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Lawmakers reconsider specialty license plates

BY KARTIKAY MEHROTRA, the southern springfield bureau

Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:11 PM CST

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois' 61st specialty license plate could declare "In God We Trust," under a bill proposed by State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion.

On Thursday, a committee gave its blessings to the specialty license plate, which is planned to raise revenue for families of Illinois National Guard members and reservists facing financial hardships. The legislation now awaits action in the House.

"'It's an opportunity to give people that want to recognize their heritage an 'In God We Trust' motto on their license plates, and at the same time, provide needed financial relief for military families,"' said Bradley, who believes printing such a plate does not violate church-state separation issues. "'They don't have to buy them, it's voluntary."'

More than 2,000 Illinoisans signed petitions in favor of creating the plates, Bradley said.

The Secretary of State's office only prints specialty plates when more than 850 registered motorists are willing to pay for them, said spokesman Henry Haupt. The plates will generate $23 in combined registration and renewal fees per plate, totaling nearly $20,000 for every batch of the specialty plate.

"Whenever you do a specialty plate there is a portion of the money that you can dedicate to some worthwhile state fund," Bradley said. "We decided to dedicate the funds to the Military Relief Fund not only to be able to honor our heritage but also to provide help and honor our military men and women."

State Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, proposed similar legislation in January.

The beneficiaries of his proposal were law-abiding high school students seeking tuition waivers for a year of community college education. With Bradley's bill pushing through committee Thursday, Boland became a chief co-sponsor.

"I was a sponsor of the Military Family Relief Act when it passed, so I'm all for it,"' said Boland, who is seeking alternative funding sources for his 21st Century Scholarships plan.

Bradley said he doesn't anticipate any problems as the bill moves to the state Senate.

"If there is one thing we can agree on in Springfield these days, you would hope it would be, 'In God We Trust,'" he said.

- Blackwell Thomas contributed to this report.