1 out of every 5 CDL's issued by IL were issued illegally

Twenty years ago this would land the governor in a prison cell.

That is downright terrifying.

I hired a cdl-a driver (American) recently. Come to find out he couldn't read, so we let him go. Like, how do you even pass the test without being able to read?

Well, as someone who lives 40 mins from the IL state line, this is troubling.

So here's the IL Sec of State's response. LINK

I'm having trouble parsing out just what he's saying here (probably a good reason that it isn't clear to me):

quote:

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According to federal guidelines, non-domiciled residents seeking a CDL must show proof of legal status in the U.S. They could present an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or an I94 with a valid foreign passport. In its letter, FMCSA fails to recognize an extension granted to EAD holders.

The federal government’s policy on processing backlogged EAD renewals called for extending the validity of existing EADs. The policy existed until October 31, 2025.

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???? So IL is saying IL will accept an extended EAD, but this letter from the Feds does not recognize extensions? And the reason for the extensions was the Feds having a backlog in processing renewals? It's hard to belive that 1 in 5 CDLs would be affected by this.

Regardless, much of the follow-up text there seems overly defensive and diverting from the topic, stressing how important truckers are (so that justifies giving CDLs outside of Fed regs?).

quote:

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“A strong economy depends on strong logistics,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. “If trucks don’t move, supply chains fail, prices rise, and families feel it in their pocketbooks. We can see the actions by the Trump administration taking their toll on our truckers and our farmers, both of whom are essential to Illinois’ economy.”

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