Secretary of State Requiring Masks at Driver Services Facilities Again
Customers line up outside the Secretary of State Driver Services facility on the northwest side of Chicago.
While there’s no new mask mandate statewide, Secretary of State Jesse White’s office is reinstituting a mask mandate at offices they oversee beginning Monday, August 2.
The new mandate applies to Driver Services facilities, Secretary of State offices, and the Illinois State Capitol Building and includes customers and employees.
White stressed that it is imperative for his facilities to remain open to serve the public to reduce the heavy customer volume caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year. White said reinstating the mask policy for employees and customers will help achieve this goal.
White is reminding customers that his office extended expiration dates for driver’s licenses and ID cards until Jan. 1, 2022. As a result, expired documents will remain valid until Jan. 1, 2022, so customers do not need to rush into a facility.
The CDC issued guidance Tuesday suggesting masks for people in high transmission areas, including most counties downstate, even if they have been vaccinated. Governor JB Pritzker said he won’t hesitate to reinstitute COVID mitigations, if necessary.