Signed by Governor JB Pritzker

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and pass a bill that establishes an automatic system for the sealing of records for certain non-violent criminal convictions in Illinois.

Highlights:

• Requires sheriffs departments and the Illinois Department of Corrections to furnish the Illinois State Police with information regarding the status of individuals in the justice system (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes Illinois State Police to provide reports of cases with missing dispositions to the relevant clerk of circuit courts (Sec. 5).

• Requires any entity required to report information concerning criminal arrests, charges, and dispositions under specified provisions of this Act to respond to any notice advising the entity of missing, incomplete, or incorrect reporting of the information (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that the sealing of records regarding criminal convictions by eligible petitioners refers to the impounding of records and the obliteration of the defendant’s name from criminal information indexes (Sec. 5).

• Requires a petitioner to reach 25 years of age before the expungement of criminal information regarding violations of the Illinois vehicle code or violations of similar local ordinances from the petitioner’s record (Sec. 5).

• Establishes the following records as eligible to be sealed (Sec. 5):

• Arrests resulting in a release without charges;

• Arrests or charges not initiated by arrest resulting in acquittal, dismissal, or a later vacated conviction;

• Arrests or charges resulting in supervision or those that result in qualified probation; and

• Arrests or charges not initiated by arrest resulting in misdemeanor convictions including violations of municipal ordinance violations.

• Authorizes eligible records to be sealed if the defendant completed a high school diploma or other educational degree during their sentence (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes parties entitled to information regarding petitions to submit a written objection to the petition (Sec. 5).

• Repeals provisions that prohibit subsequent felony conviction records from being sealed under certain circumstances (Sec. 5).

• Repeals provisions requiring a petitioner to attach a negative drug test to a petition to seal a criminal record, and provisions requiring denial of a petition because of a drug test that is positive for cannabis (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes automatic record sealing of criminal records of adults and minors prosecuted as adults, and establishes procedures for eligible records to be automatically sealed beginning January 1, 2029 (Sec. 5).

• Establishes the Illinois Clean Slate Task Force to monitor the development of processes for sealing criminal records without petition, to create a plan for the implementation of this Act, and to monitor implementation (Sec. 5).

• Requires the circuit court clerk, upon request, to provide the disposition information for any case or record required to be reported to the Illinois State Police (Sec. 5).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that establishes an automatic system for the sealing of records for certain non-violent criminal convictions in Illinois.

Highlights:

• Requires sheriffs departments and the Illinois Department of Corrections to furnish the Illinois State Police with information regarding the status of individuals in the justice system (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes Illinois State Police to provide reports of cases with missing dispositions to the relevant clerk of circuit courts (Sec. 5).

• Requires any entity required to report information concerning criminal arrests, charges, and dispositions under specified provisions of this Act to respond to any notice advising the entity of missing, incomplete, or incorrect reporting of the information (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that the sealing of records regarding criminal convictions by eligible petitioners refers to the impounding of records and the obliteration of the defendant’s name from criminal information indexes (Sec. 5).

• Requires a petitioner to reach 25 years of age before the expungement of criminal information regarding violations of the Illinois vehicle code or violations of similar local ordinances from the petitioner’s record (Sec. 5).

• Establishes the following records as eligible to be sealed (Sec. 5):

• Arrests resulting in a release without charges;

• Arrests or charges not initiated by arrest resulting in acquittal, dismissal, or a later vacated conviction;

• Arrests or charges resulting in supervision or those that result in qualified probation; and

• Arrests or charges not initiated by arrest resulting in misdemeanor convictions including violations of municipal ordinance violations.

• Authorizes eligible records to be sealed if the defendant completed a high school diploma or other educational degree during their sentence (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes parties entitled to information regarding petitions to submit a written objection to the petition (Sec. 5).

• Repeals provisions that prohibit subsequent felony conviction records from being sealed under certain circumstances (Sec. 5).

• Repeals provisions requiring a petitioner to attach a negative drug test to a petition to seal a criminal record, and provisions requiring denial of a petition because of a drug test that is positive for cannabis (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes automatic record sealing of criminal records of adults and minors prosecuted as adults, and establishes procedures for eligible records to be automatically sealed beginning January 1, 2029 (Sec. 5).

• Establishes the Illinois Clean Slate Task Force to monitor the development of processes for sealing criminal records without petition, to create a plan for the implementation of this Act, and to monitor implementation (Sec. 5).

• Requires the circuit court clerk, upon request, to provide the disposition information for any case or record required to be reported to the Illinois State Police (Sec. 5).

Full Bill Text