MIDWAY — Travelers with driver’s licenses or identification cards issued in Illinois might have to provide an alternative form of identification in order to get past airport security and board a plane if the state does not soon meet the requirements of a new law.
Illinois is one of six states and territories — including Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington, and American Samoa — that does not meet the requirements of the REAL ID Act, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
In 2004, the 9/11 Commission recommended that the U.S. government tighten its standards on checking IDs at airports “to ensure that people are who they say they are and to check whether they are terrorists.”
Congress then launched the REAL ID Act, a law prohibiting federal agencies from accepting driver’s licenses and identification cards issued by states that do not meet the law’s requirements. For an ID to be REAL ID compliant, it must contain anti-counterfeit technology.
Department of Homeland Security officials said they encourage states that are not REAL ID compliant to meet the requirements of the law within the next two years.
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