There does not seem to be voter suppression in Illinois,

but people who need I.D. cards still have a hard time. Driver's license offices are often hard to get to, and the bureaucracy can be maddening.

We have a friend who had an aneurysm when he was in his thirties. It is amazing that he survived and recovered as well as he did. He has some left side paralysis, and his speech is slurred. But I have been around him enough to know that his brain functions quite well.

He is a good Democrat. He used to be shy about going to vote. He knew that I was a precinct committeeman, and active in the party, so he wanted me to help him. It took me awhile to convince him that I could not do that. An election judge has to do it. That was early on, when he was still shy about asking anyone for help. The judges in our polling place are great with him.

He can't drive, and he has to get a new I.D. card every few years. He uses it the way others use a license as an I.D.

The new I.D. card has to have some doctor's information on it, and strings of numbers have to be obtained. He didn't do it correctly the first time my husband took him to the licensing office. Also, I don't think they were very patient with him. They were there for hours.

They went back today, and he got what he needed, but it took a couple of hours. Imagine what happens to those who don't have help with this, or who don't have transportation. Imagine how tough it is for people in states where they are using this to deny voting rights to the elderly, the handicapped, or those who just don't drive.

I hope the local Democrats in those states are doing all they can to get I.D.s for these people, and get them to the polls.