If you're tired of the current design of Illinois' license plates, you'll be happy to know that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced yesterday that changes are coming.

Illinois license plates are getting an extensive makeover that will feature half of Abraham Lincoln’s face, part of the Chicago skyline and the state Capitol dome in Springfield, the Secretary announced at a Tuesday news conference. He also announced a new program to replace all older license plates over the next decade without asking Illinois' drivers to pay yet another fee.

Car owners who have the oldest license plates — those manufactured in 2000 and 2001 — will begin receiving the new ones in 2017. Plates made in 2002 and 2003 will be replaced in 2018. The program, which is estimated to cost $5 million a year, will continue until all plates are replaced. Then the process will restart in 2027 to replace plates issued in 2017. Illinois has around 9 million passenger vehicle owners. Jesse White's office expects to replace about 600,000 plates in 2017.

“This is a forward-thinking, long-term solution that does not require a complete re-plating overhaul, which would cost around $60 million,” White said in a statement. “This plan removes older plates and replaces them with newly designed plates within our current budget.”

What do you think of the new design?

Me? I think I prefer this plate:

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