New DMV Opens in Chinatown
The DMV or Drivers and Motor Vehicles facility has everyone excited about this new establishment that just cut the ribbon open in the Chinatown community located in the city of Chicago. This facility is known to be the first-ever “express DMV” where no appointments are necessary to be scheduled for individuals who want to just walk-in and receive services from the city of Chicago. This being said, people were waiting for a new establishment for a long while in this location of the city already.
According to a press release from Secretary of State, Alexi Giannoulias, announced that the new facility’s opening was going to take place on Monday, April 15th, which it did, and people were very excited to learn about this news. Additionally, very eager to just have the option to just walk-in without needing to have appointment beforehand. Furthermore, most of the community was celebrating this new achievement in the neighborhood. And the Chinese culture was on full display and showcasing their traditions during the celebration of this grand opening. Now, regarding its opening, this new facility opened its doors in the city just a week after the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office a “one stop shop” also opened its doors in suburban Plano.
This new official facility will be located at 2250 South Canal Street.
More Convenience for Customers
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias was on-hand to cut the ribbon, saying the new DMV will be a more convenient location for many Chicago residents. Especially for those residents that reside in this specific location.
They now will have a more accessible establishment without having to face challenges encountering one that would be in a further distance from where they live, and plus having to have an appointment scheduled, if they were to go to another establishment in the city to receive their requested services.
According to Giannoulias, regarding to the convenience of customers being a challenge:
For too long, customers on Chicago’s bustling South Side have had to travel to other areas of the city and suburbs to obtain services that our office provides.
Now, some of the services that customers often seek for when they go to a DMV are:
- Apply for a Real ID, a new driver’s license, or a state ID card.
- Renew driver’s license, state ID or Temporary Visitor Driver’s License (TVDL).
- Order a new license plate using Pick-A-Plate.
- Vehicle registration.
- Join the Illinois Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
- Register to vote and more.
With this new one-stop facility, it will definitely offer a more streamlined experience by being more convenient, accessible, and efficient for customers and provide a new sense of community. Especially, for now being the first-ever Secretary of State on the South Side of the city.
Serving Various Communities in the Chicagoland Area
Now, this new establishment will be not just provide services for the community of Chinatown but it will also be serving various other nearby communities around the city, and some are the following,
- Pilsen.
- Bronzeville.
- Bridgeport.
- South Loop.
- McKinley Park.
- Back of the Yards.
Their mission will be dedicated to eliminate confusion and speed up the lines that usually occur in the Illinois Secretary facilities. The new Chinatown office will also offer their services in different languages other than just English, such as,
- Mandarin.
- Cantonese.
- Spanish.
The operation hours for the new Chicago DMV facility will be as follows, their office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A Bigger DMV Facility Vision
Now, even though the opening of the new established DMV facility was a great and huge accomplish for the residents to receive the services they request Illinois Secretary of State, Gioannoulias had a bigger vision, in regards of more space for the new DMV facility in Chinatown. He did emphasized that the office was quite smaller than what he had anticipated and wanted. He said the following regarding his this roadblock,
It’s tough in Chinatown to find a bigger space.
However, despite the amount of space that this new office has to offer it will be accessible for all surrounding communities and be very convinient for those who live far from nearby state offices. Additionally, more city officials were also present for this achievement, like, Alderwoman Nicole Lee (11th ward). She also was very expressive on how this is a sign of a growing community and how this is improvement for the residents that live nearby.
Written by Jeanette Sanchez
Sources:
CBS Chicago: First “One Stop Shop” DMV opens in Chicago’s Chinatown
ABC 7 Chicago: First-ever DMV location opens in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood
NBC Chicago: Chicago’s Chinatown to get its first DMV, a “one stop shop” facility
FOX 32 Chicago: New DMV to open in Chicago’s Chinatown
Chicago Sun-Times: Chinatown gets a DMV office as Giannoulias jettisons use of driver services facilities name
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of pulaw Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Second Inset Images Courtesy of Marko Forsten Flickr Pages-Creative Commons License
First Inset Image g.h.vandoorn Flickr Pages-Creative Commons License
