An Illinois state house committee is set to consider a bill today meant to help people leaving prison get state IDs. But a one-time advocate for the bill now says it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Jennifer Vollen-Katz is the head of prison watchdog the John Howard Association. She says the legislation doesn’t really address the problem. That’s because while it waives fees… it still requires a birth certificate or social security card, and offers no help obtaining those documents.
Vollen-Katz says if the state is certain enough of a person’s identity to lock him up - it should be certain enough to give him an ID.