Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a law today to make it easier for people leaving prison get state IDs.
Bernita Riley says when she got out of prison she didn’t have an ID, so she couldn’t get housing or a job...
RILEY: You can’t go to the food pantry now without your state ID. And being incarcerated in the state, they take your DNA they take your fingerprints.
Except, the new bill still requires prisoners to provide a birth certificate or social security card to get a permanent ID.
Secretary of State Jesse White says that’s because people will often give a fake name when they’re arrested. He says there are “a lot” of people inside state prisons whose real identity is unknown to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
IDOC did not respond to multiple requests for comment.