BUSINESS MEMO: PERSONAL DATA SUIT

Illinois motorists who don't want their personal information sold to direct-mail companies should file an official request to have their records withheld from mailing lists, Secretary of State George H. Ryan said.

Until a lawsuit filed by one of the nation's largest information marketers is resolved, the secretary of state's office will be compelled to sell private information about motorists to mail-marketing companies and telemarketers, a practice Ryan abolished this year.

To protect customers' privacy in the meantime, Ryan said his office will revive the practice of letting motorists have their private information withheld from marketing companies but will make the procedure for "opting out" far easier than in the past.

Ryan eliminated the "opt-out" procedure last January after ending a 70-year-old practice of selling information about motorists to companies that market by mail.

However, a Sangamon County circuit judge in May decided Ryan had no authority to make the change, ruling in favor of L. Polk & Co., of Detroit. Polk sued to block Ryan's new policy immediately after it took effect.

Ryan appealed the Circuit Court decision to the 4th District Appellate Court, but in the meantime was ordered to sell mass marketers information about motorists, including names, addresses, dates of birth, weight, hair and eye color and make and age of vehicles owned.

Today, two companies are poised to begin purchasing lists of motorists by the end of August. Under their contracts, the companies may be fined $10,000 and barred from purchasing secretary of state lists for five years if they use information about motorists who file "opt-out" forms.

Motorists wishing to have their information withheld from direct mailers should file a "Protect Private Information" form with Ryan's office. The forms are available at any driver services facility.

Opt-out forms filed in the past will continue to be honored.