April 14, 2008

White to unveil personalized, vanity SIUC plates

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Secretary of State Jesse White will unveil new personalized and vanity Southern Illinois University Carbondale license plates at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 17. The public ceremony is set for the Illinois Room of the Student Center at 1255 Lincoln Drive.

"Vanity and personalized license plates are very popular in Illinois and we're pleased to be offering them for the Southern Illinois University series," White said.

Meanwhile, White's mobile unit will be in Ballroom A of the Student Center April 17 from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. providing a wide variety of Secretary of State's office services. Faculty, staff and students from SIUC and community members can order any of the three SIUC plates, renew their driver's license and state identification cards, purchase annual vehicle license plate stickers, title or register their vehicles, obtain disability placards and register to become an organ and tissue donor.

People can now purchase not just a random sequence SIUC plate, but also a collegiate plate with all letters (vanity) or a combination of letters and numbers (personalized), printed to specifications. If you already have a regular license plate and want to switch to an SIUC collegiate plate, the cost is $69 for a random plate, $116 for a personalized plate and $163 for a vanity plate. Those acquiring a plate and title for a newly acquired vehicle will pay a total for both of $183 with a random plate, $230 with a personalized plate and $277 with a vanity plate.

With all SIUC license plates, whether a new plate or a renewal, $25 of the price goes toward SIUC scholarships. The mobile unit will take orders for the any of the three types of collegiate license plates April 17. The Secretary of State's office will even provide access to its "pick a plate" Web site where purchasers can check the availability of specific vanity or personalized plates.

"This partnership between the Secretary of State's Office and Southern Illinois University is a great example of how my office can work with public and private institutions to make these transactions more convenient," White said.