Starting Tuesday, Illinois residents may notice the renewal fees for driver’s licenses increased from $10 to $30 throughout the state.
The increases officially begin on Monday; however, all DMVs will be closed in observance of Columbus Day,
“This is the first time since 1984 that there’s been an increase in the driver’s license fee, and that went from $8 to $10,” said Dave Druker, spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White.
Druker said the fees are rising in order to fund “Illinois Jobs Now!”, a state financing program that will seek to put people to work on building roads, schools and bridges. The increase in fees aims to procure over $30 billion for the program over the next six years.
According to a press release from the state government’s Web site, the project will also increase the number of jobs in the state by over 430,000 and provide access to almost $4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. In addition to driver’s license fees, the program will pull funding from federal and local matching funds.
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“Mr. White cannot make this decision himself to increase the fees,” Druker said.
The Illinois General Assembly approved a provision to increase license renewal fees, Druker said, adding that it was signed by the governor in the spring to help fund the construction plan.
“We just administer it, we’re not the ones who are creating the increase,” Druker said.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, renewal sticker fees for license plates will also increase from $77 to $99. Some residents indicated that they specifically went to the DMV early to avoid the rise in costs.
“My birthday is in December, but I’m here in October,” said Myra Jones, an Urbana resident who renewed her license on Thursday. “They sent me the notice last week, and I came this week. I don’t want to have to pay $30 for a new license.”
Additionally, some students also said they decided to avoid the extra fees by going in early.
“I definitely went last Thursday, instead of Tuesday, to avoid that extra $20 fee,” said Erin Estelle, senior in the AHS.
