EXPUNGEMENTS

It is a common misconception that if a person is arrested and charged with a criminal offense, and the charge is later dismissed, there will be no record of the offense on the person’s record. As many individuals discover unexpectedly, this is not necessarily the case. When a person is detained by law enforcement, regardless of the outcome of the case a record of the detention will be filed with certain state and/or Federal governmental departments, even if the person never had to go to court.

This detention record will show any time in the future when that person is pulled over for even routine traffic stops. Having a criminal record may also make it difficult to obtain a mortgage, business loans, student loans, and other grants because lenders tend to turn down applicants who have criminal records. Even in cases where formal charges were never made, it can be difficult for people who have previously been arrested to get a job, find a house, or enroll in higher education, and may result in higher scrutiny when traveling out of the country whether at the airport, customs, or border checkpoint.

In Illinois certain records can be removed from public access, but removal never happens automatically. An eligible person must petition the court for records to be expunged or sealed. Without a petition the records are permanently public. In evaluating a petition, a court must determine that the harm to a person with a record is greater than the harm to the public in taking away public access to the records. Once a judge has sided in the petitioner’s favor, there are two types of orders possible, an order sealing the record or expunging the record.