Illinois
Skip-the-Line program at Illinois DMVs improves customer service, report finds
ILLINOIS (WIFR) – New data from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office shows the Skip-the-Line program reduces wait times and improves customer service at the DMV.
The Skip-the-Line program was launched in Sept. 2023, creating an appointment-only system at 44 of the busiest DMVs in Illinois. Data shows that 2.2 million people have made appointments since then.
Monthly transactions online increased by 20% for a total of 4.8 million on the Secretary of State’s website in the past year, according to the report.
The Help Line assisting with scheduling and questions took 1.1 million calls, and the average customer wait time decreased from 2 minutes and 22 seconds to 50 seconds, the data shows.
Text message notifications were also implemented to remind customers of their upcoming appointments and allow them to cancel, decreasing the amount of no-shows.
Seniors that may struggle with making an appointment online can now go to a “senior only” walk-in center located in Bridgeview, Calumet Township, Evanston and Westchester. The report shows that 80,000 people have used the walk-in centers so far.
The Secretary of State’s Office says they are continuing to seek out opportunities to make DMV facilities more accessible. They recently announced that the facilities will be opening half an hour earlier because of data showing customer demand is higher during the first morning hour.
For more information or to make an appointment at the DMV, visit the Secretary of State’s website.
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CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
Freeze Watch
from MON 12:00 AM CDT until MON 9:00 AM CDT, Lake County, Kankakee County, La Salle County, DuPage County, Northern Will County, DeKalb County, Southern Will County, Kendall County, Southern Cook County, Northern Cook County, Grundy County, Eastern Will County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Newton County, Jasper County, Porter County
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