Chicago Expungement Guide

If you have ever been arrested – you have a criminal record. Any arrest or citation will show up on your criminal record even if the case was later dismissed or you were found “not guilty”. Even if you just paid a fine after being arrested, that will show up on your criminal record as a “conviction”. This guide should help you under what conditions you can expunge a criminal record.

What Can Employers See With Background Checks?

Some employers are required to do a background check into your criminal history. This is a sample of the type of information that an employer can see:

1. the nature and seriousness of any arrests;
2. the amount of time which has passed between arrests;
3. the result of each arrest (i.e. conviction, found guilty)

Once your record is expunged, employers will no longer have access to that information and it is illegal for an employer to inquire about expunged records.

What Does The Expungement / Sealing Law Allow?

Section 5.2 of the Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630/5.2) allows qualifying arrests, supervisions and convictions to be either expunged or sealed. Only criminal records prosecuted and maintained by the State of Illinois are affected. Federal and out-of-state convictions do not fall under the Illinois law.

What Is Expungement And Sealing?

Expungement and sealing are ways to limit access to criminal records.

• EXPUNGEMENT: Only those individuals who have never been convicted of a criminal offense or municipal ordinance violation are eligible to expunge records. When your record is expunged, it is destroyed.

• SEALING: If you have ever been convicted of a criminal offense or a municipal ordinance violation, you cannot expunge any records, regardless of the outcome of the individual case. Your records, however, may still be eligible for sealing. Once sealed, your criminal record is kept confidential and can only be reviewed for limited law enforcement and sentencing purposes. In Illinois, sealed criminal history records are not released to employers.

What Kind Of Records Can Be Expunged?

Under current Illinois law, you can have a court expunge criminal records if any of the following circumstances apply to you:

1. Your record can be expunged of municipal ordinance, misdemeanor and felony charges IF:

   • You were found NOT GUILTY of the charges, OR
   • The State dismissed the charges against you.

    

    

2. If you were sentenced to supervision for certain misdemeanors, AND

   • It has been at least five years since supervision was discharged, AND
   • You have not been arrested or criminally charged since the supervision was discharged.

    

    

3. If you were sentenced to probation for certain misdemeanors, AND

   • It has been five years since successful termination of probation, AND
   • You have not been arrested or criminally charged since probation was discharged, and there are no charges pending against you.

    

4. If you were convicted or found guilty AND EITHER

   • You received a pardon from the governor that specifically authorizes an expungement, OR
   • Your conviction was set aside on direct review or collateral attack, and the court “determines by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was factually innocent.”

    

    

5. If you were released without conviction following a sentence of supervision for certain offenses AND it has been two years since successful discharge and dismissal from supervision.

What About Felony Convictions?

The following special felony probations are not considered convictions and may be eligible for expungement or sealing:

• TASC probation

First Offender drug probations under:

• Section 10 of the Cannabis Control Act
• Section 410 of the Controlled Substances Act
• Section 70 of the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act

The only felony convictions which qualify for sealing are:

• Class 4 Drug Possession under Section 4 of the Cannabis Control Act or Section 402 of the Controlled Substances Act
• Class 4 convictions under the Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act and the Steroid Control Act
• Class 4 Prostitution convictions under 720 ILCS 5/11-14.

For all other felony convictions, the only way to clear the record is pursuant to a Pardon from the Governor authorizing expungement of the record.