Q. I have tickets to fly to San Francisco for vacation this summer, and I'm already worried about this Real ID law that's supposed to go into effect in May. People are telling me that Illinois is protesting the law, which means I can expect major headaches getting through airport security. Is this true? Is there anything I can do to speed the process?
-- C.T., of Belleville
A. Just as you shouldn't joke about bombs (or snakes) on a plane, I am not going to kid around with you here: As Bugs Bunny would say, unlax, Doc. Getting through airport security will be exactly the same this summer because Illinois has been granted an extension to comply with the Real ID law.
For those unfamiliar, Congress passed the Real ID Act of 2005 to make it more difficult for no-goodniks to fraudulently acquire a driver's license. It requires all states to meet certain standards when they issue driver's licenses and ID cards. Those standards include certain information and security features on all cards, proof of identity and U.S. citizenship, and verification of source documents provided by the applicant.
"Let's say Illinois has one set of laws and Florida has another," said Laura Keehner, a spokeswoman with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C.
"If Florida's are absolutely below par, then it would be very easy for someone to use and forge a Florida license to potentially commit a crime elsewhere in the United States."
She said that's exactly what Timothy McVeigh did in bombing the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. He used a clothes iron to forge a South Dakota driver's license so he could rent a Ryder truck. The Sept. 11 hijackers were found with hundreds of fake documents as well.
The new law mandates states to verify the authenticity of birth certificates and other identification before issuing a license. It also will allow them to check whether a license or ID card has been issued in another state.
"So, for example, if Joe Smith has a Real ID driver's license with XYZ Social Security number and birth date, you can type them into the system. Then out will pop, yes, he already has a Real ID in Maine," said Keehner, explaining how the system is designed to work. "So, ergo, he's not going to be granted another one in California."
But many states, including Illinois, have been fighting the law tooth and nail. One reason is expense. Complying with the act is expected to cost upwards of $15 billion, of which Congress so far has appropriated only pocket change -- $40 million.
Others argue that it is essentially a national ID card that would be an unprecedented invasion of individual privacy, creating a databank of information open to officials on every level.
Keehner says she has no power over congressional purse strings, but argues that fears of Big Brother watching everyone are bunk.
"That's incorrect," she said. "What is going to happen is we're going to have a hub, and each state will be connected to it via a network. But all you'll be able to do is ping into the system to see if there's a duplicate elsewhere in the country.
"We're not making a national ID. Each state will continue to choose what it looks like. The only physical difference is that once a state is Real ID compliant, the card will say 'Real ID' on the top of it."
As you obviously were aware, the law was supposed to take effect May 12. But because of the effort it would take to comply, the department knew states would not come close to meeting the deadline so it allowed them to apply for an extension by Monday.
As of today, 47 of the 50 states -- including Illinois -- have been granted extensions. That means your current driver's license will remain a valid form of ID for boarding an airplane or entering a federal building. Only residents of South Carolina, Maine and Vermont need worry at this point.
Illinois now has until Dec. 31, 2009, to comply with the act with the possibility of obtaining a second extension until May 10, 2011. Individuals born on or after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to obtain a Real ID by Dec. 1, 2014, while those born before will have until Dec. 1, 2017. For complete details, go towww.dhs.gov/realid, where you can even request e-mail updates.
Q. Is there any radio station around Belleville that will broadcast Cubs games this year? The last one I knew of was out of Mount Vernon, and I can't even remember where to find them on the dial.
-- Paul Cotton
A. If anybody would know the answer to this question, I figured it would be one of the area's biggest Cubs' fans -- long-time Belleville barber Bob Kaiser.
In a sure sign of spring, he already has his Cubbies flag proudly waving at his shop at 2117 W. Main St. And, he's ecstatic over the Cubs' chances this year: In Las Vegas, he learned he could get only 5-to-1 odds to bet that the Cubs would win their first World Series since 1908.
But, alas, here in Cardinal Nation radio stations seem to shy away from the Cubs as if they were the offspring of Tokyo Rose. According to the Tribune Radio Networks Web site, the nearest affiliates are in Springfield (WFMB-1450) and Marion (WDDD-810), neither of which can be heard here.
I'd tell you to try listening on-line at www.wgnradio.com, but Major League Baseball, in order to grab more money from fans, prohibits the station from streaming their game broadcasts through the Internet. So, I'm afraid the only way to follow them live is through some kind of paid radio or TV service.
Happy hunting
I should have remembered that metro-east John Wayne maven Charles Kieskalt could have helped me with that "Shepherd of the Hills" song question a few weeks back.
He called to tell me of the Wayne encyclopedia he's compiling that will eventually include more than 8,000 entries. He says the song in question is "There's a Happy Hunting Ground" and written by popular Hollywood songwriter and film producer Sam Coslow, who won an Oscar for his 1943 short film, "Heavenly Music."
Unfortunately, I still know of no recording of the song other than in the film.
Send your questions to Roger Schlueter, Belleville News-Democrat, 120 S. Illinois St., P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427 or rschlueter@bnd.com
