Boxcar Birtha

I got a new copy of my birth certificate in the mail today from the Cook County registrar of records in Chicago.

As I was gathering my proofs of identity to start my new job, I realized that I only had a photocopy of my tattered birth certificate. The copy I had carried around in the inner fold of my wallet had split into 6 rectangles and the copy was oily and black and white and printed on an oily paper. It was an actual photo stat of the original piece of paper my parents names were typed onto when I was born. It had their actual signatures and occupations.

The new version looks like a stock certificate with currency like swirls of line art and seals and a blue/red color gradient in the background, complete with a new $20 bill like security strip.

A few places I found online promised to send me the certificate for a fee of $45 plus the $20 fee from the city. Luckily after some extensive web searching, I found the link to the County of Cook Records department and was able to get it in less than a week for a mere $12.

It was handy, but also a bit scary, how easy it was to get. With just my social security #, date of birth, parents name, and a grainy photocopy of my id I was able to obtain it. Someone could easily find all that information and forge an ID in photoshop and get my birth certificate and from that get a license, mortgage, etc.