Republican state Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro, left, and Democratic challenger Maria Vesey.
Republican state Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro says her office is flooded with emails from seniors who want to get rid of age-mandated driving tests, but Democratic challenger Maria Vesey calls the requirement a “badge of honor” for the drivers who pass.
Jennifer Sanalitro
Legislation cosponsored by Sanalitro and a bipartisan group of 48 other lawmakers that would end the senior road tests stalled in the House last spring, but the issue could return during the fall veto session.
It came up Wednesday during an interview with a representative of the Daily Herald Editorial Board, ahead of the 48th District election this fall. The district stretches from Bensenville on the east to Carol Stream on the west, picking up parts of Wood Dale, Elk Grove Village, Itasca, Roselle and Bloomingdale along the way.
Under current rules, drivers ages 79 and 80 must take a road exam if their four-year license renewal is up. For drivers ages 81 to 86, it’s every two years, and for those 87 and older, it’s yearly.
“I know quite a few of the seniors who are very proud of themselves when they go for this test in order to keep their driver’s license,” said Vesey, a mortgage loan closer from Itasca. “It’s actually a badge of honor. I don’t think we’re singling them out because they’re older.”
Maria Vesey
Vesey added that her mother had health issues, but “if the state hadn’t said, ‘I don’t think you should be behind the wheel of a car,’ she would’ve still been driving, and she should not have been.”
Sanalitro said next to tax relief, ending senior road tests is the top issue of constituents who email or who she meets going door to door.
“I don’t feel it’s a badge of honor. It’s an unnecessary burden we’re putting on our senior citizens,” said Sanalitro, a sales executive running for a second term in the General Assembly. “They don’t feel it’s their age when they go to take this test. It should be based off of their cognitive ability or their driving record.”
She added that Illinois is the only state in the nation that still mandates regular behind-the-wheel tests.
In a Daily Herald candidate questionnaire, Sanalitro called the policy “ageist,” and said data shows the mandate doesn’t make roads safer.
Vesey said the state should improve wraparound services to help those who no longer can drive, including rideshare and taxi vouchers and more public transit.