Office of the City Clerk - Record #: R2014-711

• Record #: R2014-711
• Type: Resolution
• Status: Failed to Pass
• Intro date: 10/8/2014
• Current Controlling Legislative Body: Committee on Human Relations
• Final action: 5/20/2015
• Title: Call for hearing(s) regarding filing and processing costs associated with sealing or expunging criminal records
• Sponsors: Mitts, Emma, Thompson, JoAnn, Moreno, Proco Joe, Fioretti, Bob, Dowell, Pat, Burns, William D., Hairston, Leslie A., Sawyer, Roderick T., Holmes, Natashia, Harris, Michelle A., Beale, Anthony, Pope, John, Balcer, James, Cardenas, George A., Foulkes, Toni, Thomas, Latasha R., Lane, Lona, O'Shea, Matthew J., Willie B. Cochran, Brookins, Jr., Howard, Munoz, Ricardo, Zalewski, Michael R., Chandler, Michael D., Solis, Daniel, Burnett, Jr., Walter, Maldonado, Roberto, Ervin, Jason C., Graham, Deborah L., Reboyras, Ariel, Suarez, Regner Ray, Waguespack, Scott, Austin, Carrie M., Colón, Rey, Sposato, Nicholas, Cullerton, Timothy M., Laurino, Margaret, O'Connor, Patrick, O'Connor, Mary, Reilly, Brendan, Silverstein, Debra L., Tunney, Thomas, Arena, John, Cappleman, James, Pawar, Ameya, Osterman, Harry, Moore, Joseph, Smith, Michele
• Topic: COMMITTEE/PUBLIC HEARINGS - Committee on Human Relations
• Related files: R2015-407

Date	Journal Page Number	Action By	Action	Result
5/20/2015		City Council	Failed to Pass	Fail
10/8/2014	93447	City Council	Referred

Type: Title:

Committee(s) Assignment:
Cappleman (46) Pawar (47) Osterman (48) Moore (49) Smith (43) Resolution
Call for hearing(s) concerning costs for sealing or expunging criminal records
Committee on Human Relations
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RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Section 5.2 ofthe Illinois Criminal Investigation Act ("the Act"), codified at 20 ILCS 2630/5.2, establishes a legal process to enable persons to seal or expunge their criminal record; and
WHEREAS, In Illinois, a person's criminal record contains his or her full arrest record;
and
WHEREAS, As a result, in Illinois, even in cases where a person who was arrested is not prosecuted for the underlying criminal offense, or is prosecuted but is found "not guilty" ofthe underlying criminal offense, the person must take affirmative steps to have his or her criminal record sealed or expunged; and
WHEREAS, Despite good faith efforts by The Office ofthe State Appellate Defender to improve its website to help persons clear their criminal records on their own and without the need for an attorney, the process of getting one's criminal record sealed or expunged in such cases remains daunting and is widely perceived as difficult and overwhelming; and
WHEREAS, It is costly to get one'is criminal record sealed or expunged. Filing fees, which vary from county to county, must be^ paid at the courthouse. A $60 processing fee is payable to the Illinois State Police. In addition, some local law enforcement assess their own processing fees. And, even though it is notjnecessary to enlist the aid of an attorney to seal or expunge a criminal record, many people nevertheless feel compelled to do so, thereby adding significantly to the overall cost of this process; and
WHEREAS, Many individuals, who were arrested but never prosecuted for the underlying criminal offense, or who were arrested but were found "not guilty" of the underlying criminal offense, will benefit if the Criminal Investigation Act is amended to make it easier and less costly for ...