It was recently brought to our attention that the Illinois Legislature may have plans to hide funding for "Real ID" in the next budget.  The "Real ID Act of 2005" is yet another federal power grab that will nullify your right to privacy and further bankrupt our state with an expensive unfunded mandate.  Though the financial aspect is bad - the assault on personal privacy is the bigger concern. Among other things, Real ID would:

... create a national identification card system, which would require uniform information on each card and require this card to be presented for any federal purpose, including air travel

... create another unfunded mandate equaling $11 billion nationally over 5 years

... require the creation of a massive public sector database containing information on every American, available to every state motor vehicle employee and state and federal law enforcement officer

... create significant hardship for American citizens attempting to fly, open a bank account, or perform any of the numerous functions required to live in the USA, due to errors and false information contained in the databases

... enable the crime of identity theft by making the personal information of all Americans easily accessible from tens of thousands of locations

Many Illinois citizens believed falsely that the dangers of Real ID were put to rest in May 2007, when both Houses of the Illinois Legislature adopted HJR0027, a resolution opposing the Real ID Act of 2005.  But resolutions are meaningless - they are nothing but a protest without the force of law, and they give those who vote for it political cover.  Those who vote for a resolution are able to claim that they stood up for your rights, but the resolution does not exempt us from the law they were protesting.

On February 24, 2009, Illinois State Representative Lou Lang, one of the resolution's cosponsors, introduced HB3629, the Real ID Compliance Act.  The bill went nowhere during the Spring session - it is an unconstitutional mandate, and the citizens of Illinois don't want it - so rather than going on the record with a vote to enforce it, they plan to deceive us by hiding the funding in the budget after the elections are over.

Many experts on Real ID (also known as Pass ID and Dangerous ID) believe that once your name is entered in this national data base, there is no way to ever retrieve that lost right to privacy.  You can't put the proverbial toothpaste back in the tube, so we must act before our legislature moves to fund the measure.

Please sign the following Illinois petition opposing the funding and enforcement of any National Identification card in our state, and demand that the Illinois Legislature perform it's duty by protecting the sovereignty of our state and the rights of Illinois citizens.

Petition to Illinois Legislature to Oppose Funding The Real ID Act of 2005

Whereas: The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.": and

Whereas: The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more: and

Whereas: The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states: and

Whereas:  The U.S. Congress has exceeded its lawful authority in attempting to place a mandate on the states concerning the Real ID Act of 2005: and

Whereas: Enforcement of this national ID card is an extreme infringement on Illinois' citizen's right to privacy: and

Whereas: The Illinois Legislature already voted to oppose the Real ID Act when both Houses adopted HJR0027: and

Whereas: The Real ID Act of 2005 would increase the likelihood of identity and asset theft: and

Whereas: Citizen's Social Security Numbers will be connected to this National Identification card in violation of federal law: and

Whereas: The Constitution does not grant the federal government the authority to interfere in this aspect of our lives:

Therefore, be it resolved that we, the undersigned urge you to oppose any and all attempts to fund or enforce the Real ID Act of 2005 and any other National Identification Card scheme.