Illinois official got more than $300K from trucking industry while his agency gave illegal licenses
The Chicago Way: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat who is reportedly considering a run for Chicago mayor, is facing scrutiny over his role in improperly issuing CDL licenses after a series of high profile big rig crashes across the country.
By Steven Richards
Published: February 21, 2026 11:10pm
The Illinois official whose agency issued potentially thousands of illegal licenses to truckers, received more than $300,000 in donations from the trucking industry in recent years. The Illinois Secretary of State, Alexi Giannoulias, is in a standoff with the Trump Transportation Department over its review of the state’s commercial drivers licenses (CDLs) which found that 1-in-5 licenses issued by Giannoulias’ office were done so illegally.
Giannoulias, a Democrat who is reportedly considering a run for Chicago mayor, is facing scrutiny over his office’s role in issuing those licenses from the Trump administration after a series of high profile big rig crashes across the country that exposed issues in how states issue non-domiciled CDLs to foreign citizens, or in some cases, to illegal immigrants.
In Illinois, the U.S. Transportation Department found the Secretary of State’s Office, through the Director of Driver Services, issued illegal CDLs, in some cases, to individuals who have failed to provide evidence of lawful presence, let alone proficiency in managing big rigs.
Big Rig danger
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that trucks often weigh 20–30 times as much as passenger cars and are taller with greater ground clearance, which can result in smaller vehicles underriding trucks in crashes.
Truck braking capability can be a factor in truck crashes. Loaded tractor-trailers require 20-40% more distance than cars to stop, and the discrepancy is greater on wet and slippery roads or with poorly maintained brakes. Truck driver fatigue is also a known crash risk. Drivers of large trucks are allowed by federal hours-of-service regulations to drive up to 11 hours at a stretch. Surveys indicate that many drivers violate the regulations and work longer than permitted.
https://justthenews.com/government/local/illinois-official-got-300k-donations-trucking-industry-while-agency-issued-illegal
