Illinois Secretary of State - wikipedia Illinois Secretary of State Secretary of State of Illinois Great Seal of the State of Illinois Incumbent Jesse White since January 11, 1999 Term length 4 years, unlimited term Inaugural holder Elias Kane Formation 1818 Website Official Website The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, library, and archives, and is the state 's vehicle registration and driver licensing authority. The current Secretary of State is Jesse White, a Democrat who took office in 1999. Contents 1 Duties 2 Police 3 Facilities 4 Office holders 5 Seal of Illinois 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Duties The Secretary of State is the keeper of the official records, laws, and Great Seal of Illinois. These duties have remained unchanged since Illinois became a U.S. state in 1818. In addition, the Secretary is the custodian of the Illinois State Capitol. The office is also responsible for administering the laws and procedures concerning the registration of corporations, lobbyists, and notaries public. In addition, the Secretary of State performs other duties prescribed by law. The Secretary oversees the state archive and the state library. The State Library houses more than 5,000,000 items, and other informational resources, and oversees a consortium of academic and regional libraries in the state. By statute, the Illinois Secretary of State is tasked with the duty of issuing licenses to Illinois - registered motor vehicles and their drivers, effectively making the Secretary of State 's office the department of motor vehicles, though that phrase is not used in Illinois. Enforcement of these duties has made the Secretary of State 's office a key bureau in the enforcement of laws against driving under the influence. Illinois is one of only two states to put the secretary of state in charge of driver services, the other being Michigan. Police The Secretary of State Police of Illinois is a statewide police force, established in 1913 ; it is responsible for enforcing the laws of the Illinois Vehicle Code such as regulating businesses involved with the sale of motor vehicles and vehicle parts. Its main purpose is to protect consumers against fraud through adherence to state statutes. The Secretary of State Police also investigates identity theft, maintains statewide vehicle inspection stations, investigates statewide vehicle thefts, provides statewide school bus regulation, enforces traffic and parking violations and provides law enforcement to all Secretary of State facilities. The Secretary of State Police also maintains the Illinois State Capitol Police force which is located on the Illinois State Capitol Complex in Springfield. Their mission is to provide complete law enforcement services to protect the assets of the State under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Secretary of State. Facilities The Secretary of State 's office occupies three buildings of the Illinois State Capitol Complex in Springfield. Many of the Secretary of State 's workers assigned to motor vehicle and licensing duties work in the Howlett Building, south of the Capitol. The Howlett Building is named after former Secretary of State Michael Howlett. The State Archives are housed in the Norton Building, southwest of the Capitol. The Illinois State Library is located in the Brooks Library, east of the Capitol, which is named for longtime state Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1950. In addition, the Secretary of State operates 136 Driver Services license - issuing facilities statewide and maintains its own police force. Established in 1913, their duties include enforcement of the Illinois Vehicle Code on businesses regulated by the Secretary of State and maintaining public safety, traffic control and assisting other law enforcement agencies. Office holders The Secretary of State, to be eligible to take the oath of office, must be a United States citizen of at least 25 years of age, and a resident of Illinois for at least three years preceding the election. Jesse White, a Democrat, is serving his fourth term as the 37th Secretary of State, the first African - American in the position and the longest serving Secretary. Before being elected Secretary of State in November 1998, White had been an elected office - holder from Chicago since 1974. The Secretary of State before White was George H. Ryan, a Republican from Kankakee, Illinois. He held the office from 1991 to 1999, when he became Governor of Illinois. Ryan 's tenure as Secretary of State led to his downfall in the `` licenses for bribes '' scandal : after a major automobile accident in Wisconsin that killed six children, investigators discovered that unqualified truck drivers were receiving drivers licenses in exchange for bribes. Ryan chose not to run for re-election in 2002, and in 2006, he was convicted of fraud, including using his authority as Secretary of State to end his office 's internal investigation after it discovered the scheme. See also : List of Illinois Secretaries of State This is a list of all the people who have served as Illinois Territorial Secretary and people who have served as Illinois Secretary of State. # Name Term Party Nathaniel Pope 1809 - 1816 Joseph B. Phillips 1816 -- 1818 # Name Term Party Elias K. Kane 1818 -- 1822 Democratic - Republican Samuel D. Lockwood 1822 -- 1823 Democratic - Republican David Blackwell 1823 -- 1824 Democratic - Republican Morris Birkbeck 1824 -- 1825 Democratic - Republican 5 George Forquer 1825 -- 1828 Democratic - Republican 6 Alexander Pope Field 1829 -- 1840 Democratic 7 Stephen A. Douglas 1840 -- 1841 Democratic 8 Lyman Trumbull 1841 -- 1843 Democratic 9 Thompson Campbell 1843 -- 1846 Democratic 10 Horace S. Cooley 1846 -- 1850 Democratic 11 David L. Gregg 1850 -- 1853 Democratic 12 Alexander Starne 1853 -- 1857 Democratic 13 Ozias M. Hatch 1857 -- 1865 Republican 14 Sharon Tyndale 1865 -- 1869 Republican 15 Edward Rummel 1869 -- 1873 Republican 16 George H. Harlow 1873 -- 1881 Republican 17 Henry D. Dement 1881 -- 1889 Republican 18 Isaac N. Pearson 1889 -- 1893 Republican 19 William H. Hinrichsen 1893 -- 1897 Democratic 20 James A. Rose 1897 -- 1912 Republican 21 Cornelius J. Doyle 1912 -- 1913 Republican 22 Harry Woods 1913 -- 1914 Democratic 23 Lewis G. Stevenson 1914 -- 1917 Democratic 24 Louis L. Emmerson 1917 -- 1929 Republican 25 William J. Stratton 1929 -- 1933 Republican 26 Edward J. Hughes 1933 -- 1944 Democratic 27 Richard Yates Rowe 1944 -- 1945 Republican 28 Edward J. Barrett 1945 -- 1953 Democratic 29 Charles F. Carpentier 1953 -- 1964 Republican 30 William H. Chamberlain 1964 -- 1965 Democratic 31 Paul Powell 1965 -- 1970 Democratic 32 John W. Lewis, Jr. 1970 -- 1973 Republican 33 Michael J. Howlett 1973 -- 1977 Democratic 34 Alan J. Dixon 1977 -- 1981 Democratic 35 James Edgar 1981 -- 1991 Republican 36 George H. Ryan 1991 -- 1999 Republican 37 Jesse White 1999 -- present Democratic Seal of Illinois Main article : Great Seal of Illinois The official motto of the state of Illinois is `` State Sovereignty - National Union ''. The Illinois Secretary of State in 1867, Sharon Tyndale, as the keeper of the Great Seal of Illinois, had it re-engraved so that the word `` sovereignty '' was upside down. This 1867 seal redesign continues in use to this day, and can be seen, among other places, as the principal device on the flag of Illinois. See also Governor of Illinois Lieutenant Governor of Illinois Illinois Attorney General Comptroller of Illinois Treasurer of Illinois List of company registers References Jump up ^ Divisions http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/index/divisions.html Jump up ^ Secretary of State Official Website http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/police/mission.html Jump up ^ Howlett, Michael J. ( August 1977 ). Keepers of the Seal : a History of the Secretaries of State of Illinois and How Their Office Grew. Springfield : State of Illinois. Jump up ^ Kestenbaum, Lawrence. `` The Political Graveyard : Illinois : Secretaries of State ''. politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 2018 - 07 - 29. External links Official website Secretaries of State in the United States AL John Merrill ( R ) AK Byron Mallott ( D ) AZ Michele Reagan ( R ) AR Mark Martin ( R ) CA Alex Padilla ( D ) CO Wayne Williams ( R ) CT Denise Merrill ( D ) DE Jeffrey Bullock ( D ) FL Ken Detzner ( R ) GA Brian Kemp ( R ) HI Doug Chin ( D ) ID Lawerence Denney ( R ) IL Jesse White ( D ) IN Connie Lawson ( R ) IA Paul Pate ( R ) KS Kris Kobach ( R ) KY Alison Grimes ( D ) LA Kyle Ardoin ( R ) ME Matthew Dunlap ( D ) MD John Wobensmith ( R ) MA Bill Galvin ( D ) MI Ruth Johnson ( R ) MN Steve Simon ( D ) MS Delbert Hosemann ( R ) MO Jay Ashcroft ( R ) MT Corey Stapleton ( R ) NE John Gale ( R ) NV Barbara Cegavske ( R ) NH Bill Gardner ( D ) NJ Tahesha Way ( D ) NM Maggie Toulouse Oliver ( D ) NY Rossana Rosado ( D ) NC Elaine Marshall ( D ) ND Al Jaeger ( R ) OH Jon Husted ( R ) OK Jim Williamson ( R ) OR Dennis Richardson ( R ) PA Robert Torres * ( D ) RI Nellie Gorbea ( D ) SC Mark Hammond ( R ) SD Shantel Krebs ( R ) TN Tre Hargett ( R ) TX Rolando Pablos ( R ) UT Spencer Cox ( R ) VT Jim Condos ( D ) VA Kelly Thomasson ( D ) WA Kim Wyman ( R ) WV Mac Warner ( R ) WI Doug La Follette ( D ) WY Edward Buchanan ( R ) DC Lauren Vaughan ( D ) Territories : AS Lemanu Mauga ( D ) GU Ray Tenorio ( R ) MP Victor Hocog ( R ) PR Luis Rivera Marín ( R ) VI Osbert Potter ( I ) Political party affiliations : 33 Republican 22 Democratic 1 Independent italics indicate no secretary of state in this state, closest equivalent listed * Acting Secretary of State Illinois statewide elected officials Governor Lieutenant Governor Secretary of State Attorney General Treasurer Comptroller Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Illinois_Secretary_of_State&oldid=862158099 '' Categories : Motor vehicle registration agencies Secretaries of State of Illinois State agencies of Illinois State constitutional officers of Illinois Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 2 October 2018, at 14 : 58 ( UTC ). 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Question: what does the secretary of state of illinois do
Answer: keeps the state records, laws, library, and archives, and is the state's vehicle registration and driver licensing authority