AnalysisIllinois becomes the second state to permit Notaries to accept as satisfactory evidence of identity an identification document issued by a consulate. (Note: Nevada is the other state which allows the practice.) The consular ID must contain the photograph and signature of the person. Section 5 ILCS 312/6-102 is effective until July 1, 2013, at which time legislation extending or reenacting the statute would be required. This statute was amended by Public Act 988 of 2008 as part of the legislation establishing the 4-year anti-fraud pilot program affecting residential real property documents of conveyance in Cook County that is currently running from June 1, 2009-July 1, 2013. Prior to the 2008 legislation, Section 312/6-102 simply stated that a Notary could accept “identification documents” and contained no clear standards for such IDs. But, with the growing problem of real property fraud in Cook County, coupled with the highly visible Illinois Vancura case in which this very statute was put on trial before the Supreme Court, the General Assembly enacted provisions requiring that any ID accepted by a Notary must be issued by a state or federal government agency and contain the individual’s photograph and signature. It is ironic that the General Assembly would weaken the very statute they sought to strengthen just two years earlier and once more place land titles at risk. Consular IDs have been consistently criticized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as being susceptible to fraud and vulnerable to forgery. In the current legislative session, Texas defeated legislation allowing consular IDs and last year then-California Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill passed by the Assembly and Senate.
Read House Bill 350.