91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Local News

Illinois digital ID service busy for some due to "high volume" of requests on launch day

By
Elyssa Kaufman
Elyssa Kaufman
Digital Producer, CBS Chicago
Elyssa Kaufman is an Emmy-winning digital news producer at CBS News Chicago. She covers breaking news CBSChicago.com.
Read Full Bio
Elyssa Kaufman,
Adam Harrington
Adam Harrington
Web Producer, CBS Chicago
Adam Harrington is a digital producer at CBS Chicago, where he first arrived in January 2006.
Read Full Bio
Adam Harrington

/ CBS Chicago

Mobile IDs became available in Illinois on Wednesday, but due to the high demand, some residents are finding themselves waiting a little bit longer. 

A number of residents trying to download the digital ID to their Apple wallet received the following message: "Due to the high volume, your state's service is currently busy." 

Users can then answer the question, "Do you want to be notified when it becomes available?" 

screenshot-2025-11-19-112303.png

In a statement, the Secretary of State's office confirmed the mobile IDs will roll out to Illinoisans in "phases throughout the day" and users should check back throughout the day. 

How to download your Illinois mobile ID 

Residents can go into their Apple Wallets, tap the "plus" button in the top right corner, select "driver's license and ID cards," and then follow the prompts to pull up their license or state ID.

Residents will need to use their iPhones to scan their physical driver's license or state ID card, and take a selfie that will be securely provided to the issuing state for verification. For one more security step, residents will also need to complete a series of facial and head movements.

Once approved, residents can then present their ID using their iPhone or Apple Watch. It will be accepted in person, online, and in apps at select businesses and organizations — including Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at more than 250 U.S. airports. Chicago's O'Hare and Midway international airports are among them.

ID security concerns addressed 

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said digital IDs will be protected by the same privacy and encryption technology used for tap-to-pay and digital airline boarding passes.

"This is government innovation at its best — modern, secure, and designed for you," said Giannoulias.

Giannoulias said the hope is to better protect people's privacy.

If a bar or venue needs to confirm someone is over 21, they will only see that information. Residents can choose to hide information like their address and even their birthdate.

The Illinois Mobile ID program will also soon expand to Google and Samsung wallets.

The digital IDs are not a replacement for physical IDs, which still must be carried.

In:

© 2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=50747257b890e014813016b79ece0fb2'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });