Secretary of state office to open Nov. 5 in Des Plaines

A new secretary of state driver services facility is expected to open Tuesday in Des Plaines, officials said.

The facility is moving less than five miles away from its now-shuttered Niles location to the Oak Leaf Commons strip mall at 1468 Lee St., next to the Jewel-Osco.

The Des Plaines location is expected to offer the same services as the Niles office — everything but titles and license plates, according to Deputy Secretary of State Tom Benigno.

The site is expected to draw up to 550 visitors a day and will employ 37 workers.

Officials have signed a 10-year lease for the Des Plaines office, after the lease at the Niles strip mall near Golf Road and Milwaukee Avenue expired and wasn't renewed, said Dave Druker, the secretary of state's press secretary.

“The owner of the property on Golf Road had someone else he wanted to bring in there,” Druker said. “We like Niles and we (still) want to serve people in the Northern suburbs.”

So officials put out an open bid to property managers in nearby suburbs, and the Des Plaines location was chosen from among eight.

The facility could conduct up to 120 road tests every day it is open — Tuesday through Saturday — but Benigno said there will be five different routes, and the same one won't be used every day. “The Tuesday route will stay on Tuesday,” Benigno said. “Not the same neighborhood will be bothered every day with the same road test. It shouldn't be congested in one area. Most of it will be on main streets.”

Benigno said road tests will be avoided near schools and churches. All routes are subject to change, he said.

The facility was targeted to open Oct. 24, but delays with construction and permits moved the opening to Nov. 5, Druker said. A formal ribbon cutting with Secretary of State Jesse White is expected the week of Nov. 12.