SPRINGFIELD (WSIL) -- Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has announced a reopening plan for the state's driver service facilities.
Facilities which have been closed will reopen beginning June 1 but will focus on ONLY new drivers, customers with expired driver's licenses/ID cards and vehicle transactions. That focus will last through July 31.
The secretary of state's office is also enacting safety measures, including installing plexiglass dividers, marking six-feet intervals on the floor and requiring the use of face masks.
"Customers and Secretary of State employees will be required to wear face masks unless a medical condition prohibits the safe use of a mask. Plexiglass dividers have been installed at all work stations and tape has been applied to the floor in 6-foot intervals to follow social distancing guidelines, limiting the number of customers inside a facility at one time," said a release from the department.
"For drive tests, employees will wear a face mask and a face shield due to the close proximity with the customer inside the vehicle. Customers will be required to wear face masks unless medically unable. Disposable plastic will be used to cover the vehicle seats during the drive test and then discarded immediately after the conclusion of the drive test."
According to the Secretary of State's Office, there are currently more than 700,000 expired driver’s licenses or ID cards and 1.9 million expired vehicle registrations in Illinois.
The office has extended expiration dates by at least 90 days after Gov. JB Pritzker's disaster proclamation executive order ends to help alleviate the initial rush of customers visiting the reopened facilities.
Reopening dates and locations for Driver Services facilities statewide are as follows:
June 1 � Monday through Saturday facilities (Chicago North, Chicago South and Chicago West) will open Monday, June 1. Expanded hours of operations are Monday 7:30 to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Springfield-Dirksen facility hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For the first two months through July 31, these facilities will ONLY serve:
� New drivers (most will be 16-year-old driver applicants)
� Customers with expired driver’s licenses and ID cards
� Vehicle transactions
June 2 � Tuesday through Saturday facilities (Chicagoland suburban area) will open Tuesday, June 2. Expanded hours of operation for Chicagoland area facilities are Tuesday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For the first two months through July 31, these facilities will ONLY serve:
� New drivers (most will be 16-year-old driver applicants)
� Customers with expired driver’s licenses and ID cards
� Vehicle transactions
June 2 � Tuesday through Saturday facilities (all Driver Services facilities statewide outside Chicago metro area) will open Tuesday, June 2. Hours of operation are Tuesday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to noon. For the first two months through July 31, these facilities will ONLY serve:
� New drivers (most will be 16-year-old driver applicants)
� Customers with expired driver’s licenses and ID cards
� Vehicle transactions
For all other services, drivers are still being referred to .
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