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Illinois raking in millions from sale of personal data
By Kenneth Lowe
Kenneth.lowe@lee.net
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SPRINGFIELD -- In the world of business, information is almost as good as gold. And by all accounts, that makes state government a treasure trove for companies looking for data about the residents who inhabit the state.

At a time when people routinely worry about the safety of their personal information, Illinois officials are raking in millions of dollars in revenue by selling personal information gleaned from driver’s licenses and other sources.

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office holds the driving records, vehicle registration, title, and insurance information for nearly every adult in Illinois. The office makes the information available not only to law enforcement agencies and courts, but also to insurance companies interested in checking up on the driving records of those applying for insurance.

Secretary of State’s office spokesman Henry Haupt said the office takes special care in releasing information to third parties, and only does so in legitimate cases.

“Driver’s license and vehicle registration data are not sold or otherwise made available by the Secretary of State to any person or entity for the purpose of solicitation,” Haupt said.

Insurance companies can obtain driving records for people applying for insurance, or when the company wishes to update the information on a client to adjust rates.

Looking up the data doesn’t come cheap – each inquiry hits a company for $12 per person, and companies make many such requests a day.

Illinois received $64.3 million in revenue in 2007 from the sale of that type of information, Haupt said.

Kevin Martin, of the Illinois Insurance Association, said the price used to be much lower, and the high cost of collecting the information has become prohibitive enough for some insurance companies to cut back on how often they ask for personal information.

“It’s not the best indicator that the companies are using anymore, but it is definitely a tool they are able to use to better assess someone’s rate,” Martin said.

Missy Lundberg, spokeswoman for Bloomington-based State Farm Insurance Cos., said her company normally employs a third-party company in obtaining the information – meaning that those who access personal data from the Secretary of State are given some ability to disclose it to others.

Brenda Glahn, a legal adviser for the office said in the case of a support service like those State Farm uses, disclosure to a third party requires the inquirer to inform the Secretary of State of why they need the data, what uses they are going to make of it, and all persons who will have access to it.

Glahn said leaking information to unauthorized sources would be prosecuted under federal law.

“And we would obviously stop doing business with them,” Haupt added.

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Reader comments on this story - 12 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

MRS. wrote on Jul 8, 2008 8:21 PM:

" Wow, I was at DG today,(7-up and cranberry juice is very good and cheaper than at my where I get my groceries)I don't drive a chevy but I do have a bad tire and my oil will be changed tomorrow when I get my tires. "

bnrunning wrote on Jul 8, 2008 4:15 PM:

" I agree with Mixdown. This article is nothing more than a half-hearted attempt at investigative journalism. The large graphic takes up more space than the text of the article. "

el duderino wrote on Jul 8, 2008 3:46 PM:

" To Zeva: you should tear up your junk mail, put it in the return envelop and send back to the company costing them time and money. You don't actually get to see the end result, but it still feels good. "

Grandma of Two wrote on Jul 8, 2008 11:48 AM:

" Were you aware that insurance companies now access your credit reports? This does not prove whether or not I'm a safe driver, it only gives the companies another reason to charge you more. "

mixdown wrote on Jul 8, 2008 9:15 AM:

" Very misleading article. The information is only released when necessary, and even then only to industries that need to know because they are regualted by the state and required by law to do so. Pure sensationalism in order to get hits on a story. "

Sigh wrote on Jul 8, 2008 8:31 AM:

" Fantastic! Our government selling our personal information, which they required us to give them, for a profit. I bet that is exactly what our founding fathers intended.

Next up to bat - mandatory blood donorship so that they can sell that too. "

Zeva wrote on Jul 8, 2008 3:51 AM:

" Now I know how I receive certain junk mail in the mail. I couldn't figure that out because I never requested any information. I guess I'll just have to do like I did for a while, write return to sender on it and throw it back in the box. I did that for a while and then the junk mail stopped coming but now it's back again. I just renewed my LPS, so that tells me a lot. They don't like getting their own junk back, which they do when you write on it. "

Home Plate wrote on Jul 7, 2008 11:01 PM:

" To: MRS.....according to state records, you use that cheap stuff from Dollar General. You drive a Chevy with a bad tire, and your oil needs changed, too! "

Not so Political wrote on Jul 7, 2008 8:29 PM:

" this is why my lic is under a differant name !! "

observation8 wrote on Jul 7, 2008 6:52 PM:

" Got to pay for the Governor's plane somehow......... "

OldCoyote wrote on Jul 7, 2008 6:37 PM:

" Have you checked to see how much DNR rakes in off selling info from Fishing, Hunting, Boating, and Recreation licenses? It wouldn't surprise me if they haul in quite a bit too. "

MRS. wrote on Jul 7, 2008 6:24 PM:

" Ha, what a hoot. Our own Government selling I.D.s. Have they discovered what brand of TP I buy yet? "
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