Illinois Law Gives Secretary of State Option of Issuing Non-Photo IDs For Amish

Last week, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed H.B. 1484 (full text) which gives the Secretary of State the authority to provide by rule for the issuance of state identification cards without photographs for applicants (such as the Amish) who have a bona fide religious objection to being photographed or displaying their photos. According to the Chicago Tribune, Secretary of State Jesse White has doubts about the usefulness of an ID card that has no photo on it.  State Rep. Adam Brown wants the state police to develop a non-public data base that could be used by authorities to identify those who are issued IDs without photos, possibly using fingerprints instead of photos.