Plain English Breakdown
The official text confirms the bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, but does not specify an effective date or whether it applies retroactively.
HB0007: Changes to Expungement Rules for Class 3 and 4 Felonies
This bill removes the requirement that people must have served in the military to get a certificate of expungement for certain felonies, while adding domestic violence crimes as offenses that cannot be expunged.
What This Bill Does
- Removes the rule requiring applicants to have served in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard with an honorable discharge to receive a certificate of expungement.
- Adds specific domestic violence offenses, such as aggravated assault and violation of an order of protection, to the list of crimes that cannot be expunged.
- Requires circuit courts to automatically destroy arrest records and court records for Class 3 or Class 4 felonies once a certificate is issued by the Prisoner Review Board.
- Amends the Criminal Identification Act to update definitions related to charges not initiated by arrest and what counts as a conviction.
Who It Names or Affects
- People in Illinois with convictions for Class 3 or Class 4 felonies who seek expungement of their records.
- The Prisoner Review Board, which issues certificates of expungement under the Unified Code of Corrections.
- Circuit courts responsible for processing and destroying criminal records after a certificate is issued.
Terms To Know
- Expunge
- To physically destroy records or remove a person's name from official indexes so the public cannot see them.
- Certificate of Expungement
- An official document issued by the Prisoner Review Board that allows certain criminal records to be cleared.
- Class 3 and Class 4 Felonies
- Specific categories of serious crimes in Illinois law for which this bill changes expungement rules.
Limits and Unknowns
- The text does not state when the new laws will take effect or if they apply to cases that happened before the change.
- The full list of domestic violence offenses included in the ban is defined by another law, which is referenced but not fully detailed here.