A bill that makes bribing a state official to obtain a driver’s license a felony is now state law in Illinois.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill, SB2167, July 21. It passed the Senate and House by unanimous votes. The new law not only outlaws bribing state officials, it also makes it a felony to bribe officials at truck driving schools or any other driving instructor. Any person convicted of offering a bribe for a license would be barred from holding a license for 120 days, and face three to seven years in jail and a $25,000 fine.

The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2005, state officials told Land Line.

The sale of CDLs has been an issue for years in Illinois, reaching a peak late in 2003 with the indictment of former Gov. George Ryan. The investigation of Ryan initially focused on bribes exchanged for CDLs for unqualified truck drivers but was later expanded to a range of alleged bribery and other corruption in the Ryan era.

Ryan, who served as secretary of state from 1991 to 1999, has said he knew there was a culture of corruption in the secretary of state's office but was unaware of the specifics.