Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that a new St. Louis Cardinals permanent Illinois license plate will be coming soon and available for purchase after Labor Day.

The license plate, which features the Cardinals iconic “Birds on the Bat” logo, was unveiled by White at Busch Stadium prior to Thursday’s Cardinals-Cubs game. Vicki Bryant, vice president of Event Services and Merchandising for the St. Louis Cardinals, joined White for the unveiling.

“As someone born in Alton, I am proud of the legacy the St. Louis Cardinals have built in the metro-east and throughout Illinois,” White said. “This is an exciting opportunity for fans to express pride for their team while supporting public education in Illinois. It is my pleasure to have the St. Louis Cardinals organization take part in this meaningful program.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to work with Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to create a St. Louis Cardinals license plate,” said Bryant. “It is a great way to show team spirit and help raise money for education in Illinois. We are proud to add the ‘Birds on Bat’ to the plate options for Illinois drivers and hope to see many of them on the road across Illinois.”

After Labor Day, the public will be able to preorder the Cardinals license plates by visiting www.cyberdriveillinois.com. Fans will be able to order random number, personalized or vanity plates.

Each license plate sale and renewal raises $25 for the Professional Sports Teams Education Fund and is earmarked for the Common School Fund, which supports public schools throughout Illinois.

The cost to purchase a random number Cardinals plate for a currently titled vehicle with valid Illinois registration will be $69. Pricing varies for vanity and personalized license plates.

Public Act 095-0331, enacted in 2002, allows Illinois sports teams to have license plates designated as Professional Sports Teams license plates. The St. Louis Cardinals were specifically included in the 2002 law. The Cardinals are the sixth sports team in the state to take advantage of the law.

More than $10 million has been raised to support Illinois public schools through the sales of sports teams’ license plates featuring designs from the Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox.