Illinois law allows you to expunge certain felonies from your record. If your case doesn’t qualify for expungement, you may be able to seal it as most felonies and misdemeanors are eligible for sealing.  The law is the same regardless of which county your case concluded. When you expunge your record, it gets destroyed. When you seal a record, it gets hidden from the public, landlords, and almost all employers. You can expunge your felony record in Illinois if you were sentenced to TASC Probation, 410/710/1410 Probation, Second Chance Probation, or received a Governor’s Pardon. For the pur ..read more

Illinois law gives people a “second chance” for certain crimes. A “second chance” in this context means that you can expunge your criminal record if you were placed on “qualified probation” such as Second Chance Probation, TASC Probation, and First Offender Cannabis, Controlled Substance, or Methamphetamine cases -often called 1410, 410, 710 probation. You must wait five years from completing your sentence to file for expungement.  On the other hand, if you were convicted of a drug-related crime, you can seal, but not expunge, your record after three years of completing your sentence ..read more

If the crime you committed is eligible, you may be able to seal or expunge your criminal conviction. The difference under Illinois law between sealing and expunging is that expunged records are destroyed while sealed records are retained but are not available to the general public.   The question that I’m often asked is, who will be able to see my record after it is sealed? It depends if (a) the case is a misdemeanor or felony, and (b) who wants to see your record.  First and foremost, the general public, landlords, and employers not required by law to do finger-print based back ..read more

Over the last several years, there has been a radical change in how municipalities and villages in Illinois prosecute low-level criminal activity. These government entities, now more than ever, prosecute cases such as theft, retail theft, assault, battery, and drug possession as violations of their respective ordinances as opposed to State law. By pursuing these cases at the village level, they are being decided in Village Hall and not in Circuit Court. Prosecuting cases at the Village level is a huge money-maker for the municipalities. They cost very little to prosecute, and since they’re not ..read more

Just a few short years ago, a felony conviction in Illinois meant a lifelong sentence. By that, I mean that although the defendant had completed his sentence, his/her criminal record was a matter of public record that everyone could see forever. For a convicted felon, regardless of how many years had passed, getting a job, renting an apartment, coaching, getting financial aid, or getting into a certain school was monumental, if not an impossible task. Felons were delegated to working low paying jobs which not only affected themselves but also their families. Throughout my 25 years of practici ..read more

Efforts are underway in Illinois to change the way DNA evidence in rape cases is processed.  The Chicago Tribune conducted an exhaustive investigation of the problems associated with the Illinois State Police Crime Lab and discovered that many rape kits were not being tested.  A rape kit allows a nurse or a doctor to collect semen, saliva and other potential sources of DNA samples from victims.  The process of securing the DNA evidence can take up to 8 hours but the results can be very powerful.  The resu ..read more