Municipal ID's could come to South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Picking up prescriptions, enrolling in school, applying for a job are all things you need a photo identification for. Many in South Bend don’t have that luxury but Mayor Pete Buttigieg says he’s working to change that.

In his 2016 budget, he’s proposing Municipal ID’s. Municipal ID’s are photo identification cards issued by the city.

This form of identification does not grant any government benefits but just gives everyone something to hold with all of their information on it.

“We don’t want anyone to miss out on something they qualify for just because of an ID issue,” says Mayor Pete.

Rudy Monterrosa, a local attorney, agrees. “I think its important to know who's here and who is a part of South Bend.”

Monterrosa says it’s deeper than just being able to accomplish daily tasks.

He says these could benefit the foster youth, the homeless, the elderly and immigrants.

“We’re talking about making sure that everybody who is a part of the city can be accounted for,” says Monterrosa.

Mayor Pete says the cost of the Municipal ID’s still need to be worked out along with other details but he believes it’s a program that will pay for itself.