CHICAGO — Illinoisans are waiting in long lines amid frigid temperatures at some Secretary of State facilities for appointments, only to come back and take care of their original business.  

“It’s pretty cold,” said Tierra Lee. “It kind of sucks.” 

The wait at some Illinois Secretary of State facilities could mean “a few hours in line,” according to Svitlana Shepitsena.

“In 21st Century, everything has to be online,” said Andriy Shepitsena.

Right now, there’s no way to make appointments to get new or renew driver’s licenses online.    

“There’s some things that could get done in a (more efficient) manner,” said Solomon Lee. “In Michigan, we were able to make appointments before we came to the Secretary of State.”

Solomon and Tiara Lee recently moved to Chicago from Michigan but say the process to retrieve their first Illinois driver’s licenses is frustrating.

“In Michigan, it was just so easy, you go online and they had slots where you could go,” Tiarra Lee said.

Henry Hapupt, Secretary of State’s spokesman, says the state’s top priority during the pandemic is safety and because social distancing is enforced, the number of people allowed in a driver’s services facility is limited.  He adds that the idea of allowing people to make appointments was to keep them out of the cold but only 11 facilities are offering them right now.   

“In the very near future, we’re going to expand this to allow people to make appointments at the participating facilities online,” Hapupt said.  

Online appointments will be available in the coming weeks. But Haupt noted that there’s no need for people to rush out to renew expired licenses – the deadline has been extended until June 1. Other services like purchasing vehicle stickers or title transfers can be done online.   

“It would be good if we knew exactly to do so we can make an appointment without having to stand in line,” said Chicagoan Patsy Ho. While the situation may be frustrating, she understands the need for safety during the pandemic – even if it takes extra time.   

“I think it’s better to be safe and not have everybody crowd inside, so I’m willing to wait outside just so everybody is safe,” she adds. “You’ve got to know that when you’re going to do a government task sometimes, it takes a little longer.”