EDITORIAL: Listen up, use your head, avoid a bureaucratic morass

Jan. 19—Time and how to save it are high priorities when it comes to serving Illinois motorists.

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has some advice for all those people who crowd Illinois' driver-services facilities — get outta here, ya bums.

He didn't put it exactly like that. In fact, he was nice about it. But Giannoulias wants many customers to stay away.

Why?

Because his office contends that it has expanded online services to the point that motorists no longer need to show up at their facilities.

"I'm serious. Don't come unless you are 100 percent certain that you need to visit one of our facilities," he said. "The reason is obvious. Most people do not need to go to a DMV facility to get what they need."

The first-term secretary of state — and aspiring U.S. senator/governor — made his comments at a Chicago news conference, where he announced the high-tech "Skip the Line, Do It Online" program.

It includes a portal intended to allow motorists to determine exactly what they need and how to get it.

If an old-fashioned visit is required, the office reminds the public that appointments can be made online. People can also make appointments by telephone.

Giannoulias is trying to modernize the office run for decades by former Secretary of State Jesse White, and he's relying on technology to get it done.

That effort also including creating special new facilities designed to deal with time-consuming tasks, like driving tests. News reports indicate most, if not all, will be reserved for the Chicagoland area.

The new approach will require more than just the agency to change its ways. Giannoulias said people have to embrace a mindset that needs to change.

"What we're seeing is people see an expiration date, they get nervous, don't know what to do, so they just go to a facility," Giannoulias said.

The appointment approach was initiated in September and so far has addressed the needs of roughly 800,000 motorists.

But its launch has not been smooth because some — perhaps many — have gone online but not been able to easily make appointments.

That's understandable in a state that handles more than 2 million license renewals a year. But it does serve as a reminder that politicians need to keep the promises they make, and if there are problems with the online portal, particularly regarding appointments, they need to be solved.

The agency said statistics show that last year, half of the 1 million people eligible for remote driver's-license renewals dropped by in person, and 3 million showed up for license-plate stickers.

Giannoulias said his "ultimate goal is to reduce the time tax — that's the amount of time that Illinoisans waste standing in line or making an unnecessary trip to the DMV to obtain basic government services."

So far, there has been one unexpected problem. Too many people make appointments they don't keep, some more than once. That's why the office is sending text reminders.

The new approach is a reminder that it's a high-tech world that will leave behind those who don't try to keep up.

The agency is to be commended for its effort to embrace more efficiency. But change is hard, even if it's relatively easy to accomplish.