The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the

government of Illinois The Government of Illinois, under Illinois' Constitution, has three branches of government: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The State's executive branch is split into several statewide elected offices, with the Governor as chief executive a ...

, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, library, and archives, and is the state's corporation registration,

vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...

and

driver licensing A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...

authority. The current Secretary of State is Jesse White, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who took office in 1999.

Duties

The Secretary of State is the keeper of the official records, laws, and

Great Seal of Illinois The Great Seal of the State of Illinois is the official emblem of the state, and signifies the official nature of a document produced by the state of Illinois. The flag of the state of Illinois consists of the seal of Illinois on a white backgr ...

. These duties have remained unchanged since Illinois became a

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

in 1818. In addition, the Secretary is the custodian of the

Illinois State Capitol The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, houses the legislative and executive branches of the government of the U.S. state of Illinois. The current building is the sixth to serve as the capitol building since Illinois was admi ...

. The office is also responsible for administering the laws and procedures concerning the

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

lobbyists In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

, and notaries public. The Secretary of State performs other duties prescribed by law. The Secretary oversees the state archive and the state library. The State Library houses more than 5,000,000 items, and other informational resources, and oversees a consortium of academic and regional libraries in the state. The Secretary of State is third (behind the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, respectively) in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

. By statute, the Illinois Secretary of State is tasked with the duty of issuing

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

s to Illinois-registered

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...

s and their drivers, effectively making the Secretary of State's office the department of motor vehicles, though that phrase is not used in Illinois. Enforcement of these duties has made the Secretary of State's office a key bureau in the enforcement of laws against

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

is one of only two states to put the secretary of state in charge of driver services, the other being

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Police

Secretary of State Police

The Secretary of State Police of Illinois is a statewide police force, established in 1913; it is responsible for enforcing the laws of the Illinois Vehicle Code such as regulating businesses involved with the sale of motor vehicles and vehicle parts. Its main purpose is to protect consumers against fraud through adherence to state statutes. The Secretary of State Police also investigates identity theft, maintains statewide vehicle inspection stations, investigates statewide vehicle thefts, provides statewide school bus regulation, enforces traffic and parking violations and provides law enforcement to all Secretary of State facilities.

Illinois State Capitol Police

The Secretary of State Police also maintains the Illinois State Capitol Police, responsible for policing the Illinois State Capitol Complex in

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, including both the Capitol and 16 surrounding state buildings. The force was created following a 2004 incident in which an unarmed security guard was shot and killed. The force has an authorised strength of 60 officers.

Facilities

The Secretary of State's office occupies three buildings of the

Complex in

. Many of the Secretary of State's workers assigned to motor vehicle and licensing duties work in the Howlett Building, south of the Capitol. The Howlett Building is named after former Secretary of State

Michael Howlett Michael J. Howlett Sr. (August 30, 1914 – May 4, 1992) was an American politician who served as the 24th Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts and 33rd Illinois Secretary of State. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Illinois in th ...

. The State Archives are housed in the Norton Building, southwest of the Capitol. The Illinois State Library is located in the Brooks Library, east of the Capitol, which is named for longtime state

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetr ...

, winner of the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

in 1950. In addition, the Secretary of State operates 136 Driver Services license-issuing facilities statewide and maintains its own police force. Established in 1913, their duties include enforcement of the Illinois Vehicle Code on businesses regulated by the Secretary of State and maintaining public safety, traffic control and assisting other law enforcement agencies.

Officeholders

The Secretary of State, to be eligible to take the oath of office, must be a United States citizen of at least 25 years of age, and a resident of Illinois for at least three years preceding the election. As of 2020, Jesse White, a

, is serving his sixth term as the 37th Secretary of State, the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

in the position and the longest-serving Secretary. Before being elected Secretary of State in November 1998, White had been an elected office-holder from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

since 1974. The Secretary of State before White was

George Ryan George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mor ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It serves as an ...

. He held the office from 1991 to 1999, when he became

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

. Ryan's tenure as Secretary of State led to his downfall in the "licenses for bribes" scandal: after a major automobile accident in Wisconsin that killed six children, investigators discovered that unqualified

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

s were receiving

drivers license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...

s in exchange for bribes. Ryan chose not to run for re-election in 2002, and in 2006, he was convicted of fraud, including using his authority as Secretary of State to end his office's internal investigation after it discovered the scheme. This is a list of all the people who have served as Illinois Territorial Secretary and people who have served as Illinois Secretary of State.

Seal of Illinois

The official motto of the state of Illinois is "State

Sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

- National Union". The Illinois Secretary of State in 1867, Sharon Tyndale, as the keeper of the

, had it re-engraved so that the word "sovereignty" was upside down. This 1867 seal redesign continues in use to this day, and can be seen, among other places, as the principal device on the

flag of Illinois The Great Seal of the State of Illinois is the official emblem of the state, and signifies the official nature of a document produced by the state of Illinois. The flag of the state of Illinois consists of the seal of Illinois on a white backgr ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Illinois Secretary Of State Motor vehicle registration agencies

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

1818 establishments in Illinois Territory