warned. He did not hide his exasperation over the lack of public awareness that has resulted in long and hectic lines forming outside Secretary of State facilities throughout Illinois.

“We’ve literally had over a dozen press conferences on Real ID. We’ve literally created a whole website for something that, by the way, is a federal mandate,” he said.