Chicago Loop DMV open for REAL ID walk-ins as May 7 tsunami continues

Posted March 18, 2025 8:37 pm

Marni Pyke

As a May 7 deadline for obtaining REAL ID approaches, suburbanites headed downtown can take advantage of a new Chicago Loop location.

The Illinois secretary of state’s REAL ID Supercenter, located at 191 N. Clark St., offers walk-in services from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

REAL IDs, mandated by the federal government following Sept. 11, 2001, will be required for air travel within the U.S. as of May 7, but passports also can be used.

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said he opened the downtown center to meet a surge in demand for REAL IDs, but noted recently “most Illinoisans do not need one before May 7 and they can still get one after that date.”

The new Supercenter has 30 individual service counters. A number of suburban locations also offer Saturday walk-in services from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. They include: Addison, Aurora, Des Plaines, Elgin, Joliet, Lake Zurich, Melrose Park, St. Charles, Waukegan and Woodstock.

A REAL ID office in downtown Chicago is open for walk-ins Monday through Friday. Courtesy of Illinois secretary of state's office

Appointment-only DMVs are open Saturdays at locations like Deerfield, Lombard, Naperville and Schaumburg.

For more information and to check if you need a REAL ID, visit realid.ilsos.gov.

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