Dupage Policy Journal

Illinois state Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) is demanding answers from the Secretary of State’s Office about the recent closure of a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) satellite express office in Wheaton without what many in her district consider to have been proper notice.

“We are required by law to update our driver’s licenses and license plates,” Grant said in a press release posted to her website. “Why are facilities in DuPage County always in peril of closing? How far will we be forced to go when the centers close, one by one?”

Making the latest closure all the more difficult for district residents to digest is their contention that little to no mention of the plan was made public. The latest controversy comes roughly three years after the same facility was faced with the prospect of being shuttered over non-payment of rent.

The Wheaton Express Illinois Secretary of State Facility has permanently closed. | https://www.ilsos.gov/

That same year, the nearby facility in Lombard closed its doors for the entire summer, resulting in the DMV office in Naperville being swamped with area residents in need of service.  

“Asking residents to get used to paying more for fewer services is unfair,” Grant said in the release. In Wheaton and most of DuPage County, we pony up dollars for the service for the rest of the state. In addition, we only receive back services resulting in 31 cents for every dollar in taxes we pay. Residents in my community were hoping for better communication coming from the Secretary of State.”

Still in her first term in Springfield, Grant sits on the Appropriations-Capital, Consumer Protection, Financial Institutions and Special Issues committees in Springfield. Her 42nd District includes all or parts of Carol Stream, Lisle, Warrenville, Wheaton, Winfield, West Chicago and Naperville.