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August 23, 2006

Randy Nehrt
Beth Kaufman

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White Announces
Internet Transactions Are Up 25 Percent

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that Internet transactions throughout the Secretary of State's office increased by 25 percent in fiscal year 2006.

"Taking advantage of technology has helped us serve the people of Illinois more efficiently than ever before," White said. "The services that we offer online are really catching on with customers who are now choosing to purchase license plate renewal stickers and conduct other transactions from their homes or businesses more often.

The Illinois Secretary of State's office processed 575,149 Internet transactions in fiscal year 2006 compared to 432,694 in fiscal year 2005. Nearly two million transactions have been conducted online since White introduced Internet services in 2001.

Secretary of State services that customers may now conduct through the Internet include:

• Purchasing license plate stickers
• Searching for and ordering vanity and personalized license plates
• Renewing your driver's license if you are a safe driver
• Changing your address
• Checking the status of a license plate or vehicle title
• Signing up to become and organ/tissue donor
• Searching important government and business records
• Submitting circuit breaker refunds
• Reporting corruption to the Inspector General
• Filing a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) financing statement
• Registering as a lobbyist

In addition to providing Internet services for customers, White implemented new business-friendly electronic filing programs for car dealerships to report title and registration information and companies that need to register fleets of vehicles.

Through the Electronic Registration and Titling (ERT) program, more than 500 car dealerships throughout Illinois file their customers' registration and tile applications electronically and issue license plates to customers on the spot. The program has grown as more than 175,000 motorists' titles and registrations have been processed electronically in the first six months of 2006 as compared to just 27,000 in the same six months the previous year.

Using the new electronic fleet registration program, businesses may register an entire fleet of vehicles through e-mail and file transfers instead of shuffling hundreds or thousands of paper applications. Nearly 60,000 in-state vehicles have been processed electronically through the fleet program so far in 2006. Since most Illinois fleet vehicle registrations are due in December, White expects that number to be much higher by the end of the year. Another 4,600 national fleets operating nearly 20,000 units have also taken advantage of the automated option this year.

"Electronic fleet registration has proved very popular with the business community," White said. "In one case, a national company looking to register 10,000 new semi-trailers that travel nationwide chose to register in Illinois primarily due to this business-friendly registration program that saves time and money."

In addition to ERT and electronic fleet registration, White has utilized technology to complete many new programs and initiatives throughout the Secretary of state's office, including:

• Replating more than 10 million vehicles faster than ever before
• Creating a new Temporary Registration Permit (TRP) that allows law enforcement to identify vehicle information immediately
• Creating a court supervision database to share information among counties
• Establishing an electronic order management system in the busiest facilities
• Installing computerized driver testing machines
• Employing a facial recognition program to reduce fraud and identity theft
• Implementing Social Security Online Verification and Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements programs to fight fraud
• Utilizing electronic postal tracking for license plate stickers and titles
• Sharing driver's license images with Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies
• Automating the driver education "Blue Slip" process

"We have utilized technology to streamline the office and improve service as well as make the roads of Illinois safer," White said. "And we have more initiatives in production and testing that will allow us to provide faster, friendlier service for our customers. We look forward to rolling those new programs out in the future."

For more information about the programs or to conduct Internet transactions, visit Secretary of State Jesse White's website at www.cyberdriveillinois.com.