Lawmakers call for end to mask requirement for driver tests in Illinois

Although the statewide mask mandate ended more than 400 days ago, it is probably not widely known that the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office still requires face coverings for driver’s tests.

State Rep. Jed Davis, R-Newark, said he became aware of the requirement after hearing about a 16-year-old in his district who was denied a driver’s license because she refused to wear a mask or shield during her driver’s test.

Davis said he called the Secretary of State’s Office and confirmed this policy does exist. However, when requesting the written policy, he was told it was unavailable because it’s an internal policy.

"Why is the Secretary of State’s Office implementing their own health criteria, when they are not even a health agency?" Davis told The Center Square. "You can’t even make up this stuff that happens in this state, it is just pure insanity."

Davis, a member of the Illinois Freedom Caucus, said they have sent a letter to the head of the agency, Alexi Giannoulias, asking him to remove the mask requirement at driver facilities throughout the state.

"Requiring drivers to wear a mask during a driving test is excessive at best and dangerous at worst. Few if any drivers will be wearing masks when they are behind the wheel of a car. Young drivers at this point in time have not worn masks during practice sessions and it is not fair to them to require them to wear a mask when they have never had to wear one prior to taking the test. It is one thing for a Secretary of State employee to make an individual choice to wear a mask while administering a driving test, but it is quite another to require the person taking the test to wear a mask especially when there is no justifiable reason to do so," the letter said.

A spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office issued a statement to The Center Square that said the policy would remain in place until May 11.

“Throughout the pandemic, the Secretary of State’s office has implemented protocols to protect the health and safety of employees and the residents of Illinois. Although we have adjusted these protocols to meet changing circumstances throughout the pandemic, we have measures that follow this goal in place until May 11, which aligns the state with the federal government's decision to end the national public health emergency on that date,” the statement read.