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Frustrated Chicagoans Wait Outside To Get Driver's License Services, But Some Didn't Have To Be There

CHICAGO (CBS) --All they wanted was a new driver's license.

But people faced very long lines in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood Tuesday. CBS 2's Jeremy Ross discovered many of them didn't even need to be there.

At 99th and King, it was easy to spot lengthy lines. It's the front of the winding mass of motorists that's much harder to find.

Just ask Nina Johnson.

"I started out three blocks down the street," Johnson said.

Some in the line said they waited five or six hours. After the new year, they said they expected some kind of delay but nothing like this.

The Illinois Secretary of State's office said it is limiting the number of people who can be in the building due to the pandemic. And it is enforcing social distancing. But when CBS 2 was there, the only enforcement seen was at the entrance, so cars could get though.

"We see the cars coming. We're not going to stand here and get hit," said one motorist. "If we were socially distanced right now, we'd be in the woods."

Many may have been there needlessly. The Illinois Secretary of State's office said the expiration on driver's licenses has been extended until June 1 and registration stickers for the back of license plates can be done online.

That was news to many standing in line, in the cold, during the pandemic.

Click here for the CyberDriveIllinois site to get all the information on how to register and renew online and get details on what can be done online and what has to be done in person.

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