Illinois Passes New Law Expanding Felony Records Eligible For Sealing
Pursuant to 730 ILCS 5/3-3-2(a)(10), Class 3 or Class 4 felony conviction records may become eligible for sealing after obtaining a Certificate from the Parole and Pardon Board. A petitioner is eligible to apply to the board for the certificate after 5 years have lapsed since petitioner’s last arrest, detention by any law enforcement agency, or violation of any law (excluding petty and traffic offenses). Only one Certificate for Eligibility of Sealing may be granted in petitioner’s life. If the Certificate is not granted, petitioner must wait 4 years before applying again. The approval for the Certificate requires a unanimous vote from at least 3 members of the Parole and Pardon Board Panel. Records still not eligible for Certificate of Sealing include: (1) aggravated assault, (2) aggravated battery, (3) domestic battery, (4) domestic battery, (5) aggravated domestic battery, (6) violation of an order or protection, (7) criminal offenses involving a firearm, (8) DUI, (9) aggravated DUI, (10) any crime of violence under Section 2 of the Crime Victims Compensation Act. The statute states that the board may only authorize for the sealing Class 3 or Class 4 felony records from one information or indictment, inherently suggesting that certificates may be granted for multiple felony convictions under the same indictment or information. By: Andrius...
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Expungement & Sealing Statistics – Fiscal Year 2012
Illinois law requires the Illinois State Police to publish annual statistics concerning the number of criminal records expunged and sealed each year. The numbers for Fiscal Year 2012 are both commendable and alarming. First, the Illinois State Police has done a remarkable job, entering the vast majority of orders to expunge that the agency received for the year, and thereby preventing major backlogs. On the other hand, it’s alarming that in the entire state of Illinois, only 8,620 Petitions to Expunge, were filed for the year. This number clearly indicates a lack of awareness amongst the public that pleas involving supervision, dismissal of charges, and not guilty verdicts do not on their own yield a “no record.” Every such record still needs to be expunged! The finger cannot be pointed at any one agency of division of the judicial system for this disconnect. But the lawyers, the judges, and the police, should all certainly do a better job informing the...
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