In January, the Kane County Clerk’s Office set a county record by processing 1,024 new passport applications, according to a press release from the clerk’s office on Tuesday.
With 660 applications from the Geneva office and 364 from the Aurora satellite office, it’s the highest number of applications the office has ever seen in a single month, officials said.
The office has processed an average of 276 applications for new passports in January each year during the past 15 years, Tuesday’s release said. Rates in the past two years have been somewhat higher, with 652 applications in January 2023 and 582 in January 2024.
“There are a number of factors involved,” Kane County Clerk John Cunningham said in the release about the dramatic rise in applications, “including an increased demand for travel, the upcoming federal deadline to have either a passport or a REAL ID compliant document for travel, and the desire for families to secure identification documents for their children.”
Revenue generated from passport applications goes toward the county’s general fund, the release said.
May 7 is the nationwide deadline to have either a passport or a REAL ID compliant driver’s license for air travel. The clerk’s office noted that people might experience delays as they apply for a passport closer to that deadline.
Costs and information on how to apply for a passport are available on the Kane County Clerk’s Office website at https://clerk.kanecountyil.gov/.
