SPRINGFIELD - If millions of Illinoisans are to get new, federally standardized driver's licenses in just more than a year, state officials say budgeting for the changes must start soon.

But it can't.

Though some details could change, every American will have to carry a standardized federal identification card in order to fly on airplanes or enter federal buildings as of May 11, 2008. That means state offices would have to update millions of driver's licenses by then.

"That would be awfully difficult, I might add," said secretary of state spokesman Dave Druker.

He says state officials can't get started because some details are sketchy. They don't know what exactly the card would have to look like or if everyone would need them immediately.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Jarrod Agen said the regulations are under final review and would be released in the "near future." Whether that meant weeks or months was unclear, he said.

Congress passed the Real ID act in 2005, and uncertainty has faced states since. Just this week, Maine's legislature approved a nonbinding rebuke of the law, saying they wouldn't participate.

Agen said that, technically, the federal government can't force the states to comply. But if they don't, residents could be in a tough spot if they couldn't get on planes.

David Quam, a spokesman for the National Governors Association, said the concerns from states might compel Congress and its new leadership to review the ID plan - delaying the deadline or changing it completely.

"There aren't many issues that affect that many people," he said.

But U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, a Rock Island Democrat, said Friday that he hadn't heard of any Congressional efforts to change the act.

While the deadline is looming for states, so is the cost to implement it. About $40 million in federal money is available for all 50 states. But the cost burden could likely fall to states.

"We need some new federal resources," said Secretary of State Jesse White.

The budget state lawmakers will debate this spring is the first that would include major spending for the ID program, Druker said. Illinois has already implemented some necessary technology, including using digital photography for license pictures.

But bigger undertakings, such as requiring the millions of Illinois license holders to renew their license before 2008, could pose problems. Residents would have to present a birth certificate or other documents that could be put into a national database.

That could complicate matters for state residents who have lost or never had such documents, including White himself.

"I don't have a birth certificate," he said.