WATCH: IL congresswoman willing to withhold highway dollars over CDL issues

(The Center Square) – A Republican congresswoman from Illinois is looking to enforce federal Commercial Drivers License requirements by withholding federal funds from states that aren’t compliant.

Data provided by Illinois State Police shows nearly 1 in 5 CDL holders with English Language Proficiency infractions have licenses issued by the state of Illinois. U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, said she’s done her own sampling.

“I have in plain clothes gone from truck stop to truck stop in my district and I go to the cashier and I ask them this question, ‘how many of the truckers come in here speak no English?’ And every single time they have told me almost all of them,” Miller told The Center Square. “And it's just outrageous.”

Miller said if Illinois doesn’t get the issue under control, she’s willing to advocate for withholding federal tax funds.

“If you don't stop the funding to the states that are flouting our laws, they're not going to change,” she said. “The bill, the Safe Driving Law Act, that will rescind half of the highway funding to states like Illinois that refuse to cooperate.”

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office said the office takes the federal standards seriously "because they are critical to road safety."

"We will continue enforcing federal requirements and working with our partners to ensure CDL holders in Illinois meet all licensing and safety obligations," Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias spokesman Max Walczyk said in an email. 

The agency said CDL applicants are not allowed to use a translator at any point in the licensing process and tests take at least 45 minutes and require continuous communication between the applicant and the examiner.

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"If an applicant cannot understand or respond to the questions asked by our staff – whether during testing or even at the counter when providing basic information – the process is stopped, and they are not issued a CDL," Walczyk said. 

Miller said she will go further.

“These used to be good jobs for people that didn't go to college, and we should restore the trucking industry back to the American people,” she said. “And I want to go after the trucking companies, is another thing, that's hiring these people.”

The Illinois Secretary of State’s website shows only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can apply for a CDL, but the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals can be considered with a CDL application.

The federal DACA program was frozen earlier this year, pending legal action. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it will accept initial DACA requests, but are not processing them at this time. Related federal documents remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated, the federal agency’s website said.

Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, reintroduced the Dream Act Thursday, a bipartisan bill he’s proposed for years to allow DACA recipients a pathway to legal status if they meet certain criteria like no felonies, and passing English language proficiency tests.

“They are teachers, nurses, doctors, and small business owners throughout our communities and in all 50 states. But because DACA hangs by a thread in the courts, and many are not covered by DACA, they live each day in fear of deportation,” Durbin said in a statement. “This is a matter of simple American fairness and justice.”

As of September 2024, Durbin’s office said there are roughly 530,000 people with active DACA status nationwide.