Editorial: Find creative options to remind drivers about license sticker renewal

As Marni Pyke reported in her In Transit column this week and we acknowledged in an editorial Wednesday, Illinois drivers are paying the price for the Secretary of State's decision not to mail reminder notices about expiring license registrations.

As we said, drivers should know when their registration expires, and now they will be required to be aware of it on their own. But it's important to add that state officials have options to help reduce the impact.

During the last few months, thousands of drivers have learned the hard way the value of that handy reminder in the mail. Without it, the job of renewing the little sticker was forgotten. The result: An extra $20 fee or worse, an expensive traffic ticket, on top of the $101 sticker cost.

That's the kind of thing that happens when your state leaders can't pass a budget for six months and counting. Like countless programs and agencies across the state, the secretary of state's office finds itself running out of money and forced to make budget cuts, so the mailed renewal notice gets the ax.

As Pyke pointed out, vehicle owners can sign up for email reminders from the secretary of state at www.ilsos.gov/greenmail/. About 1.6 million people have signed up so far.

In addition, people may have to put a sticky note next to the kids' art on the fridge, or write the expiration date on a calendar or punch an electronic note into their smartphones.

Of course, they can also pressure their lawmakers, legislative leaders and Gov. Rauner to reach agreement on a budget that should have been in place in July. But even as we all wait for a conclusion to the standoff, state officials could be doing more to help jog motorists' memories on their license-plate registrations.

Why not, for example, add text alerts to the options for electronic reminders? Officials also could make renewal reminders part of electronic message boards on expressways and toll roads throughout the state. Signs posted at rest stops and Oasis facilities would be seen by tens of thousands of travelers.

Surely, there are ways for officials to use Twitter, Facebook and other social media as well.

The secretary of state's office says it is saving $450,000 a month by not mailing renewal reminders to drivers. That's a big savings during a budget crisis, but also significant enough that officials should consider making the cut permanent and spending those much-needed funds elsewhere.

It should be incentive for government officials to think a little creatively to use other options that, with little or no cost at all, can help vehicle owners avoid paying a costly price for their leaders' failings.