(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Illinois has a new law that will help people who have been incarcerated smooth the way towards getting jobs, housing and more.
The Secretary of State's Office issues official state IDs to people who have been incarcerated.
However, until now, a returning citizen needed a copy of a birth certificate and a social security card to get the ID.
The new law waives those requirements if a person has previously had a driver's license and has a valid social security number.
Colette Payne, director of the Women's Justice Institute, said this law is desperately needed.
“When a woman with an X on her back can't get work housing or care for her family, she is at increased risk for reincarceration, being trapped in an abusive housing situation, losing her children to the child welfare system or even worse.”
She and other advocates were present as Governor Pritzker signed the new law.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said returning citizens who are unable to get work or housing because of the lack of official ID find their options limited.
“As one ex-offender told me after he was released, he so badly wanted to do the right thing. He wanted to start a new life. But after leaving one system, he felt stuck in another,” Giannoulias said.
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