Illinois HB2190

In Illinois, 80% of people drive to work. Many need to drive for their jobs, or would need to drive to be promoted to a better job. Some find that non-driving jobs still require a driver’s license to apply. At least 30,000 licenses are suspended in Illinois every year for reasons that don’t have anything to do with driving. Our goal is the promotion of fair and effective policies that do not present unnecessary burdens to workers, families, and people experiencing poverty. The License to Work Act, would end license suspensions for a number of non-moving violations, including the largest category: unpaid parking and vehicle compliance tickets. Advocates say that cutting off driving privileges hurts people trying to get to work, earn a living and pay off debts. The vast majority of those suspensions affect motorists from low-income, black neighborhoods in Chicago and its suburbs. Many of those affected have been unable to drive legally for years but do so anyway, risking arrest and getting swept into the criminal justice system. The bill also restores driving privileges for some 55,000 motorists whose licenses are currently suspended.