Licensed to Drive ~ in Illinois

Yesterday, Chris Chelsea and I all went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get our licenses updated with Illinois licenses. I had read in our relocation paperwork that we are meant to change our addresses and get new licenses within 30 days of living here so we definitely met that requirement. I'm in my forties and have never had any other driver's license than my Texas one. So this was a big deal for me.

I have to say that the whole process impressed the hell out of me!! Way to Go Secretary of State Jesse White! The two main differences in my experience obtaining a license with the State of Illinois versus the State of Texas were speed and efficiency! There were several other differences as well - like the place was very clean, the bathrooms were clean, there was no waiting, every single person we encountered was lovely and nice and friendly. We got our licenses immediately rather than a crap piece of paper that serves as a temporary license until your real one arrives in the mail. The woman taking my picture told me how to hold my head and said it was a nice one and let me review it before moving on in case I wanted it retaken. We were all shocked and surprised.

The three of us arrived at the DMV at exactly 12:14 PM and we were out of there by 1:45 PM. Chris didn't have his Texas license with him (he had an old expired one) so he had to take a driving test as well. He reported that he didn't have to parallel park with the officer but he did have to demonstrate how to park on an incline. We all had to take the written test and a vision test.

They require multiple forms of documentation and for residency we only had our lease between the three of us. Therefore, even though we encountered problems with proof of residency and all had to complete an affidavit of verification of residency, and even though we had to all take a written test and Chris had to take a driving test, and even though we had to deal with an intake person, a service desk person, a testing person, a final documents person, a picture-taking person, (and Chelsea and I had to wait for Chris to take the driving test with a driving test person) and finally a fee-acceptance person - all three of us walked out of the DMV with our new licenses IN HAND within an hour and a half.

Unheard of! In Texas we would have been there all day long, delt with public employees, and then waited an additional two weeks for the real license to arrive in the mail. At least, that has been my experience every time I've ever gotten my license, up to and including having to replace my TDL when it got stolen two years ago and when I got married and changed my name three years ago.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and I was shocked with how fast the whole thing happened. Way to go, Illinois DMV!
LOVE